description stringlengths 2.98k 3.35M | abstract stringlengths 94 10.6k | cpc int64 0 8 |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a steering clutch and brake control for track-type vehicles.
In the conventional steering system having multiple disc wet type clutches and brakes both of which can be engaged by the force of the spring and disengaged by fluid pressure overcoming the force of the spring, a fluid pressure gradually increasing valve is required for each of the clutches whilst a fluid pressure gradually reducing valve is required for each of the brakes in order to use the clutches and brakes, respectively, under half clutch condition and half brake condition. In order to actuate such clutches and brakes on both sides of the vehicle, it is required to use four independent spools to increase and reduce the fluid pressure gradually.
In the fluid system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,703 wherein the clutch fluid pressure and brake fluid pressure are independently controlled by a single spool valve, the arrangement is made such that, with actuation of the spool, the clutch fluid pressure is first increased gradually and then the brake pressure is increased gradually, and so it is not suitable for controlling the above-mentioned steering system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide, in a vehicle having steering clutches and associated steering brakes, a steering clutch and brake control system in which a pair of single-spool valve means are provided each operable by an actuator member for sequentially effecting disengagement of a steering clutch and then actuation of an associated steering brake.
Another object of the present invention is to provide, in a vehicle having steering clutches and associated steering brakes, a steering clutch and brake control system having an independently operable brake valve means for allowing both of the steering brakes to be actuated regardless of the state of the steering clutches.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering clutch and brake control system for a track-type vehicle in which driving force is applied to both sides thereof, comprising in combination: a source of pressurized fluid; a pair of clutch means each associated with one side of the vehicle and disengageable to disconnect the driving force applied to that side of the vehicle upon application of fluid pressure thereto; a pair of brake means each associated with one side of the vehicle and normally disengaged by fluid pressure applied thereto and engageable upon blocking fluid pressure therefrom; a pair of first valve means each associated with one side of the vehicle and said fluid pressure source and including a reciprocable valve spool positionable in a first position blocking fluid pressure from said clutch means but allowing fluid pressure from said fluid source through said first valve means to said brake means and movable sequentially to second and third positions, said spool in said second position allowing fluid pressure from said fluid source through said first valve means not only to said brake means but also to said clutch means to disengage said clutch means, said spool in said third position allowing fluid pressure from said fluid source through said first valve means to said clutch means to maintain said clutch means in its disengaged state but blocking fluid pressure from said brake means thereby actuating said brake means; and second valve means connected with said fluid source and said first valve means, said second valve means having formed therein a neutral communication position and an offset position where fluid in said brake means is drained through said second valve means to a tank thereby engaging said brake means whether said clutch means is engaged or disengaged.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a steering clutch and brake control system according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an arrangement of a pair of steering clutch and brake control valves and a brake valve;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a steering clutch and brake valve shown in FIG. 2 in which the valve is being held in its neutral or first position;
FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3 but showing the valve is being held in its second position;
FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 3 but showing the valve is being held in its third position; and
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between the spool stroke of a steering clutch and brake control valve from its neutral position and fluid pressure in steering clutch and brake chambers in which solid line represents clutch chamber pressure and broken line designates brake chamber pressure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a hydraulic pump, 11 a brake valve, and 18 and 18' steering clutch and brake valves.
Clutches 70 and 70' on the right and left sides of the vehicle are engaged by the force of the spring when the hydraulic pump 1 is driven by an engine not shown and the vehicle is running, whilst brakes 72 and 72' on the right and left sides are rendered inoperative when the hydraulic fluid is introduced into brake chambers through the brake valve 11 and the steering clutch and brake valves 18 and 18'.
As best shown in FIG. 3, the steering clutch and brake valve 18 comprises a valve body 60 having a bore 61 formed therein, the bore 61 having on one side thereof a sleeve 37 fitted therein and on the other side thereof a cap 47 threadably engaged therein.
The bore 61 comprises a first chamber 31 communicating with a pump port 19, a second chamber 27 connected to a port 14, a chamber 26, a fifth chamber 29 and a sixth chamber 32 all of which communicate with a drain port 24, a third chamber 28 communicating with the right side brake and a fourth chamber 30 communicating with the right side clutch.
Slidably mounted in the bore 61 is a spool 41 having cylindrical bores 62 and 63 formed therein, and the cylindrical bores 62 and 63 have chambers 34 and 35 formed therein, respectively. The chambers 34 and 35 communicate through passages 49 and 50 with the chambers 28 and 30, respectively.
Pistons 42 and 43 are slidably mounted in the cylindrical bores 62 and 63, respectively.
Slidably mounted in the aforementioned sleeve 37 is a piston 38 in which a valve stem 16 is slidably inserted. The valve stem 16 has a stopper portion 64 formed thereon and projects outwards through a hole 65 of the sleeve 37. The valve stem 16 has sleeves 39 and 40 slidably fitted thereto, and a spring 45 is interposed between the sleeve 39 and the piston 38. The sleeve 39 abuts against a stopper 51 formed or mounted on the valve stem 16.
Further, a spring 44 is interposed between the piston 38 and the sleeve 40. The sleeve 40 abuts against a stopper 66 and one end face of the spool 41. The right hand end of the valve stem 16 is kept into contact with the piston 42.
The spool 41 is biased by the resilient force of a spring 46 towards the piston 38.
Although the ablve description is made on the right side steering clutch and brake valve 18 which communicates with the right side clutch and brake to control them, the left side steering clutch and brake valve 18' has also the same construction.
The delivery side of the hydraulic pump 1 is connected through conduits 3 and 5 to the pump ports 19 and 19' of the steering clutch and brake valves 18 and 18'. Further, the delivery side of the hydraulic pump 1 is connected through conduits 3 and 6 to an input port 8 of the brake valve 11. An output port 9 of the brake valve 11 is connected through a conduit 14 to the chambers 27 and 27' of the steering clutch and brake valves 18 and 18'.
The brake valve 11 has a drain port 10 connected to a tank or reservoir. The brake valve 11 has a valve stem 13 connected to a pedal 12.
The valve stems 16 and 16' of the steering clutch and brake valves 18 and 18' are connected to pedals 15a and 15b.
The operation of the present invention will now be described below.
When the spool 41 is located at its neutral position as shown in FIG. 3, the fluid under pressure from the hydraulic pump 1 is allowed to pass through the conduits 3 and 5 and the pump port 19 into the first chamber 31. The fluid under pressure introduced into the first chamber 31 is not allowed to enter any of the chambers because it is blocked by the spool 41. At that time, the clutch chambers are allowed to communicate with the drain circuit, and therefore no pressure is built up in the clutch chambers, and therefore the clutches 70 and 70' are kept under engaged condition, respectively. Further, the fluid under pressure from the hydraulic pump 1 is allowed to pass through the conduits 3 and 6 into the input port 8 of the brake valve 11 (fluid pressure gradually reducing valve) and then through the output port 9 and the conduit 14 into the second chamber 27 of the steering clutch and brake valve 18. Then, the second chamber 27 is allowed to communicate with the third chamber 28 so that the fluid under pressure can pass through the passage 20 into the brake chambers thereby disengaging the brakes 72 and 72', respectively.
When the right side pedal 15a is depressed so as to move the valve stem 16 to the right as shown in FIG. 4, the fluid under pressure in the first chamber 31 is allowed to flow through the fourth chamber 30 into the passage 21 thereby increasing the pressure within the clutch chamber. At the same time, the fluid under pressure will flow through the passage 50 into the chamber 35 so as to move the spool 41 to the left. The fluid pressure within the chamber 35 which can balance with the resilient force of the spring 44 will become equal to the fluid pressure within the clutch chamber. Accordingly, when the valve stem 16 is urged to the right (so as to contract the spring 44), the fluid pressure in the clutch chamber will increase gradually corresponding to the force of the spring 44 until the condition shown in FIG. 4 is reached, where the pressure within the clutch chamber becomes equal to the pump pressure. At that time, the right side clutch 70 is completely disengaged. Since the fluid under pressure from the conduit 14 is kept flowing through the second chamber 27 into the third chamber 28, the right side brake 72 is kept disengaged.
Under the above-mentioned condition, the vehicle is making a gradual right turn.
When the valve stem 16 is moved further to the right as shown in FIG. 5, the first chamber 31 remains communicated with the fourth chamber 30 so that the right side clutch 70 may remain disengaged.
Further, the fluid under pressure supplied by the hydraulic pump 1 through the brake valve 11 and the conduit 14 into the third chamber 27 is blocked by the spool 41, and at the same time, the third chamber 28 is allowed to communicate with the fifth chamber 29 and so the fluid pressure within the chamber 28 will decrease. Then, the fluid pressure within the chamber 34 will also decrease. With the decrease in the fluid pressure within the chamber 34, the spool 41 is moved back by the force of the spring 46 to the left so as to cut off the communication between the third chamber 28 and the fifth chamber 29 and allow the second chamber 27 to communicate with the third chamber 28. As a result, the pressure within the chamber 34 will increase again thereby to move the spool 41 to the right. The fluid pressure available at the time will become equal to the pressure within the brake chamber. Therefore, as the valve stem 16 is moved to the right, the fluid pressure within the chamber 34 will decrease gradually, and when the sleeve 39 is urged by the sleeve 40 until it strikes against the piston 38, the spring 44 will cease to contract so as to stop the gradual reduction in the pressure within the chamber 34, but the fluid pressure available at that time will become equal to the drain pressure.
When the valve stem 16 is moved still further to the right, the valve stem 16 will eventually strike against the stopper and stop its rightward movement. The condition available at that time is shown in FIG. 5. Under this condition, the right side clutch 70 is kept disengaged and the right side brake 72 is kept engaged. Therefore, the driver can turn the vehicle quickly to the right.
In case the driver of the vehicle desires to render the brakes operative while the clutches 70 and 70' remain engaged, respectively, it is only necessary for him to depress the pedal 12 connected to the valve stem 13 of the brake valve 11 so as to urge the valve stem 13 to the right. With the rightward movement of the valve stem 13, a spool 11a is moved to the right so that the fluid under pressure supplied from the hydraulic pump 1 is blocked, and at the same time, the fluid under pressure supplied through the steering clutch and brake valves 18 and 18' into the brakes 72 and 72' is discharged into the drain circuit (Refer to FIG. 1). The fluid pressure within the brakes available at that time will become equal to a value wherein the resultant force of a spring 11b on the left side of the spool 11a of the brake valve 11 and the pressure within a chamber 11c formed in the spool 11a can balance with the force of a spring 11d on the right side of the spool 11a. As the valve stem 13 is moved further to the right, the force of the spring 11b will increase gradually and the fluid pressure will decrease gradually. In brief, the fluid pressure which has kept both brakes disengaged will decrease gradually so as to engage the brakes gradually. When the valve stem 13 is urged to its end of stroke by depressing the brake pedal 12, the circuits connected to the brakes are allowed to communicate with the drain circuit thereby engaging the brakes 72 and 72' completely so as to stop the vehicle completely.
FIG. 6 shows a modulation fluid pressure pattern of the steering clutch and brake valves 18 and 18' wherein solid line I denotes changes in the clutch pressure and broken line II represents changes in the brake pressure.
The foregoing description is made on the case of turning the vehicle to the right, however, when it is desired to turn the vehicle to the left, it can be made by depressing the left side pedal 15b so as to achieve the entirely same operation as in the aforementioned right turning operations.
It is to be understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and that the scope of the invention is not to be limited thereto, but is to be determined by the scope of the appended claims. | A track-type vehicle having a pair of steering clutches and associated steering brakes which includes a pair of actuator members each movable to sequential positions to sequentially effect disengagement of the respective steering clutches and then actuation of the respective steering brakes. Independent actuation member is provided for allowing the steering brake to be actuated without disengagement of the associated clutch. | 1 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/024,188, filed Feb. 26, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,628. This application is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for distributing data.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 4 illustrates coupling units employed in a data distribution apparatus as proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 185561/90. Coupling unit 1 has two data input lines 2, 3, two data output lines 4, 5, a switch 6 for switching the data connecting patterns in the coupling unit, a group 7 of counters corresponding to each kind of data or work unit, and a control unit 8 for controlling the group of counters to switch the data connecting patterns in accordance with the contents of counter group 7. A first pattern, in which input lines 2, 3 are connected to output lines 4, respectively (a "parallel pattern"), and a second pattern in which input lines 2, 3 are connected to output lines 5, 4, respectively (a "cross pattern") are shown.
FIG. 5 illustrates two data connection patterns that are realized by switch 6 in coupling unit 1. In FIG. 5, the upper pattern is the parallel pattern and the lower pattern is the cross pattern. FIG. 6 illustrates the general construction of a conventional data distribution apparatus 9, which distributes data from a first memory group 10 to a second memory group 11.
In this system, coupling units 1 are arranged in a 4×3 matrix. Because first memory group 8 has eight memories, four units, each having two input lines, are provided in each vertical row and log 2 8=3 rows in each horizontal row. Generally, in order to distribute data equally from a first group of N memories to a second group of N memories, it is necessary to form a data distributing apparatus having a group of coupling units which are arranged in a matrix of (N/2)×log 2 N rows. It should be noted however that there are various other methods of arranging a network which have a plurality of coupling units, and that the technique according to the present invention may be similarly effectively applied to these methods. The details of a coupling unit arrangement such as that shown in FIG. 6 and other coupling unit arrangements are explained in the report of the Electronic Communication Society Proceedings, Vol. J86-D, No. 6, p. 1272.
The first memory group stores at a minimum the data or work units to be processed. The second memory group is used as a temporary storage area for processing the data or the work units stored in the first memory group. A plurality of coupling units 1 equally distribute in second memory group 11 The data or work units stored in first memory group 10.
For this description, it is assumed that the object of distribution is data only, and that data are transferred from the first group 10 of N memories to the second group 11 of N memories after being classified into K different kinds of data. More specifically, each of the data belongs to any one of a number of kinds 0 to K-1. As is known, if the total number Nx of data for the X-th (X=0, . . . , k-1) kind are transferred from the first group of memories to the second group of memories, Nx/N number of data for each memory are transferred to second group of memories. Thus, each Nx/N number of data are transferred to second memory group and the data for all kinds of the X-th (X=0, . . . , K-1) data are distributed to the second memory whereby data distribution will be completed.
As The data distribution operation is started, data are successively sent from first group 10 to either of data input lines 2, 3 or to the coupling units in the first row, which are connected with the respective memories in the first group. Each coupling unit 1 in the first row sets either one of the two connection patterns for switch 6 (FIG. 5), according to an instruction from control circuit 8, to move the input data in accordance with switch 6 and to transfer the data to coupling units in the second row which is connected to the coupling unit 1, through either of data output lines 4 or 5. This operation is then repeated. The respective coupling units 1 in the second row and those in The subsequent rows also repeat a similar operation. Data that are output through either of data output lines 4 or 5 of each coupling unit 1 belonging to the final row are stored separately in the respective corresponding memories in the second memory group while being arranged according to kind.
Control circuit 8 determines the connection patterns for switch 6 in the following manner. Prior to data distribution, the counters for the respective coupling unit 1 are all initialized to zero. The counters are controlled so that when data belonging to an X-th (X=0, . . . , K-1) kind are output from data output line 4, the X-th counter in the counter group is increased by "1". Also, if similar data are output from data output line 5, counter group 7 is controlled by control circuit 8 so that "1" is subtracted from the X-th counter in counter group 7. More specifically, if the count of the X-th counter in counter group 7 is positive at a certain point in time, it means that the majority of data of the X-th kind output from coupling unit 1 up to that time was delivered through data output line 4. Similarly, if the count of the counter in counter group 7 is "0", it means that only half of the number of the data of the X-th kind output from this coupling unit 1 up to that time were delivered through data output line 4, and the remaining half of the data were delivered through the data output line 5. As a result, data belonging to the X-th kind are equally distributed and output with respect to coupling unit 1. If the count of a counter it means that the majority of the data was delivered through data output line 5. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the counts of the counters are "1", "5", "0", and "-2", respectively. The "1" indicates that the number of data of the 0-th kind delivered by data output line 4 is greater than the data delivered by data output line 5 by one; "5" indicates that the number of data of the first kind delivered by data output line 4 is greater than the data delivered by data output line 5 by five; "0" indicates that the number of data of the second kind delivered by data output line 4 is equal to the data delivered by data output line 4; and "-2" indicates that the number of data of the third kind delivered by data output line 5 is greater than the data delivered by data output line 4 by two.
Thus, counter group 7 can be used to control the condition of local distribution of the data delivered through two output lines 4 and 5 of coupling unit 1 for each kind of data. To realize equal distribution of data for each kind of each of the output lines in the coupling unit, the counts of all the counters in group 7 are "0" when data distribution is completed.
Control circuit 8 of the respective coupling unit seeks the difference in the counter values corresponding to the kind of incoming data each time data are transmitted to data input line 2, 3. If the counter value is positive or zero, the control unit 8 connects data input lines 2 or 3 to data output lines 5, 4, respectively. If the counter value is negative, the control circuit connects data input lines 2, 3 no data output lines 4, 5, respectively, thus determining the connection patterns for switch 6. The data which have been sent to the data input lines are delivered to the data output lines in accordance with the thus determined connection pattern for switch 6, and further delivered to the group of coupling units connected to these data output lines.
For example, it is assumed that data which belong to the 0-th kind are input through data input line 2 and data which belong to the first kind are inputted through data input line 3, and that the counts of the counters corresponding to these kinds are "1" and "5" respectively. This means that the number of data of the 0-th kind input to the coupling unit and output by data output line 4 up to that time is greater than that of data output by data output line 5 by one, and similarly, the number of data of the first kind output by data output line 5 by five. In this case, since data distribution is deviated to data of the first kind rather than data of 0-th kind, it is advantageous if data input line 2 is connected to data output line 4 and data input line 3 is connected to data output line 5 to reduce such deviation of distribution of data of the first kind. According to the above described method, the difference between the counts of the two counters is negative since 1-5=-4, and the connection pattern for this value is selected for switch 6.
According to the data distribution apparatus as described above the number of data or work units may be equally distributed. Since the processing load of the data or the work units varies depending on their contents, however, the processing loads will not be equal, if data processing is executed by the second group of memories. For example, even if data are distributed equally from the first group of memories to the second group of memories, when the distributed data or work units are processed by the second group, the processing time is determined by completion of processing by the memory in the second memory group which is the most heavily loaded and takes the longest processing time, thus resulting in extended processing time. It was also a problem that many of the memories in the second memory group caused the working efficiency to be lowered. Under these circumstances, if a large number of data or work units are to be processed, the processing efficiency is lowered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention eliminates these problems by providing a data distribution apparatus and method which improves the efficiency of processing large amounts of data by equalizing the processing load of the data where work units distributed between a first group of memories and a second group of memories, rather than equalizing a number of data work units.
According to the present invention, a plurality of coupling units are provided between a first group of memories and a second group of memories and distribute a plurality of data or work units or other indicators, such as a process number that represents such work units from the first group to the second group of memories. The apparatus includes a group of memories that keep track of weighted values representing the processing load for each kind of data or work unit that is distributed and stores cumulative values of such weighted values. A controller controls and switches data connecting patterns in the coupling units in response to the contents of the memories that store weighed values. The controller detects deviations in the processing load of the data or the work units and compensates for such deviation by switching a data connection pattern of the coupling units.
The processing loads can be distributed so that the total load roughly equalized, and also so that same kinds of processing, such as job class, are also roughly equalized, without regard to a number of data or jobs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description and the claims when read in conjunction with the following figures in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic of coupling units employed in a data distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the control circuit shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic of the data distribution apparatus with first and second memory groups;
FIG. 4 is a schematic of a coupling unit in a conventional data distribution apparatus;
FIG. 5 are schematics showing data connecting patterns in the coupling units of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a schematic of the conventional data distribution apparatus and of first and second memory groups; and
FIGS. 7 and 8 are block schematic representations of data distribution according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, a coupling unit 1 distributes data or work units from a first group of memories to a second group of memories. The coupling unit has two data input lines 2, 3, two data output lines 4, 5, a switch 6 for switching the data connecting patterns in the coupling unit, a group 12 of memories which accumulate weighted values for each kind of data or work unit, and a control circuit 13 which controls the group of memories and causes the switch to change the data connecting patterns in accordance with the contents of the memories in group 12. FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the control circuit. The general composition of the data distributing apparatus in accordance with this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 3, except for the coupling unit.
The operation will next be explained. For the sake of explanation, it is assumed that data which have been classified into K number of kinds are transferred from a first group of N memories to a second group of N memories. As in the known apparatus, assuming a total Nx number of data are transferred from the first group to the second group, each Nx/N number of data are transferred to each memory in the second group. While in the prior art, each Nx/N number of data are transferred to the second memory group and all kinds of X-th (X=0, . . . , K-1) data are distributed to the second group memory, according to the present invention, assuming that the sum of the weighted value of the processing load of X-th (X=0, . . . , K-1) data is Wx, the data are distributed so that the sum of the weighted values of the data distributed to the respective memories of the second group for each kind will be Wx/N.
As the data distribution operations is commenced, data are successively sent from the first group of memories to either of data input lines 2, 3 of the coupling units in the first row, which are connected with the first group memory. Each coupling unit 1 in the first row sets one of the two patterns for switch 6 as shown in FIG. 5 according to an instruction from control circuit 13, moves the input data along switch 6 and transfers the data to the coupling unit in the second row through the data output lines connected to the coupling unit. This operation is then repeated. Coupling units 1 in the second row and those in the subsequent rows repeat a similar operation. The data which have been output from the data output lines of the respective coupling unit in the final row are separately stored in the respective corresponding memories in the second memory group while being arranged according to kind.
The control circuit determines the connection pattern of switch 6 in the following manner. Before distributing data, group 12 of memories for the respective coupling units are initialized to zero. When the data belonging to the X-th (X=0, . . . , K-1) kind are output to the group of memories 12 from data output line 4, the weighted value of the processing load of the relevant data is added to the X-th memory in the group of memories. When similar data are output from data line 5, the control circuit controls so that the weighted value of the processing load for the concerned data is subtracted from the X-th memory in the group 12. Thus, if the value in the X-th memory in the group is positive at a certain point in time, it means that the majority of the processing load of the data of the X-th kind output from this coupling unit up to that time was delivered from the data output line 4. Similarly, if the count is "zero", the data of the X-th kind output from the coupling unit up to that time was delivered through the data output lines so that the total processing load has been delivered from data output line 5. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the counts of the group of memories at a certain point in time are "2", "11", "0", and "-1" respectively. The counts mean that the number of data of the 0-th kind that were delivered to data output line 4 is greater than those delivered to data output line 5 by two; the number of data of the first kind that were delivered to data output line 4 is greater than those delivered to data output line 5 by eleven; the number of data of the second kind that were delivered to data output line 5 is equal to those delivered to data output line 5; and the number of data of the third kind that were delivered to data output line 5 is less than those delivered to data output line 5 by seven.
Thus, it is possible by means of group 12 to control the condition of local distribution of the data load delivered through two output lines 4, 5 from the coupling unit 1 for each kind of data. To attain equal distribution for each kind of data, the respective coupling units output to the respective output lines an equal total processing load for each kind of data; this is equivalent to the fact that the counts of all the memories in the group in the respective coupling units are 0 when data distribution is completed.
For data that is input through data input line 2 or 3, when the definition of kinds of data can be readily made, it is possible to obtain the kind of data to which the input data belongs from the data itself. For example, eight different kinds of data may be defined by using three low-order bits in the bit expression of data as a kind identifier. In this case, the coupling unit itself can identify the kind of data by extracting these three low-order bits. When the definition of kinds of data is more complicated, it is possible to identify the kind for each piece, for example, by arithmetically obtaining the kind of data immediately before the data is delivered from the first memory group, adding such information to the top of the data, and referring to the top of the data in the coupling unit.
The processing load of each data is determined by an estimation method which does not relate to this invention. The load is then added to corresponding data as a field for carrying the estimated value as a code. Thus, the value in the field may be decoded and manipulated by the control circuit.
Referring to FIG. 2, each time data are delivered to the data input lines, the control circuit of the respective coupling units calculates the values in the memories corresponding to the kind of data input to data input line 3, subtracted from the values in the memories corresponding to the kind of data input to data input line 2 (steps S1-S3), and further seeks the sum of the weighted values associated with the data input to the data input lines. In this flow chart X and Y are the values for a kind of data input from input lines 2 and 3, respectively. W(X)and W(Y) are the present values of the memory corresponding to X and Y in the memory group. W=W(X)-W(Y); and V is the weighted sum to the values of data from input lines 2 and 3. If /W+V/</W-V/ (where /A/ is the absolute value of A), data input lines 2 and 3 are respectively connected to data output lines 4 and 5 (YES in steps S4 and S5). If /W+V/>/W-V/, data input lines 2 and 3 are respectively connected to data output lines 5 and 4 (NO in steps S4 and S6). Thus, the connecting pattern of switch 6 is determined (step 7). In this way, data that have been delivered by data input lines are sent to data output lines in accordance with the connection pattern of the switch as determined in the above-described manner and to the group of coupling units connected to the data output line.
For example, at a certain point in time, assume that data belonging to the 0-th kind have been input from data input line 2, and data belonging to the first kind have been input from data input line 3, and that the values in the memories belonging to these kinds are "2" and "11" respectively. If X=0 and Y=1, then W(X)=2, W(Y)=11, and W=W(X)-W(Y)=-9. Assuming that the weighted values of the processing load relating to these data are "1" and "5", respectively, V=1+5=6.
This means that the load of the data of 0-th kind input at that moment in time and output by data output line 4 is greater than those output by data output line 5 by two, and that the load of the first kind of data which were output by data output line 5 is eleven. In this case, since the distribution of data of the first kind is more deviated, it is advantageous if the data are transferred to reduce the deviation of distribution of the data of the first kind. If data input line 2 is connected to data output line 4 and data input line 3 is connected to data output line 5, the corresponding values in the group of memories are "3" for data of the 0-th kind and "6" for data of the first kind, thus resulting in less deviation of the data distribution. On the other hand, if data input line 2 were connected to data output line 5 and data input line 3 were connected to the data output line 4, the corresponding values in the group of memories would be "1" for data of 0-th kind and "16" for data of the first kind, thus resulting in greater deviation of the data distribution. As we indicated above, W=2-11=-9, while V=1+5=6. In this case /W+V/=/-9+6/=3 and /W-V/=/-9-6/=15 and since /W+V/</W-V/, data input line 2 is connected to data output line 4 and data input line 3 is connected to data output line 5 so that the connecting patterns reduce deviation of the data distribution.
According to the embodiment as described above, the values W obtained by subtracting the values in the memories corresponding to the kind of data input to data input line 3 from the values in the memories corresponding to the kind of data input to data input line 2, and the sum V of the weighted values associated with the data input to data input lines 2 and 3, are searched at the time of connection according to the connecting patterns, and the connection patterns are determined by executing a simple calculation. Alternatively, a further mathematically equivalent calculation may be executed for this purpose. Furthermore, the distributed matter may be an indicator representing the work unit, e.g., a processing number or job number instead of the data itself.
As explained above, according to the present invention, since the data, work units, or indicators representing the work units are equally distributed at the second group of memories as the distribution destination in terms of the processing loads of the data as the object of the distribution according to weighted values relative to the data or the work units, the processing time of The data or the work units distributed to the second group of memories after such distribution of the data or the work units may be equalized, and as a consequence, the processing time as a whole of the second group of memories may be improved and the operational efficiency of the second group of memories may be enhanced. Furthermore, repetition of data distribution and data processing enables a large amount of data to be executed and the efficiency in data processing to be enhanced.
Data can also be distributed based at least in part on indicators representing data or work units, and including other information such as job class. Thus, the distributed information can be processing jobs Jx rather than the data per se. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 for an example, assume that there are four job classes (0-3) as the kinds of work loads, where job class 3 is the highest in terms of upper limit of capacity of a main memory, CPU time, intermediate file region on a disk, etc. for processing. An estimated value of execution time of a program to be processed as a job is assumed as an amount of work loads. For example, such an estimate value is provided to an apparatus of the present invention from a database management system as work load data.
For an example of a work load, assume a data base selects people who are 20 years old or over from a file T and outputs a list of the names of such people then a job J1 is defined as follows:
J1: SELECT NAME FROM T WHERE AGE>=20
Thus, job J1 is a job number (or processing number) that serves as an indicator representing data. If file T has, for example, 10,000 data records, the data base management system, for example, estimate that a value of its work load is 10. The next processing, however, selects from the file people who are 20 years old or over and yet younger than 60 years old. In this case:
J2: SELECT NAME FROM T WHERE AGE>=20 AND AGE<60
For job J2, the selected people are those who are 20 years old or over, and also younger than 60 years old. Thus, the time required for selecting each data to be outputted is estimated to be twice as much as that for J1, and therefore, the estimated value is 20. As is clear from above, work loads, i.e., estimated value of execution time, differ according to the contents to be processed even though the processing concerns the same data. Therefore, a problem arises if work units are distributed simply according to the number of data.
The same processing as described above is conducted in the following except that the processing is conducted in relation to file T2 instead of file T.
J3: SELECT NAME FROM T2 WHERE AGE>=20
If the data in file T2 is four times that of file T, i.e., if file T2 has 40,000 data records, an estimated value of a work load for the above processing is four times that for J1, i.e., 40.
These three processings can be classified according to job class. For example, it may be assumed that J1 is designated as a job class 0 and that J2, which uses much of the main memory, is designates a job class 1. If file T2 for J3 is large and J3 requires a large amount of an intermediary file region on a disk to be used in the middle of the processing, a user may designate J3 a job class 3.
The above example can be summarized in the following table:
TABLE I______________________________________ kind of processing work loadprocessing (job class designated (estimated valuejob by a user) of execution time)______________________________________J1 0 10J2 1 20J3 3 40______________________________________
This information is externally provided to an apparatus according to the present invention. The weighted values associated with the data refers to values of work loads, (i.e., an estimated value of execution time), while the kind of data refers to a kind of processing (i.e., a job class), in the descriptive data.
Referring particularly to FIG. 7, for example, descriptive data concerning the process corresponding to J2 is input to the last memory (i.e., a newly arrived data) of the first group of memories. The thus inputted data consists of a job identifier J2, i.e., an indicator representing data; a kind of processing, i.e., job class 1; and a work load, i.e., that the estimated value of execution time is 20.
Data distribution apparatus 18 distributes the indicators of data Jx concerning the processing from first group 16 to second group 20 of memories. The tables in FIG. 7 show the results of such distribution at the last memory 20(N) of second group 20.
In last memory 20(N), processing is classified according to a job class and is stored accordingly. Job classes 0, 1, 2, and 3 have total loads of 30, 17, 34, and 125, respectively. The distribution apparatus of the present invention distributes among the second group of memories this descriptive data concerning the processing optionally inputted to the first group of memories. The descriptive data is distributed so that the job classes having the same number in the second group of memories have almost the same total number of loads throughout group 20 of memories as is indicated in the tables of FIG. 8.
As is clear from FIGS. 7 and 8 in the drawing, the same kinds of processing, i.e., the same job classes, in the memories of second group 20 have roughly the same total number of loads, namely, 210, 211, and 206 loads for memories 20(1), 20(2), and 20(N), respectively. However, even though they are roughly the same in terms of a total number of work loads, these memories have different numbers of descriptive data. For example, the job class 0 in last memory 20(N) has 30 work loads in total and consists of two descriptive data J12 and J19, whereas the job class 0 in first memory 20(1) has 32 work loads in total and consists of four descriptive data J11, J63, J75, and J81. In other words, the processing is conducted in such a manner that the same job classes have the same total weighted value. Therefore, as a result of the distribution, the job classes represented by the same numeral do not necessarily have the same number of data, although they have almost the same total values of work loads.
A discussion of work load in terms of job class and priority is also provided in a text, "Computer System Performance" by Hellerman and Conroy (McGraw-Hill 1975), which is expressly incorporated by reference.
Assuming each memory in the second group 20 of memories is connected to a data processing unit, work loads are distributed equally among the data processing units according to a kind of processing, such as a job class. If the work loads are not distributed equally among the data processing units, different data processing units require different time to complete assigned processing. In that case, it can take a long time before processing assigned to a data processing unit which has a large number of total loads starts. Furthermore, it also takes a long time to complete the processing and thus, the turn-around time also becomes long. Therefore, when a plurality of processing are inputted at once and waiting is necessary for all the processing to be completed, processings required a long time will delay the completion of a process in the data processing unit as a whole.
According to an apparatus of the present invention, however, where work loads are equally distributed, such a situation does not arise and respective data processing units complete a plurality of assigned processings almost simultaneously, thus accelerating the completion of a plurality of processings input at once. Furthermore, as work loads are equally distributed according to kind, the same kinds require the same sources necessary for processing, such as main memory of data processing unit, and disk capacity, which enable uniform processing by data processing units having the same constitution. | A data distribution apparatus and method for distributing data from a first group of devices to a second group of devices through a series of controlled coupling units to evenly distribute processing load associated with the data among the second group of devices. The coupling units have memory for storing values relating to an accumulated processing load of data distributed through the coupling unit. The coupling units distribute data and/or descriptive indicators representing data based on kinds of data, such as job classes, and processing loads that are previously estimated. By distributing based on processing load, a plurality of processes can be performed nearly simultaneously without excess waiting. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention lies in the field of construction. One embodiment of the invention, for example, relates to a stringer and tread combination for use in the construction of a staircase, ramp or walkway. The scope of the invention extends to the stringer and the tread and to a method of establishing a staircase, ramp or a walkway.
Another embodiment of invention, however, is also useful in creating seating structures, and in particular, seating structures which are applicable for the manufacture of grand stands or seating arrangements for theatres, both open air and indoor, although primarily the former.
The concept of the invention can be further extended to creating ladders or very steep staircases or step ways. The steepest staircase allowed by official building regulations is inclined at approximately 40° to the horizontal. At angles of inclination greater than 40°, the structure can conveniently be referred to either as a very steep staircase or preferably referred to as a ladder.
This invention provides structural building components which may be precast and applied in all of the above mentioned areas.
SURVEY OF RELATED ART
Staircases present many on-site problems for the builder. Floor-to-floor heights vary, as do riser and tread dimensions. Typically, skilled carpenters set out and build the shuttering (i.e., concrete form) with extensive propping and specially designed reinforcing which are required before the concrete is poured. Space is needed for storing the reinforcing and shuttering material. Further, concrete spills resulting from bleeding and inadvertantly kicking shuttering and careless barrow-handling add to the general mess and congestion in the very place where easy access to upper floors would enhance efficiency and project completion.
Proposals for prefabricated staircases have been made and examples can be found in the art.
French Patent No. 90 10433 describes a stringer and tread construction for a staircase in which the stringers have a substantially conventional stepped construction for supporting a tread on each step. A radius of curvature on the upper surface of each step is matched by a similar radius of curvature on the lower surface of each tread by which only a very limited amount of adjustment of the tread, so as to be perfectly level, can be achieved. However, the teaching of the French patent is confined to faciliating only limited adjustment of the treads for the purpose of levelling them.
Rather similarly, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,579 also teaches only the possibility for accurately levelling the steps at the job site after the stringers have been installed. Angular rotation is described as being quite limited, as is shown in the view of FIG. 3 where a bolt 8 must move within a slotted hole 41 of limited dimension.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
By contrast, the object of the present invention is to permit the same stringers and treads to be used to provide not only a staircase of any angle of inclination, but even down to horizontal, that is, to serve as a walkway and all other angles between horizontal and normal maximum for a staircase of about 40° inclination. The system can also be used to produce ramps, that is, to provide a smooth surface that rises on an incline.
Special embodiments of the invention can be extended to provide very steep staircases or ladders.
This underlying principle of the invention can also be applied to provide seating ramps for theatres and stadiums.
In accordance with the present invention, a stringer and tread combination is provided in which the stringer is lengthwise provided with successive integrally formed scallops, each of which has a lengthwise shape conforming to the arc of a circle and each of which scallops can accommodate at least part of an underside of a tread, which underside has a co-acting shape to that of the scallops.
By "integrally", it is meant that the scallops and the stringer form one component, i.e., the scallops have not been separately added to the stringer.
It is a characteristic of this invention that each scallop begins and ends on the same longitudinal line of the stringer, or substantially so.
The transverse shape of each scallop may be linear.
It is an important feature of the invention that the same stringer and tread combination can be used in the manufacture of a stairway, walkway and ramp.
Generally, two stringers will support a plurality of treads. However, in an embodiment of the invention in which the scallops are provided in the top surface of the stringer, a single stringer can be employed in creating a walkway, ramp or staircase using treads having suitable lengths.
In another embodiment of the invention in which the combination comprises two opposed, spaced apart and generally parallel stringers, an inner side surface of each stringer includes scallop shaped corbels for supporting the end portions of the treads. A single projection constituting a plurality of corbels may be provided on the inner side of the stringer. Alternatively, a plurality of projections, each of which constitute a corbel, may be provided on the inner side of the stringer.
Preferably, the treads and the stringers are manufactured of precast concrete.
Generally, each of the scallops must have the same pitch to comply with good practice and official building regulations.
In a preferred embodiment, an underside, or at least part of the underside, of each tread is secured in a scallop by means of glue. Glues which may be employed include those of the epoxy type and of the poly-sulphide type. The applicant has found that the epoxy type of glues provide a rigid joint whereas the poly-sulphide types provide a more flexible joint which is preferred for staircases where only the rear portion of the tread overlaps with the stringer and the front portion forms a cantilever which is stepped on during use and provides a better impact strength. Alternative ways of securing the treads to a stringer are envisaged and include mechanical keys, for example dove-tail joints, and bolt and nut connections. The dove-tail joint may include an aluminum extrusion suitably cast into the stringer.
To render the treads more resistant to tensile stresses, the treads may be provided with reinforcements, for example, metal bars cast into the treads, especially in the overlap mentioned above.
To reduce the mass of a stringer, it may be provided with holes extending from side to side, which holes are open to the outside. The holes also facilitate transportation of the stringers because a means, for example a crowbar or a sling, can be located there through. The holes also facilitate fixing the stringers, e.g., to columns, etc.
The stringer may be provided with inner reinforcements rendering the stringer more resistant to tensile stresses. The reinforcements are preferably located between the holes and the top surface and between the holes and the bottom surface of the stringer. Metal bars cast into the stringers are preferred.
An advantage of the invention is that in the construction of a staircase, the scallops allow the stringer(s) to be raked to any suitable angle. After having raked the stringer(s) to the required angle, the treads are located in the scallops and the upper tread surfaces levelled. Alternatively, the treads can be simultaneously raised with the stringers after treads have been rotated and secured in the scallops so that the upper tread surfaces become level when the stringers have been raised.
Preferably, each tread has a generally flat upper surface.
The scallops in the stringer(s) allow the treads to be secured parallel to the stringer(s) for creating a walkway or a ramp.
An end portion of the stringer may be provided with half a scallop such that two stringers having such end portions can be mated in an end to end configuration which will provide a full scallop. The applicant has found that such stringers can be used where a change in the direction of a walkway or a ramp is desired. It will be appreciated that where the change in direction occurs a gap is generated between the two successive treads. A suitable landing may be used to fill this gap.
An end portion of a tread may be adapted for mounting a stanchion. For example, the end portion may be provided with a suitable hole, preferably formed during casting. Stanchions may alternatively be secured to stringers.
It will be appreciated that the invention provides a versatile stringer and tread combination.
The scope of the invention extends to the stringer alone, the tread alone and to methods of manufacturing the stringer and tread, each of which methods preferably includes a step of casting the stringer or tread using a suitable concrete.
Each tread may have a riser added to it which preferably depends from the front underside of the tread. The tread and the riser may be integrally cast of concrete. Alternatively, the riser may be a separate component which fits into a groove provided in the front underside of the tread. Otherwise the risers may be open.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of establishing a staircase or a ramp, which staircase or ramp uses the stringer and tread combination of the invention.
The method includes a step of raking the stringer(s) to a required angle and a step of securing at least part of an underside of each tread in a scallop after the stringer(s) has been raked to the required angle. The upper tread surfaces are then levelled in the case of the staircase. In the case of a ramp or walkway, the upper tread surfaces are then arranged so that they are generally located in a plane.
The scope of the invention extends to a method of establishing a horizontal walkway using the stringer and tread combination. The method includes a step of arranging the stringer(s) in a horizontal position. The method further includes a step of securing at least part of an underside of each tread in a scallop after the stringer(s) has been arranged horizontally and the upper tread surfaces levelled.
The stringers will be designed (e.g., in suitable steel reinforced concrete) to serve as end-supported beams, in most applications. However, the lengths of the stringers can also be bedded in soil or concrete to provide staircases, ramps or walkways on soil or concrete ramps or beds.
This basic structure can also be applied to the manufacture of grand stands since, in simple form, they are conceptually equivalent to a large scale staircase where the riser height in staircases corresponds to the height of the seat and the tread in staircases corresponds to the seat itself. In grandstand applications, preferably sufficient space is provided behind a seated person for the feet of the next user to gain access to the next seating place.
The principle is thus also applicable to providing seating in theatres and similar buildings and also stepped surfaces in theatres and similar buildings for providing conventional seating rows on such stepped surfaces in theatres.
In a typical grand stand application, seat heights may vary from 300 mm to 500 mm high. Outside this range, the comfort zone may be exceeded. A suitable seat including access behind it, should be on the order of 800 mm wide, or in the range between 780 mm to 850 mm.
The invention can be implemented with materials other than concrete, for example, timber and plastic. The aesthetic possibilities inherent in the invention can, for example be realized with particular attractiveness in timber. Technological adaptations of the principle to timber would include the possibility that the treads would be glued and screwed to the stringers.
Furthermore, in the case of timber, a corbel could be separately fabricated and fastened to the stringer by nailing, screwing and/or gluing, for example. A further interesting possibility, which is perhaps particularly apt with the use of timber, is to raise the angle of the staircase towards 90° when it becomes tantamount to a ladder. This application could, of course, also be implemented in concrete and other materials.
The application of the invention in plastics materials could be employed by techniques in which the tread is extruded. The stringers could be manufactured in modular form and then assembled. Fiber re-inforcement techniques of the plastic could be useful in both the stringers and the treads.
In the application of the invention to grand stands and similar applications as discussed herein, the scale of the modular component such as the stringers and seats or seating platforms may well result in the components having to be placed in situ on a building site by means of suitable cranes. Thus, these applications are in contrast to the application for staircases where the components can, in many cases, be small enough to be manhandled into place.
The principle of the invention can furthermore be extended, as has been stated, to provide ladders or very steep staircases, that is, at angles greater than is conventionally permitted, for example by standard building regulations for staircases, around 40° or 45°.
Prior art proposals have been made for stringer and tread combinations in which, even if the tread is given a hemi-cylindrical under surface, the stringers do not have merely circular scallops. Instead, the stringers have more complicated indentations, notches or other formations for receiving the treads, thus giving them support on steeper angles of inclination. The shortcoming of these known proposals is that such stringers cannot be used over a wide range of angles of inclination from the horizontal. Indeed, such stringers may be used only over a very small range of variation of a few degrees, for example, and certainly may not be used to the point where the stringer and tread combination can be used to provide a walkway or ramp. For these purposes, these known proposals of which the inventor is aware are quite unsuitable.
A further object of this invention is therefore to further extend the concepts described thus far to allow the stringer to be used at any angle between horizontal and an angle very close to vertical.
In accordance with this invention, the essential feature is that the scallop diameter is less than the pitch between treads, and that the arc of the scallops is close to a semi-circle (i.e., 180°). In the preferred embodiment, this feature will be met by means of short straight portions, parallel to the length of the stringer, between scallops.
A secondary effect of this approach is that the treads have a relatively deep profile which can, of course, advantageously increase bending strength in the cases of long spans or in canti-lever arrangements for the tread.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described by way of various examples with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a partial side view of a stringer and tread combination in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial side view of a staircase comprising the combination shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional end view of the combination along m--m in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a partial side view of another stringer and tread combination in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a partial side view of a staircase comprising the combination shown in FIG. 4, but with three different types of treads;
FIG. 6 is a cross-section of the combination along VI--VI in FIG. 4 in which a tread is shown having a mirror image to that of the tread shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a side view of a stringer and tread combination used to show how a pitch of the scallops can be calculated;
FIG. 8 is a side elevation showing grand stand seating;
FIG. 9 is a side view of a tread;
FIG. 10 is a side view of a stringer;
FIG. 11 is a side view of treads and stringers of the kind shown to provide a steep staircase at 45°;
FIG. 12 shows treads and stringers combined to provide a ladder at 60°;
FIG. 13 shows tread and stringers combined to provide a ladder at 80°;
FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a walkway landing;
FIG. 15 is a side elevation showing a capital and support column;
FIG. 16 is a side elevation from the other side of the capital and support column;
FIG. 17 is a front elevation of the capital and support column;
FIG. 18 is a side view of the capital and support column supporting an alternative stringer;
FIG. 19 is a side view from the other side of the capital and support column and stringer;
FIG. 20 is a front elevation of a stanchion with hand rail and knee rail attached to a stringer;
FIG. 21 is a side elevation of the stanchion of FIG. 20 showing alternative angles of inclination of the stringer;
FIG. 22 is a front elevation showing a stanchion with hand rail and knee rail attached to a tread;
FIG. 23 is a side elevation showing the stanchion of FIG. 22 attached to a tread, with the stringers being arranged at various angles; and
FIG. 24 is an enlarged detail showing a connection between a hand rail and stanchion; and
FIG. 25 shows an exploded view of various applications of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIG. 1 the reference numeral 10 generally indicates a stringer and tread combination in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The stringer and tread combination 10 comprises a precast concrete stringer 12 and a plurality of precast concrete treads 13 each having an upper tread surface 14.
The top surface 15 of the stringer 12 is lengthwise provided with successive scallops 16. Lengthwise, the shape of each scallop 16 conforms to the arc of a circle as shown in FIG. 1. In the transverse direction the shape of each scallop 16 is linear. A gap 18 is provided between each of the scallops 16 and an adjacent scallop. FIG. 1 shows that the shape of the underside of each tread 13 co-acts (mates) with the shape of the scallops 16. Every scallop (i.e., the arc of each scallop) begins and ends on the same longitudinal line 200.
FIG. 3 shows that the stringer 12 has a trapezoid shaped cross-section which the applicant has found to be advantageous for casting and for removal of the stringer 12 from a mold after having been cast. The shape is useful in providing a greater width at the top to bear compressive stress. Tensile stress at the bottom is born by steel re-inforcing, in beam loading.
The stringer 12 is provided with a plurality of side to side holes 20 extending through the stringer 12. The holes 20 reduce the mass of the stringer 12 and facilitate transportation thereof. Crowbars can be located through the holes 20 thus enabling the stringer 12 to be carried. For raising the stringer 12, a sling and crane can be used with the sling located through the hole 20 and fastened to the stringer 12.
Each tread 13 can be secured parallel with the line 200 defined by the ends of the scallops 16 of the stringer 12 as shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, the upper tread surface 14 is generally parallel with the bottom surface 23 of the stringer 12. This embodiment of the combination 10 can thus be used to construct a horizontal walkway or a ramp.
To establish a horizontal walkway, a ramp or a staircase the stringer(s) 12 can simply be laid onto a surface or the bottom surface 23 of the stringer 12 can be embedded in the ground. Overhead walkways and ramps can be constructed by using supports, for example poles or columns, which may be secured to the stringers 12 via the respective holes 20. After having arranged the stringer(s) 12 as aforementioned, the treads 13 are arranged in the scallops 16 and the upper tread surfaces 14 levelled (i.e., are made to be parallel with one another) when a walkway or staircase is constructed. For a ramp, the upper tread surfaces 14 are arranged so that they are generally coplanar. The treads 13 are then secured to the stringer(s) 12 by gluing their undersides to their respective scallops 16.
An end portion 24 of the stringer 12 is provided with half a scallop 25 which allows two stringers 12 to be mated in an end to end configuration. The mated end portions 24 will thus provide a full scallop, akin to the scallop 16, into which a tread 13 can be located. A walkway or a ramp having a change in direction can also be constructed using a plurality of the stringers 12. Viewing such a walkway or ramp from above will show that a gap is formed between two successive treads 13 where a change in direction occurs. A suitable landing can be used to fill this gap (See, e.g., FIG. 14).
FIG. 2 shows a staircase 30 which has been constructed using the same stringer and tread combination 10 shown in FIG. 1. The staircase 30 has been established by raking the stringer 12 to an angle of 30 degrees. The treads 13 have been rotated in the scallops 16 to render the upper tread surfaces 14 level. After having been levelled, the underside of each tread 13 in contact with the scallops 16 is secured to the stringer 12 in the scallops 16 by means of gluing. Installing the staircase 30 may be accomplished by, preferably, first raking the stringer 12 to the required angle and then locating the treads 13 in their respective scallops 16. Alternatively, the treads 13 can be simultaneously raised with the stringers 12 after the treads 13 have been rotated and secured by means of gluing in the scallops 16 so that the upper surface 14 of each tread 13 becomes level when the stringers 12 have been raised.
It will be appreciated that the walkway, ramp and staircase 30 may comprise one or more stringers 12 for supporting the treads 13. Referring to FIG. 3, a cross-section is shown of a ramp or walkway using only one stringer 12. This type of stringer 12, which passes beneath the treads 13, allows the treads 13 to form cantilevers as is evident from FIG. 3.
FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show that the stringer 12 and tread 13 have been provided with cast in re-inforcements in the form of metal bars 26, 27, 28. The bar 26 is located between the holes 20 and the top surface 15 of the stringer 12 while the bar 27 is located between the holes and the bottom surface 23 of the stringer 12. The bars 28 are provided in the overlap 29 of each tread 13 to render the treads 13 more resistant to tensile stresses during stepping onto the upper tread surface 14 of the overlap 29.
FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a stringer and tread combination which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 50. The stringer and tread combination 50 comprises a precast concrete stringer 52 and a plurality of precast concrete treads 54 each having a generally flat upper tread surface 55.
The stringer 52 is provided with a single projection constituting a plurality of corbels 56. Each corbel 56 defines a scallop 58 having the same shape as that of the scallops 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A gap 60 is provided between each scallop 58. FIG. 4 shows that the underside of each tread 54 has a co-acting (mating) shape to that of the scallops 58.
The stringer 52 is further provided with a plurality of holes 61 serving the same purpose as the holes 20 of the first embodiment stringer 12.
The combination in FIG. 4 can be used to construct a horizontal walkway, a ramp or a staircase. As shown in FIG. 6, at least two stringers must be employed, the one being the stringer 52 and another stringer 62 having the mirror image of the stringer 52. These stringers 52, 62 are used in pairs, as shown in FIG. 6, with the stringers 52 and 62 arranged opposite, spaced apart and generally parallel to one another. As was the case with the stringer(s) 12, the mentioned pairs of stringers 52, 62 can simply be laid onto a surface or with the bottom surface 63 embedded in the ground. Overhead walkways and ramps can also be constructed by using supports, for example poles or columns, which may be secured to the stringers via the respective holes 61. After having located the stringers 52, 62 as aforementioned, the end portions 63 of the treads 54 are located in the respective scallops 58 and the upper tread surfaces 55 are leveled when a walkway or staircase is constructed. For a ramp, the upper tread surfaces 55 are arranged so that they are generally coplanar. The treads 54 are then secured to the stringers 52 by gluing their undersides at their end portions 63 to their respective scallops 58.
An end portion 64 of the stringer 52 is provided with half a scallop 65 which serves the same purpose as the half scallop 25 discussed previously.
A staircase can be constructed by using the stringer and tread combination 50 shown in FIG. 4 together with a stringer 62 shown in FIG. 6. The staircase is established by raking the stringers 56, 62 to a required angle, for example 30 degrees as shown in FIG. 5, and arranging them opposite one another, suitably spaced apart and generally parallel to one another. The end portions 63 of the treads 54 are located in their respective scallops 58 and the upper tread surfaces 55 are leveled. The underside of each end portion 63 which is in contact with the scallops 58 is then secured to the respective stringers 52, 62 in the scallops 58 by means of gluing. FIG. 5 shows a partial view of a staircase 70.
The treads 54 are re-inforced in the same way as the treads 13 using metal bars 28 in the overlap 72. A metal bar re-inforcement 74 is further provided in the stringer 52, 62.
FIG. 5 shows that the staircase 70 comprises three different types of treads 54, 76, 78. Each of the treads 76, 78 has added to it a riser 80, 82 which depends from the front underside of the tread 76, 78. The tread 76 and riser 80 element has been integrally cast using concrete. The riser 82 is a separate concrete casting which fits into a groove 84 in the underside of the tread 78.
To have comfortable stairs, the Neufert formula, in which twice the riser plus the tread width equals 600 to 650 mm, is applied. Using a riser of 200 mm and a tread width of 250 mm which is the steepest stair allowed by official building regulations in R.S.A. and applying the Neufert formula we get (2×200)r 250=650 mm which satisfies the criterion for comfortable stair design. FIG. 7 shows the riser 89 of 200 mm and the tread width of 250 mm, where the tread width is defined as the distance between the point 90 and the nose 92 of the tread 13.
Referring to FIG. 7 and applying Pythagoras' theorem a diagonal distance of 320 mm is generated from tread nose 92 of a first tread 13, 54 to the tread nose 94 of an adjacent tread 13, 54. The pitch of the scallops 16, 58 is taken as 320 mm.
The tread width 96 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 is 310 mm when the stringer 12, 52 is horizontal and with the upper tread surfaces 14, 55 level or with the stringer 12, 52 inclined and with the upper tread surfaces 14, 55 generally located in the same plane. The gap 18, 60 is taken as 10 mm.
Using the dimensions above, the minimum required overlap 98 (FIG. 7) is obtained when the rake comes down to 27 degrees with the riser being 147 mm.
It will be appreciated that the riser 89, the tread width 96 and the overlap 98 will vary with a change in the rake.
The view in FIG. 8 of the drawings is a side elevation of a stringer 90 and seat 100 supported on it in a grandstand. The stringer is at 30° which is appropriate for grand stand seating and the stringer is provided with scallops on a 750 mm radius which is matched, of course, by the lower surfaces of the seats 100. The scallops are spaced on the stringers 90 with a 900 mm pitch along the length of the stringers 90. A clear width of each seat 100, that is, the sections of the seats 100 which are not overlapped by the next succeeding seat, is 774 mm in this arrangement. The height between seats is 460 mm. These features are indicated on the sketch. Holes in the stringer are of some interest for aesthetic and/or weight advantages.
With these considerations in mind the inventor has suggested a choice of a pitch (measured along the length of the stringer) in the region of 900 mm for the scallops and with this choice the following range is covered:
______________________________________SEAT HEIGHT SEAT WIDTH ANGLE______________________________________300 849 19.4310 844 20.1320 811 20.8330 837 21.5340 833 22.1350 829 22.8360 825 23.5370 820 24.3380 816 24.9390 811 25.6400 806 26.3410 801 27.1420 796 27.8430 791 28.5440 785 29.2450 779 30.0460 774 30.7470 767 31.4480 761 32.2490 754 32.9500 748 33.7______________________________________
The radius used for the scallops is determined by the following factors:
1. The structural depth required for the seat.
2. The length of interface between stringer and tread required to give an adequate bond of seat to the stringer.
3. The need for seats to overlap slightly when viewed in plan. The larger the radius, the thinner the structural depth of the seat segment and the smaller the bond interface at steeper angles.
A radius of 750 mm would probably optimise these criteria.
As reflected in the above table, typical angles for grand stand seats are somewhat lower than is typical for staircases, for example in the range of 20° to 30° measured to the horizontal.
As shown in FIG. 9, the typical tread 101 has an under (lower) surface 102 which is hemi-cylindrical, the upper surface 103 being flat for stepping on. The under surface 102 has a radius of curvature 104 which, by way of example, is 130 mm. This can be contrasted with the fact that the pitch 105 between treads is in this example 320 mm. The width 106 of the tread in this example is 230 mm.
Thus the stringer 107 shown in FIG. 10 for use with these treads 101 has scallops 108 which have a radius of curvature 109 exactly equal to the radius of curvature 104 of the under surface of the treads 101, namely, in this example, 130 mm. Thus, the diameter of the scallops (and of course of the under surface of the treads) is 260 mm is smaller than the pitch 105 of 320 mm between the treads 101 in the assembled stairs or ladder. As can be seen in FIG. 10, the pitch 105 is the length of the pattern of two consecutive scallops 108, which is successively repeated along the length of the stringer 107.
Holes 110 are shown in the stringer as a lightening or attachment convenience. At the ends of the stringer a half scallop 111 is provided which permits the stringers to be joined end to end for providing walkways.
A staircase and a ladder made with these treads and stringers are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, respectively, where the same numerals are used for the various features discussed with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In FIG. 11 the angle is 45° and in FIGS. 12 and 13, the angles are 60° and 80° respectively. Thus, the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 can be described as a very steep staircase and the embodiments shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 can be described as ladders.
Another important feature of the invention, which is preferably adopted, is that the center 112 on which the circular shape of each scallop is generated is co-linear with the upper edge 114 of the stringer so that a full semi-circular (i.e., 180°) scallop is available for placing the tread 101 in position. This means that the cantilever portion 102 of the tread 101 is quite reduced and, as will be seen with reference to the following FIGS. 12 and 13, still within acceptable limits even on the steepest use of the tread 101 and stringer combination of this invention. The short straight portions 114 between scallops could be reduced by increasing the diameter of the scallops, but not to a diameter greater than the pitch 105 between scallops. This would have the advantage that if the stringer is placed horizontally to make a walkway, then the edges or the treads will be contiguous to provide a walkway without gaps.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 this tread and stringer combination is amenable to very steep inclinations, as shown for example in FIGS. 12 and 13 of 60° and 80°, respectively.
FIG. 14 shows a landing 150 to accommodate a change of direction of a walkway, having half scallops 151 and 152 to mate with co-acting half scallops at the abutting ends of stringers (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1, the half scallop 25) to carry a tread.
FIGS. 15 to 17 show the use of a capital and column type support for walkways and staircases. The capital comprises cylindrical body 120 with a groove for carrying a pin 121 which passes through a hole 122 of the stringer 123. A face 124 of the capital is cut away to permit the stringer 123 to be mounted at an inclination (in this example of up to 38°). After installation, grout is applied in the spaces visible in the view of FIG. 16.
The use of the same capital for the type of stringer in which the scallops are placed in the upper surface of the stringer is shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the same reference numerals have being used. With the arrangement shown, left hand and right hand capitals are provided for alternate sides of the stringers.
FIGS. 20 and 21 show the mounting of a stanchion 125 by means of a flange 128 on to the side of a stringer 129. Hand rail 126 and knee rail 127 are carried by the stanchion 125. The detail in FIG. 24 shows how the hand rail 126 is fixed to the top of the stanchion 125 by means of a steel rod of mild steel 130 which can be bent on site to the required angle thus co-operating in this way with the flexibility of the system in being able to adopt any suitable angle of rake.
FIGS. 22 and 23 show a stanchion 131 carrying a hand rail 132 and knee rail 133. However, in this case the stanchion 131 is mounted, at its base 134, to a tread 135 which is provided with a suitable hole 136 for this purpose. A bolt projects from the lower end of the stanchion 131, at its base 134, passes through the hole 136, and is bolted in position.
FIG. 25 shows at 120 a staircase structured using two stringers and a plurality of treads and also showing hand rails fixed to the treads.
The feature at 121 shows two stringers in this case with the scallops formed on inwardly facing corbels on each stringer and with the treads showing an integrally formed riser depending from each tread so as to close the space between treads.
The feature at 122 shows a horizontal walkway using the same stringers and treads as shown in the previous drawings, illustrating the versatility of the apparatus.
The feature at 123 shows again the same stringers and treads forming an inclined ramp.
The Neufert formula permits the pitch distance between the noses of the treads, and accordingly the pitch distance of the scallops in the stringers, to be made. Thus, in accordance with the invention, a preferred pitched distance is 320 mm or lies between, for example 290 and 330 mm. Standardizing on this dimension of pitch for the scallops in the stringers allows a system for staircases, walkways and ramps to be offered to the public which can be employed in all the different ways described in this invention. In the installation of a staircase, a fixed dimension is the pitch of 320 mm. This allows the variation of the rise dimension, the tread dimension or the angle of the staircase in any particular application.
Most frequently, because the floor to floor height for a particular staircase is pre-determined by the building, a riser height must be chosen as the starting point. The following example illustrates how the method is then applied:
Example: Given a floor to floor height of 2 635 mm
1. Choose the number of risers (say 14) 2 635/14=188.214 mm riser
2. The tread length by Pythagoras (using 320 for the hypotenuse) will be ##EQU1## 3. The angle by cosine will be 258.796/320=0.809=36°
4. The going distance in true plan will be: 13 treads@258.796 mm/tread=3 364 mm
The same stringers and treads of the invention can be illustrated in the following tabulation of the various options available to the designer.
__________________________________________________________________________RISER TREAD ANGLE 2 R + T STEP CLIMBING EFFECT SPECIAL CAUTION__________________________________________________________________________110 30 20°05 520 Easy going mincing step 20°∠120 297 22°00 537 Easy going mincing steps Angles below 20°130 292 24°35 552 Easy going mincing steps may be better served140 288 25°57 568 Easy going mincing steps by Winstep ramps.150 283 27°56 583 Easy going mincing steps 28°∠ WINTEC does not recommend the use160 277 30°00 597 Comfort zone 30°∠ of rake angles greater170 271 32°58 611 Comfort zone than 40°.180 265 34°14 625 Comfort zone190 258 36°25 638 Comfort zone Rake angles greater than 38°41' do not200 250 38°41 650 Comfort zone 38°∠ comply with NationalSee special caution for angles over 40° Building Regulations210 241 41°04 661 Steep big strides 41°∠ SABS 0400 and fall220 232 43°26 672 Steep big strides outside stair design226 226 45°00 679 Steep big strides 45°∠ comfort zones.__________________________________________________________________________
As can be seen from the foregoing tabulation, the angles of staircases using the apparatus for this invention are infinitely variable between 0° and 40°, or even 45°.
A system of stringers and treads with other dimensions can be provided for very steep staircases or ladders above 45°, as described. | Prefabricated, preferably pre-cast concrete, stringers and treads can be employed to provide either a staircase of any required inclination, a horizontal walkway or a ramp of a required inclination. In all these applications, the same standardized stringers and treads can be effectively used. Stanchions can be added as required. Further embodiments can be used for providing ladders and for providing seating for grand stands or theaters. | 4 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based upon, claims the benefit of priority of, and incorporates by reference the contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-292476 filed on Oct. 5, 2004.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The technical field relates to a band gap reference voltage circuit having a band gap cell circuit for outputting a reference voltage by driving two transistors with different current densities.
BACKGROUND
[0003] FIG. 6 shows a specific circuit construction of a band gap reference voltage circuit disclosed in JP-A-2003-157119. A band gap reference voltage circuit 1 comprises a band gap cell circuit 2 , a differential pair 3 , a current mirror circuit portion 4 , a gain forming portion 5 and an emitter follower circuit portion 6 .
[0004] In the band gap cell circuit 2 , a series circuit comprising a resistor R 11 and an NPN transistor T 11 , and a series circuit comprising a resistor R 12 , an NPN transistor T 12 and a resistor R 13 are connected to each other in parallel between a reference voltage output line VBG and the ground. The bases of transistors T 11 and T 12 are commonly connected to the collector of the transistor T 11 . The resistance values of the resistors R 11 , R 12 and R 13 are adjusted so that the transistors T 11 and T 12 are driven with different current densities (that is, asymmetrical current is supplied to the transistors T 11 and T 12 ), whereby the band gap cell circuit 2 acts to compensate for the characteristic variation with respect to the temperature.
[0005] The differential pair 3 comprises an NPN transistor T 13 having the base to which the collector (connection point A) of the transistor T 11 is connected, an NPN transistor T 14 having the base to which the collector (connection point B) of the transistor T 12 is connected, and a resistor R 14 connected between the emitter of each of the transistors T 13 and T 14 and the ground.
[0006] The current mirror circuit portion 4 comprises PNP transistors T 15 and T 16 whose bases are connected to each other. The emitters of the transistors T 15 and T 16 are connected to the reference voltage output line VBG through resistors R 15 and R 16 , and the collectors of the transistors T 15 and T 16 are connected to the collectors of the transistors T 13 and T 14 , respectively. The same level current is supplied to the transistors T 15 and T 16 .
[0007] The gain forming portion 5 has a PNP transistor T 17 and an NPN transistor T 18 . The emitter of the transistor T 17 is connected to the reference voltage output line VBG through an resistor R 17 , the collector thereof is connected to the ground through a resistor R 18 and the base thereof is connected to the collector of the transistor T 14 . The transistor T 18 is disposed to apply a gain to amplify variation of current supplied to the transistor T 14 through the transistor T 17 . The collector of the transistor T 18 is connected to the power source VCC through a resistor R 19 , the base thereof is connected to the collector of the transistor T 17 , and the emitter thereof is connected to the ground.
[0008] The emitter follower circuit portion 6 comprises the resistor R 19 and the NPN transistor T 19 . the collector of the transistor T 19 is connected to the power source VCC, the base thereof is connected to the collector of the transistor T 18 , and the emitter thereof is connected to the reference voltage output line VBG. The differential pair 3 , the current mirror circuit portion 4 , the gain forming portion 5 and the emitter follower circuit portion 6 constitute an operational amplifier 7 .
[0009] Capacitors C 1 to C 3 are provided for phase compensation to prevent oscillation of the operational amplifier 7 . The capacitor C 1 is connected between the collector and base of the transistor T 14 , the capacitor C 2 is connected between the collectors of the transistor T 14 and T 17 , and the capacitor C 3 is connected between the collectors of the transistors T 17 and T 18 .
[0010] Next, the operation of the band gap reference voltage circuit 1 . When the collector currents of the transistors T 11 and T 12 are represented by Ic 1 and Ic 2 , and the base-emitter voltages (junction voltages) of the transistors T 11 and T 12 are represented by VBE 11 and VBE 12 , the current Ic 2 flowing in the resistor R 13 is equal to the current value corresponding to the differential voltage of the respective base-emitter voltages VBE 11 and VBE 12 , and represented by the following equation.
Ic 2=( VBE 11 −VBE 12)/ R 13
[0011] Furthermore, when the base currents of the transistors T 11 and T 12 are represented by Ib 1 and Ib 2 respectively and the emitter currents of the transistors T 11 and T 12 are represented by Ie 1 Ie 2 respectively, the respective base currents Ib 1 and Ib 2 are sufficiently small and thus can be neglected as compared with the respective collector currents Ic 1 and Ic 2 , and thus the respective emitter currents Ie 1 , Ie 2 can be regarded as being equal to the collector currents Ic 1 and Ic 2 , respectively. Accordingly, when the base-emitter voltages VBE 11 and VBE 12 are varied due to characteristic variation of the transistors T 11 and T 12 , the collector current Ic 2 flowing in the resistor R 13 varies in connection with the variation of the base-emitter voltage VBE 11 , VBE 12 , and thus the relationship between the potentials (reference voltage) of the connection points A and B is varied. The potentials of the connection points A and B are applied as the base voltages of the two transistors T 13 and T 14 constituting the differential pair 3 .
[0012] Here, when the collector currents of the transistors T 13 and T 14 are represented by I 1 and I 2 respectively and the current flowing in the resistor R 14 connected to the collectors of the transistors T 13 and T 14 is represented by I, the currents I 1 and I 2 are basically equal to I/2 because the collector currents I 3 and I 4 of the transistors T 15 and T 16 are equal to each other. For example, when the current I 2 flowing in the transistor T 14 is about to increase to be larger than I/2, the collector currents I 3 and 14 of the transistors T 15 and T 16 must keep the same value, and thus an insufficient current component is compensated by the base current of the transistor T 17 . Accordingly, the collector current I 5 of the transistor T 17 , that is, the current flowing in the resistor R 18 is increased, and in connection with this current increase, the collector current I 6 of the transistor T 18 is also increased.
[0013] The collector current I 6 corresponds to the current I 7 flowing in the resistor R 19 , and thus the base potential and the emitter potential of the transistor T 19 is reduced by the increase of the collector currents I 6 and I 7 . By the above action, the potentials at the connection points A and B are adjusted, and the output voltage VBG is fed back so that the potentials are controlled to be fixed. The emitter follower circuit portion 6 is subjected to level shift by only the amount corresponding to the base-emitter voltage to set the output voltage VBG. That is, in the band gap reference voltage circuit 1 , the collector potentials of the transistors T 11 and T 12 in the band gap cell circuit 2 are amplified by the differential pair 3 and the current mirror circuit portion 4 , and further amplified by the transistors T 17 and T 18 in the gain forming portion 5 .
[0014] The band gap reference voltage circuit 1 thus constructed is designed so that amplification is carried out at plural stages in the operational amplifier 7 . Therefore, the total gain of the circuit is increased, and also phase-delay is more liable to occur because the operation of each circuit portion is delayed, so that the circuit may fall into an oscillation operation with an extremely high probability. Therefore, the capacitors C 1 to C 3 are needed for phase compensation to prevent oscillation. When a semiconductor integrated circuit is constructed, capacitors occupy a very large area, and thus the circuit scale is increased. In addition, the start-up of the circuit operation when power is turned on is further delayed.
[0015] In JP-A-2003-157119, it is illustrated that only one capacitor for phase compensation is disposed. However, it is experimentally obvious that if three capacitors C 1 to C 3 are disposed as shown in FIG. 6 , it would be actually difficult to surely suppress the oscillation operation.
SUMMARY
[0016] In view of the foregoing, it is an object to provide a band gap reference voltage circuit that can further reduce the number of connections of capacitors for phase compensation or further reduce the capacitance needed to suppress oscillation.
[0017] According to a band gap reference voltage circuit of a first aspect, first and second reference voltages in a band gap cell circuit are applied as differential input signals, and an output voltage of a differential amplifying circuit for carrying out differential amplification on these input signals is directly input to a level shift circuit without being passed through a gain forming portion unlike the conventional construction, thereby generating and outputting a band gap reference voltage.
[0018] That is, in the conventional band gap reference voltage circuit, the reason why a gain forming portion is needed resides in that there is achieved such an advantage that the offset voltage of the operational amplifying portion can be reduced to a lesser level by increasing the gain and also the operation voltage range can be set to a broader range. In an actual application of the reference voltage circuit, attention is not paid to these characteristics at all times.
[0019] Accordingly, if the circuit is designed so that the output voltage of the differential amplifying circuit is directly subjected to level shift, the gain is reduced and a phase difference allowance degree is further increased, so that the number of connections of capacitors for phase compensation can be reduced or the capacitance needed to prevent oscillation can be reduced. Accordingly, the circuit scale can be reduced, and the response speed of the circuit operation can be further increased.
[0020] According to a band gap reference voltage circuit of a second aspect, in the level shift circuit, an element to which the output voltage of the differential amplifying circuit is applied is constructed by a MOSFET. That is, when the output voltage is directly subjected to level shift without being amplified, the offset voltage is apt to increase. Therefore, with the above construction, current is hardly supplied to the gate of MOSFET serving as a voltage driving type element, and thus unbalance of current in the differential pair of the differential amplifying circuit hardly occurs. Accordingly, the offset voltage can be reduced to a less level, and the output precision of the reference voltage can be enhanced.
[0021] According to a band gap reference voltage circuit of a third aspect, a phase compensating capacitor is connected between a ground-side terminal and a signal input terminal of a transistor disposed at the amplification output side out of the transistors constituting the differential pair. With this construction, by connecting only one capacitor having relatively low capacitance, the phase difference allowance degree can be more sufficiently secured while suppressing the increase of the circuit scale as much as possible.
[0022] According to a band gap reference voltage circuit of a fourth aspect, the transistor constituting the differential amplifying circuit is constructed by adding an SOI (Silicon On Insulator) structure with a trench insulating separation structure. That is, the differential amplifying circuit portion has a risk that unbalance of current occurs due to occurrence of unconsidered current leak or formation of a parasite transistor, so that the offset voltage is increased. Therefore, with respect to at least the transistor constituting the differential amplifying circuit, occurrence of the current leak is suppressed at maximum by adopting the device structure as described above, and the operation characteristic can be stabilized with keeping the offset balance optimally.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The above and other objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
[0024] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the construction of a band gap reference voltage circuit according to a first embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment, which corresponds to FIG. 1 ;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a third embodiment, which corresponds to FIG. 1 ;
[0027] FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor structure of an PNP transistor achieved by adding an SOI structure with a trench insulating separation structure, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing a junction separation structure;
[0028] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment, which corresponds to FIG. 1 ; and
[0029] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a prior art, which corresponds to FIG. 1 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0030] Preferred embodiments will be described hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment
[0031] A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . The same parts as FIG. 6 are represented by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted, and only the different portions will be described. The construction of a band gap reference voltage circuit 11 shown in FIG. 1 is achieved by replacing the portions corresponding to the differential pair 3 and the current mirror circuit portion 4 of the band gap reference voltage circuit 1 shown in FIG. 6 by a differential amplifying circuit 12 , the portions corresponding to the gain forming portion 5 and the emitter follower circuit portion 6 by a level shift circuit 13 and deleting the phase compensating capacitors C 1 to C 3 .
[0032] The differential amplifying circuit 12 is constructed by a differential pair 14 and a current mirror circuit portion 15 . The differential pair 14 is constructed by two PNP transistors T 21 and T 22 whose emitters are commonly connected to the power source VCC through a resistor R 21 . The current mirror circuit portion 15 is constructed by two NPN transistors T 23 and T 24 which are connected to each other in a current mirror style, and the collectors of the transistors T 23 and T 24 are connected to the collectors of the transistors T 21 and T 22 respectively while the emitters thereof are connected to the ground.
[0033] The level shift circuit 13 is constructed by not only the transistor T 19 and the resistor R 19 constituting the emitter follower circuit portion 6 , but also a PNP transistor T 25 having a collector connected to the base of the transistor T 19 through a resistor R 22 and an emitter connected to the ground. The base of the transistor T 25 is connected to the collector of the transistor T 24 . In the differential amplifying circuit 12 , the connection relationship of the constituent parts corresponding to the resistor R 21 , the differential pair 14 and the current mirror circuit portion 15 is inverted to that of the construction of FIG. 6 . However, this portion has no feature as a circuit, and may be replaced by the same differential amplifying circuit 3 as shown in FIG. 6 .
[0034] According to the embodiment thus constructed, the output voltage of the differential amplifying circuit 12 to which the potentials (reference voltage) at the connection points A and B of the band gap cell circuit 2 are applied as a differential input signal is directly input to the level shift circuit 13 without being passed through the gain forming portion 5 unlike the conventional construction, whereby the gain of the whole circuit is reduced and the phase different allowance degree is more increased.
[0035] As a result, the oscillation operation can be suppressed even when the phase-compensating capacitors C 1 to C 3 needed in the prior art are deleted, and the circuit scale of the band gap reference voltage circuit 11 can be reduced. In addition to the deletion of the capacitors C 1 to C 3 , the response speed of the circuit operation can be increased by deleting the gain forming portion 5 and reducing the number of the circuit elements.
Second Embodiment
[0036] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as the first embodiment are represented by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Only the different portions will be described. A band gap reference circuit according to a second embodiment is achieved by replacing the level shift circuit 13 of the band gap reference voltage circuit 11 of the first embodiment by a level shift circuit 17 . In the level shift circuit 17 , the transistor T 25 is replaced by a transistor T 26 comprising MOSFET.
[0037] That is, in the level shift circuit 13 of the band gap reference voltage circuit 11 of the first embodiment, the output voltage of the differential amplifying circuit 12 is received by the transistor T 25 , and unbalance of current occurs in the differential amplifying circuit by the degree corresponding to the current flowing into the base of the transistor T 25 , so that the offset voltage is apt to increase. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the output voltage of the differential amplifying circuit 12 is received by the transistor T 26 which is constructed by a MOSFET and serves as a voltage driving type element. That is, current hardly flows into the gate of the transistor T 26 , and thus occurrence of an offset voltage in the differential amplifying circuit 12 can be suppressed, and the output precision of the reference voltage VBG can be enhanced.
Third Embodiment
[0038] FIGS. 3 and 4 show a third embodiment of the present invention, and only the different portion from the second embodiment will be described. A band gap reference voltage circuit 18 of the third embodiment is achieved by inserting a phase compensating capacitor C 11 between the collector and base of the transistor T 22 disposed at the amplification output side in the differential amplifying circuit 12 constituting the band gap reference voltage circuit 16 of the second embodiment. That is, by adding the capacitor C 11 , the band gap reference voltage circuit 18 can be provided with a larger phase difference allowance degree.
[0039] The addition of the capacitor C 11 of the third embodiment is determined on the basis of a simulation result achieved by carrying out simulations as to where a capacitor should be connected in order to achieve the highest effect when it is permitted to provide only one capacitor having small capacitance.
[0040] In the third embodiment, each of the transistor elements constituting the band gap reference voltage circuit 18 is constructed by adding the SOI (Silicon On Insulator) structure with the trench insulating separation structure. Here, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing a case where the PNP transistor is constructed by the junction separation structure. That is, when isolation is carried out by a P-type area 21 , the substrate 22 (P−) of wafer is connected to the ground which is kept to the lowest potential of the circuit, whereby the P-type area 21 disposed so as to surround the device and the N− area 23 in the device are set to be inversely biased.
[0041] On design, the operation expected to the PNP transistor controls the current between the emitter and the collector in accordance with the base current. However, in the structure shown in FIG. 4B , under a high temperature atmosphere, current leak occurs at the substrate 22 side from the N− area 23 serving as the base, and the emitter and the collector may be conducted to each other irrespective of the base current which is actually made to flow. Furthermore, a parasite transistor is formed so that P− of the substrate 22 serves as the collector of the PNP transistor, and the current of the circuit may pulled out by the parasite transistor. That is, in the band gap reference voltage circuit 18 , when the transistors T 21 and T 22 constituting the differential pair 14 suffer such an effect as described above, the reference voltage VBG is destabilized.
[0042] Therefore, in the third embodiment, the PNP transistor is constructed by adding the SOI structure with the trench insulating separation structure. That is, SiO 2 oxide film 25 is formed on the substrate 24 , an N+ layer 26 on the SiO 2 oxide film 25 , and trenches are formed so as to surround the device forming area and extend to the oxide film 25 as shown in FIG. 4A . SiO 2 oxide film 28 is filled in the trenches 27 . In this construction, no current leak occurs and no parasite transistor unlike the junction separation structure shown in FIG. 4B , and thus the operation characteristics of the band gap reference voltage circuit 18 can be stabilized under a high temperature atmosphere.
Fourth Embodiment
[0043] FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and only different portion from the second embodiment will be described. A band gap reference voltage circuit 31 of the fourth embodiment is designed so that the transistors T 21 and T 22 are replaced by transistors T 31 and T 32 comprising P-channel MOSFETs, the transistors T 23 and T 24 are replaced by transistors T 33 and T 34 comprising N-channel MOSFETs and the transistor T 19 is replaced by a transistor T 35 comprising an N-channel MOSFET in the band gap reference voltage circuit 16 of the second embodiment. The respective circuit portions at which the elements are replaced constitute a differential pair 32 , a current mirror circuit portion 33 and a level shift circuit 34 . A differential amplifying circuit 35 is constructed by the differential pair 32 and the current mirror circuit portion 33 .
[0044] According to the fourth embodiment thus constructed, the dispersion of the offset voltage is apt to slightly increase as compared with the second embodiment, however, substantially the same action and effect can be achieved.
[0045] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments which are described above or illustrated in the drawings, and the following modifications may be made.
[0046] In the constructions of the first, second and fourth embodiments, the transistor achieved by adding the SOI structure with the trench insulating separation structure as in the case of the third embodiment may be used. Furthermore, the phase compensating capacitor C 11 may be added like the third embodiment.
[0047] In the third embodiment, it is not necessarily applied to all the elements that the trench insulating separation structure is added to the SOI structure to form a transistor, and it may be applied at least elements constituting the differential amplifying circuit 12 . This is because prevention of current leak for the differential amplifying circuit 12 is effective to suppress the offset voltage.
[0048] Alternatively, the construction of the third embodiment may be designed with a transistor formed by the junction separation structure.
[0049] The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. | In a band gap reference voltage circuit, a band gap cell circuit composed of two transistors is driven with different current densities under a bias condition in which first and second reference voltages output in accordance with the operating states of the two transistors are equal to each other, thereby outputting a band gap reference voltage from a reference voltage output line. A differential amplifying circuit that is supplied with the first and second reference voltages as differential input signals subjects the differential input signals thus supplied to differential amplification. A level shift circuit is connected between a power supply line and the reference voltage output line and supplied with an output voltage of the differential amplifying circuit to carry out a level shift operation on the output voltage concerned. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a buckle type fastener, and more particularly to a fastener made up of two separable pieces.
Two piece buckle fasteners are incorporataed into leisure, camping, sports, and safety products. Typically they are employed to fasten together the two ends of a belt, for example in a backpack or a life jacket.
Tracy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,464, discloses a separable buckle wherein two parallel resilient arms of the clasp piece are each provided with a tab that locks into a corresponding slot in a receptacle piece. A central rigid arm is provided with stop means that limit the bending of the resilient arms.
Cousins, U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,711, discloses a separable buckle wherein the frame portion of the male piece has an obliquely disposed resilient tongue that terminates to define a shoulder facing the free end portion of the male piece. To fasten the buckle, the frame portion of the male piece is positioned within the housing, and the shoulder of the tongue engages a bar in the housing that defines a fenestration therein.
For many applications, and most dramatically in the safety applications, it is desirable for a fastener to be easily and quickly fastened, notwithstanding that the operator may be hurried or distracted, and at the same time be readily released when desired and resistant to stress that might cause accidental release. In view of the foregoing, it is advantageous to provide a buckle type fastener that more successfully combines the properties of easy fastening and security against accidental release.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In general, the invention provides a two piece fastener that includes a receptacle and a clasp. The clasp includes a base, a substantially rigid stem protruding from the base, a pair of resilient arms extending from the stem and locking means on the arms. The receptacle includes a body that defines a cavity adapted to receive and to cooperatively engage the pair of resilient arms within the cavity. The fastener also includes means for disengaging the locking means so that the receptacle and clasp can be separated.
In preferred embodiments: the receptacle has two substantially parallel side surfaces, substantially parallel top and bottom surfaces, and an opening at one end adapted to receive the clasp piece, the opening forming a cavity within the body of the receptacle, the cavity defining top and bottom inside surfaces, and substantially parallel side inside surfaces, each of the top and bottom inside surfaces having a lock receiving means; and the rigid stem extends substantially centrally from and normal to the base of the clasp, and the resilient arms extend from the distal portion of the rigid stem.
In further preferred embodiments, the resilient arms extend back toward the base of the clasp to form an arrowhead shape, the fastener has guide means for guiding the clasp into the cavity of the receptacle, and the receptacle and clasp include means for attaching a belt thereto.
The fastener of the invention can be fastened quickly and easily; the pieces are readily aligned and located with respect to each other. Furthermore, the fastener is remarkably secure. When the fastener is fastened, any force exerted to pull apart the receptacle and clasp pieces will make the pieces more secure.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment, from the Figures, and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fastener, showing the two separate pieces, with the internal features of the receptacle piece, in phantom.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fastener showing the two pieces fastened together, with the portion of the clasp piece that is within the receptacle in phantom.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the two separate pieces, showing a cut away view of the receptacle piece and demonstrating with phantom lines the range of movement of the resilient arms.
FIG. 4 top view showing the two pieces fastened together, showing cutaway view of the receptacle piece.
FIG. 5 is a cut away elevational view along the main central axis of the fastener.
FIG. 6 is a cutaway elevational view of the fastener taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a buckle, generally identified by reference number 10, including a clasp piece 20 and a receptacle piece 80.
The base portion 22 of clasp piece 20 comprises sides 24, top 26, and transverse bars 28 and 30. The bars are arranged to provide a means for adjustably fastening a belt or other web like material to the clasp piece. In cross section bar 28 has generally a parallelogram shape. Its top and bottom surfaces, 32 and 34 respectively, are parallel to the main axis 36 of the clasp piece, while sides 38 and 40 of bar 28 are offset approximately 45° . The top surface 32 is provided with a plurality of transverse ridges 42, that can serve to hold a belt fast to the clasp piece when the belt has been fed through bars 28 and 30, adjusted to the desired length, and pulled taut. Perpendicular teeth 44 prevent the belt from gathering or binding if the clasp is twisted about its main axis. Bar 30 in cross section has parallel top and bottom surfaces, 46 and 48 respectively, and rounded ends. Bar 32 is located below main axis 36 and offset about 30° . A projection of top surface 46 of bar 30 would intersect with side surface 40 of bar 28 near its intersection with top surface 32.
Rigid stem 50 extends from the center of and normal to base portion 22 of clasp piece 20, along main axis 36. Flanges 52 lie on opposite sides of stem 50, flaring toward its base and providing rigid support to the arm. Grooves 56 are disposed along the length of stem 50, midway between flanges 52.
Extending from distal end 60 of rigid stem 50 are elongated resilient arms 62. These arms are mirror images of each other, essentially straight, and extend back from the distal end of rigid stem 50 toward the base 22 of clasp piece 20. The angle included between either one of the resilient arms 62 and rigid stem 50 is about 15° . Roughly midway along the length of each resilient arm 62 is a tab 64. Referring now to FIG. 3, a first, leading edge 66 of tab 64 forms an obtuse angle with flexible arm 62. A second edge 68 of tab 64 is just a few degrees, preferably about 4°, from parallel with main axis 36 and a third, engaging edge 70 of tab 64 forms an acute angle with the second edge 68, preferably about 80°, so that engaging edge 70 is about 6° from normal to main axis 36. Distal to tab 64, resilient arm 62 flares abruptly to form a surface 72. A surface 74 of arm 62 distal to surface 72 is curved concavely and provided with ridges 76, adapted for engagement with a thumb or other finger of the user.
The receptacle piece 80 is generally rectangular in shape, having substantially parallel, relatively wider side surfaces 82, relatively narrower top and bottom surfaces 84, an opening 86 at one end adapted to receive the rigid stem 50 and resilient arms 62 of clasp piece 20, and a bar 88 at the opposite end adapted for fixedly attaching thereto a belt or webbed material. The opening 86 opens into a main cavity that is defined by substantially parallel inside side surfaces 90 and tapering top and bottom inside surfaces. Side surfaces 90 flare outward at the opening. Extending the length of side surfaces 90 along main axis 36 are ridges 94 adapted to engage grooves 56. Both the top and bottom inside surfaces form angles of approximately 11° with the main axis 36. Each of the top and bottom inside surfaces comprises an outermost portion 92 and a resilient innermost portion 93, separated by inner cavity 96, which is adapted to receive tab 64. The engaging surface 98 of inner cavity 96 is about 10° from normal to the main axis 36.
In operation, the rigid stem 50 and resilient arms 62 of clasp piece 20 are inserted through the opening 86 of receptacle piece 80. Since both the clasp piece and the receptacle piece are symmetrical about the central main axis, the buckle will fasten securely even if one piece is twisted 180° from its usual orientation. The arrangement of the resilient arms 62 attached to distal end 60 of rigid stem 50 forms an arrowhead shape that facilitates proper alignment of the pieces. Even if the receptacle and clasp pieces are initially not properly aligned, the arrowhead shape of the clasp will naturally correct any misalignment as the clasp is inserted into the receptacle. The flared opening of the receptacle also facilitates proper alignment of the pieces as well.
As the rigid stem 50 and resilient arms 62 are inserted into the main cavity of receptacle piece 80, ridges 94 engage grooves 56 guiding the clasp 20 into proper engagement with the receptacle 80. As the clasp is further inserted, the leading edge 66 of tab 64 contacts the edge of opening 86. Any further insertion causes resilient arms 62 to bend inwardly as the second edge 68 of tab 64 slides along the outermost portion 92 of the top and bottom inside surfaces. When clasp and receptacle pieces are in the lock position, tab 64 is aligned with inner cavity 96, which is large enough to receive tab 64. Resilient arms 62 spring outwardly and tabs 64 fit snugly in cavity 96. Engaging edge 70 of tab 64 abuts engaging surface 98 of cavity 96, thus locking together clasp piece 20 and receptable piece 80. In the locked position, the portion of each arm 62 proximal to tab 64 contacts and resiliently engages the resilient innermost portion 93 of the top or bottom inside surface.
The locking mechanism, which includes the tabs and cavities, provides an unusual degree of security to the buckle. Any force tending to pull apart the fastened buckle will cause resilient arms 62 to bend outwardly, thereby tightening the engagement of the fastened buckle pieces. It will be noted that the engaging surface 98 of the cavity is not parallel with the engaging edge 70 of the tab. The engaging surface of the cavity is offset about 10° from normal to the main axis; the engaging edge of the tab is similarly offset about 6°. It should be appreciated that the benefit of increased security will also be achieved if the engaging edge 70 and engaging surface 98 are substantially parallel to each other, so long as they are offset slightly from normal to main axis 36. It is not necessary that the engaging pieces be skewed relative to each other.
Although the lock mechanism of the fastener can withstand substantial opening forces, it can be easily and conveniently released when desired. To release the fastener, the user simultaneously depresses resilient arms 62 by grasping and squeezing together the distal ends 74 of the resilient arms. The resilient engagement of arms 62 with the resilient innermost portions 93 of top and bottom inside surfaces assists disengagement of the fastener by supplementing the pressure exerted by the user on arms 62 to effect disengagement. Because release requires simultaneous depression of both resilient arms, the fastened buckle is unlikely to release accidently. Accidental release is further prevented if the resilient arms 62 do not protrude from the buckle, but lie flush with the top and bottom surfaces of the buckle.
The buckle and clasp pieces of the invention are advantageously produced by integrally molding nylon acetal, polypropylene or any other similar material.
USE
The buckle of the invention is extremely versatile and adapted to many uses in the leisure, camping, sports and safety markets. The buckle can be manufactured in a range of sizes, and the means for securing a belt or web like material to the clasp and receptacle pieces can be modified for specific uses. For example, the buckle of the invention can be used to secure the belts of a life jacket, backpack, or the like. The buckle can be used to secure shoulder straps or handles on luggage.
OTHER EMBODIMENTS
Other embodiments are within the following claims. For example, a buckle according to the invention could have only a single resilient arm. The angle included by the resilient arms can vary from the preferred angle of 30°, within the range of about 20° and about 90°. The angles of the engaging surfaces, relative to each other and relative to the main axis, can vary as well. The slots extending the length of the rigid arm and comprising the guide means can meet, effectively splitting the rigid arm longitudinally along axis 36 into two separate pieces. The cooperating grooves, then, could form a wall that connects the two inside side surfaces. Alternatively, the guide means can include a ridge extending the length of the rigid arm and a cooperating groove in the receptacle piece. Alternatively, the guide means can be dispensed with entirely. Fasteners manufactured from plastics other than those enumerated above or from other material, e.g., metal, are within the scope of the invention. | A two piece buckle type fastener including a receptacle and clasp. The clasp includes a base, a substantially rigid stem protruding from the base, a pair of resilient arms extending from the stem, and locking means on the arms. The receptacle includes a body that defines a cavity adapted to receive and to cooperatively engage the pair of resilient arms within the cavity. The fastener also includes means for disengaging the locking means so that the receptacle and clasp can be separated. | 8 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention enables the collection of operating condition information attending the use of high temperature ceramic structures as catalyst supports and/or exhaust filters for the treatment of exhaust gases from carbonaceous fuel combustion processes. It is particularly adaptable for use with ceramic structures such as diesel particulate wall flow filters (DPFs) used for the removal of soot and other particulates from diesel engine exhaust gases.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Diesel engines are a target of increasing development activity by combustion engine and motor vehicle manufacturers because they offer the potential for lower emissions and increased fuel economy as compared to gasoline engines. Diesel particulate filters (DPFs) are being developed as components of diesel engine exhaust systems in order to control particulate exhaust emissions by physically trapping soot particles present in exhaust steam in their structure. Among the diesel particulate filters being developed are porous ceramic wall-flow filters, i.e., porous honeycomb monoliths end-plugged in a manner that forces exhaust gas flow through the porous ceramic walls, collecting any particulates present in the exhaust gas on or within the upstream walls of the structures.
[0003] Over time, the particulates collected by the filter increase pressure drop across the filters and thus exhaust gas back-pressure within the engine exhaust system. Therefore, once a predetermined soot loading condition is met, the filter is cleaned by a so-called “regeneration” cycle during which the temperature of the exhaust gases or filter are increased to a level sufficient to ignite and bum particulate soots. This regeneration cycle reduces the backpressure of the diesel particulate filter to approximately original levels.
[0004] The surfaces or interiors of the walls of these exhaust filters may support oxidations catalysts such as platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), iron (Fe), strontium (Sr) or rare earth elements such as cerium (Ce), typically supported by high-surface-area washcoats, such catalysts acting to lower the temperatures required for soot combustion and filter regeneration. In flow-through ceramic catalyst supports used to treat gasoline engine exhaust gases, such catalysts promote the conversion of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in the exhaust gases to non-hazardous water vapor and carbon dioxide.
[0005] One preferred material for the manufacture of high temperature ceramic catalyst supports and filters is cordierite (Mg 2 Al 4 Si 5 O 18 ), a refractory and low-thermal-expansion magnesium aluminum silicate offering high strength and good thermal shock resistance. Cordierite ceramics are typically manufactured by mixing raw batches comprising oxide sources such as talc and clay together with alumina and silica, binders such as methylcellulose, and lubricants such as sodium stearate to form plastic mixtures that can be extruded into green honeycomb shapes, dried, and fired to reaction-sinter the oxide materials into low-expansion ceramics.
[0006] Ceramic wall-flow filters made by the alternate channel plugging of these ceramic honeycombs can be extensively evaluated by diesel engine bench testing to evaluate catalytic performance, regeneration efficiency, filtration efficiency, pressure drop, and long-term durability. Such evaluations have demonstrated that soot loading distribution, flow distribution, catalyst distribution, and even the pore size distribution along the filter can directly influence the temperatures reached in honeycomb filters during the regeneration process.
[0007] To capture temperature changes arising in such filters during bench testing, arrays of thermocouples are inserted into the filters at various locations along the lengths and across the diameters of the filter structures. These thermocouples enable the precise determination of temperature levels and profiles along and across the filter as the regeneration cycles proceed. Instrumentation at these levels has confirmed that different locations within such filters reach different temperatures during regeneration, in some cases resulting in large temperature gradients within the filters and in others resulting in damage to the ceramic structure itself. Further, the temperatures and temperature gradients reached have been found to depend directly on the soot loadings present within the filters at the start of regeneration, and the manner in which the regeneration cycle is initiated and controlled by engine operating systems that can affect exhaust gas compositions and flow.
[0008] The maximum temperatures and temperature gradients reached during filter regeneration have been found to correlate directly with filter survivability and durability. Unfortunately, however, the extensive bench testing instrumentation used to determine peak filter temperatures and temperature gradients cannot be practically employed to measure or control the regeneration cycle in operating motor vehicles. Accordingly, there is no practical way of determining whether or when the design limits for long-term filter operation might have been exceeded during vehicle operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention relates to the use of thermally active materials in ceramic structures including filters or catalyst substrates to detect and record the thermal history of the substrates or filters subjected to use. More particularly, the present invention involves the introduction of phase change materials into or onto the surfaces of filters or catalyst substrates that can indicate the peak temperatures to which such filters or substrates may have been subjected.
[0010] In a first aspect, then, the invention includes a novel method for determining the thermal history of a ceramic structure. In accordance with that method, at least two high temperature phase change materials are provided on or within the structure, each of which phase change material demonstrates at least one phase change with temperature. Thereafter the structure with supported phase change materials are put into use, such use necessarily involving exposures to elevated temperatures during which phase changes, most generally solid state phase changes, can potentially occur. Following such exposure, the method involves determining the presence or absence of a phase change in at least one of the phase change materials exposed to the elevated temperatures.
[0011] In a second aspect the invention provides a ceramic structure capable of exhibiting and/or preserving information concerning its thermal state or history during or following periods of high temperature use. That structure typically includes a catalyst substrate or filter formed of a refractory ceramic, and at least two high temperature phase change materials disposed on or within the catalyst substrate or filter. Examples of high temperature phase change materials for which the temperatures of phase transition have been established to be within ranges useful for indicating the thermal history of such ceramic structures include those selected from the group consisting of Al 2 O 3 , ZrO 2 , Ga 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , Nb 2 O 5 and CeO 2 .
[0012] The phase change materials to be employed may be incorporated into surface coatings, including coatings such as washcoats, which are widely utilized for pre-treating or applying catalysts to such ceramic structures. Alternatively, they may be incorporated into the batch materials from which the ceramic structures are formed, in order to directly incorporate the materials into the structures. The materials can be widely distributed within or over the surfaces of the structures, or they may be positioned within the structures at points where maximum temperatures are typically experienced in actual use. Broad distributions can enable the thermal history of the structures to be determined across the entire lengths and widths of the structures.
[0013] Pre-selected materials with suitable phase change temperatures may be added to the washcoat slurries used to coat such structures without any change in washcoating processes. Thus the invention obviates the need for thermocouples distributed through the structure that are relatively expensive to install and maintain, and that may unfavorably influence gas flow and/or temperature profiles across the structures. An additional advantage is that no changes to the engine control systems are needed for implementation of the invention.
[0014] Suitable phase change materials for use in accordance with the invention include inorganic materials exhibiting irreversible and detectable changes in attributes such as physical properties, chemical states, or physical states upon heating to temperatures within the operating ranges of ceramic substrates or filters. Thus when the temperature in a region of the ceramic structure is elevated beyond a transition temperature at which such a phase change will occur, the material attributes of the phase changed material(s) are irreversibly altered and the thermal history of the structure is thereby recorded for tracing in post-analyses involving either destructive or non-destructive testing methods. For example, a phase transition that is detectable by an X-ray diffraction analysis of the amorphous or crystallized material subsequent to a high temperature exposure is one suitable method for determining the minimum temperature to which the diffraction sample has been heated. Similarly, the use of multiple phase change materials in such samples can establish ranges of temperature for previous high temperature exposures.
[0015] The thermal history of a structure as determined by the above described methods can be effectively used to map the thermal profiles that may have been developed in such substrates or filters in use. Determining such profiles can help to establish whether structural failures in such structures resulted from thermal stresses, or instead from simple mechanical causes.
[0016] In summary, then, the present invention effectively provides: an in-situ monitoring system for the thermal history of a high temperature substrate; low monitoring cost due to the need for only small quantities of inexpensive phase-change materials; ease of ceramic manufacture due to the ease of incorporating phase change materials into coatings or batches; the ready availability of conventional and proven analytical methods and systems for the evaluation of phase changes in the incorporated materials; the absence of any adverse impact on gas flow within the channels of structures incorporating phase change materials; and the adaptability of the method to the use of on-line detection systems. Thus the invention provides cost-effective and highly efficient operating temperature determination methods when compared with known prior art procedures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a wall-flow filter body according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a detailed schematic illustration, in plan view, of a flow filter body according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] A high temperature ceramic structure in the form of a porous ceramic honeycomb 10 provided according to the present invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings. Honeycomb structure 10 is composed of a body 16 having an inlet end 12 , an outlet end 14 , and a plurality of channels 18 extending in parallel between the inlet end 12 and the outlet end 14 of the body. For use as a diesel particulate filter, body 16 would further comprise an alternating pattern of plugs (not shown) disposed within alternate channels 18 on inlet end 12 and outlet end 14 of body 16 , arranged in known fashion so that exhaust gases are forced through the porous walls 20 of the channels 18 in traversing the body from its inlet to its outlet.
[0020] Honeycomb structure 10 may be formed of any channel density; for example channel densities in the range of 100-400 channels per square inch of honeycomb cross-section are suitable for the construction of diesel engine exhaust filters, while densities of 300-1000 channels per square inch of honeycomb cross-section maybe selected for flow-through catalyst supports. For the purposes of the present description the term honeycomb is intended to include materials having a general honeycomb structure wherein cross-sectional channel shapes of square, hexagonal, triangular, square, circular, or any other open channel shapes may be provided.
[0021] In manufacturing a substrate for use in accordance with the present invention, a ceramic batch is first formed from carbide, oxide or mineral oxide (e.g. clay or talc) powders, the powders being blended with binders such as methylcellulose, lubricants such as sodium stearate, and a vehicle such as water to form plasticized powder mixtures for forming. The plasticized mixtures are then extruded or otherwise formed into green honeycomb bodies that are dried and fired to sinter or reaction-sinter the powders into porous ceramic honeycombs. U.S. Pat. No. 6,864,198 discloses examples of the preparation of cordierite (Mg 2 Al 4 Si 5 O 18 ) honeycombs from batches comprising powder constituents such as talc, alumina, aluminum hydroxide, kaolin clay and silica.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 2 in enlarged sectional end view, a honeycomb such as honeycomb 10 of FIG. 1 , which could be manufactured of cordierite as above described, could have channel walls 20 that are provided with a wash coating 22 that incorporates a phase change material. The coating may be applied widely or locally using any appropriate coating method, including liquid impregnation, washcoating, or chemical vapor deposition. If provided in a wash coating, the phase change material will typically be distributed widely on or within the walls 20 of the honeycomb and stabilized there by the step of calcining the washcoating.
[0023] For washcoating deposition, the particle size of the phase change materials may suitably be adjusted to be similar to that of the washcoating materials in order to avoid changing the viscosity of the washcoating slurry. The concentration of the phase change materials in the slurry will be adjusted to levels that will allow detection by X-ray diffraction or other methods when the substrate is analyzed following use, but generally not at levels to high as to interfere with the function of the ceramic product or any washcoating and/or catalyst provided thereon.
[0024] Most of the phase changes occurring in solid state materials involve changes in physical structure that can be detected by X-ray diffraction or similar techniques. While any suitable phase change material may be used, common and low cost materials such as alumina, titanium dioxide, zirconium dioxide, and niobium pentoxide may be favored due to their low reactivity with typical ceramic substrate materials and other materials commonly used for washcoating.
[0025] Alumina is an important material in catalysis because of its porous structure, fine particle size, high surface area, and high catalytic surface activity. As a result, alumina is widely used as a catalyst, an absorbent, and as a support for industrial catalysts. It is also used as a main component in the washcoat of catalyzed DPF to provide high dispersion of precious metals. γ-alumina is metastable and exhibits a phase change to δ-alumina at 900° C. Another phase change to α-alumina occurs at 1100° C. Each of these phases can be detected by X-ray powder diffraction to determine the maximum temperature reached during the life of the substrate. The presence of γ-alumina indicates a maximum temperature of less than 900° C.
[0026] Gallium oxide (Ga 2 O 3 ) is readily available and commonly used in the semiconductor industry. At low temperatures the ε-phase of gallium oxide is stable; the ε-phase is converted to β-Ga 2 O 3 at 870° C. The presence of ε-phase indicated a maximum temperature of less than 870° C., while the presence of β-phase indicates a maximum temperature in excess of 870° C.
[0027] Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has extensive industrial applications and can exist in three crystalline forms, i.e., anatase, rutile and brookite. Anatase and rutile are tetragonal forms and brookite is orthorhombic. At about 750° C. the brookite phase is converted to anatase and at about 915° C. anatase is converted to the rutile structure.
[0028] Zirconium dioxide (ZrO 2 ) has three well-established polymorphs: monoclinic, tetragonal and cubic. The transition temperature from monoclinic to tetragonal is around 1100° C. Between 1000° C. and 1150° C. a tetragonal phase is present above 1350° C. a cubic phase is formed.
[0029] Niobium pentoxide (NbO 5 ), a very stable compound under a redox atmosphere, exists in at least four well-established polymorphic forms, including a pseudo hexagonal TT-phase, an orthorhombic T-phase, a higher temperature B-phase and an H-phase. The phase change temperatures are 410° C. for TT-phase to T-phase conversion, 817° C. for T-phase to B-phase conversion, and 960° C. for the B-phase to H-phase conversion.
[0030] By selecting a number materials such as alumina, gallium oxide, titanium dioxide, zirconium dioxide, niobium pentoxide with different phase change temperatures the maximum temperature to which a substrate has been heat may be precisely determined. By sampling the substrate at a number of different positions, the temperature profile across the substrate may be determined.
[0031] There are several selection factors that may be considered when selecting suitable phase-change materials for use as chemical temperature sensors. Among those are the degree of material compatibility with catalysts and/or catalyst support (washcoat) materials such as alumina, ceria, and precious metals, and with ceramic substrate materials such as cordierite, aluminum titanate, mullite, and/or silicon carbide. In most cases it is important that no solid state reactions are likely between the selected phase change material and the catalysts, washcoats, and ceramic supports under the range of operating conditions to be encountered.
[0032] Also desirable is that the selected phase change material be chemically stable under strongly oxidizing or reducing atmospheres, since oxidants and/or reducing species such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and some nitrogen oxides can be present in combustion exhaust gases. Typically, the phase change material will demonstrate good thermal and hydrothermal stability as well as good resistance to thermal cycling damage during the operating lifetime of the catalyst support or filter. Also, the phase changes of the selected material should be irreversible or nearly irreversible, and the material should have little or no adverse impact on the catalytic performance of any catalysts present in the system. Finally, the addition of the selected material into any washcoating slurry intended to be applied to the support or filter should not affect the physical or chemical properties of the slurry in a manner unacceptably interfering with washcoat adherence to the filter or support.
[0033] The presence of some dopants such as lanthanide components in these phase change materials may be useful where it predictably increases or decreases the phase transition temperatures exhibited by the materials. Other conditions such as heating rate, system pressure, and the existence of other materials can also influence the phase change temperature. Any materials that can meet some or all of the selection criteria discussed above can be used as chemical sensors on substrates. The in-situ temperature sensor technology of the present invention is applicable to a variety of products and applications.
[0034] In an offline detection system, a substrate or filter incorporating a phase change material such as described may be removed from the internal combustion engine and the thermal history may be determined with an off-line detection method such as x-ray diffraction. The substrate is typically cut to form a number of samples from any desired location for measurement of targeted characteristic physical properties or chemical states. This process provides information about filter in application as well as the thermal causes of substrate failure.
[0035] In an online detection system, the substrate may be heated and ongoing phase detection may be preformed. One advantage to an online detection system is that both reversible and irreversible material property changes may be monitored. The reversibly changing phases can operate as thermal sensors, while irreversible changes can be used as substrate failure indicators. Application methods suitable for the application of phase change materials to supports or filters in accordance with the present invention include washcoating, chemical vapor deposition, and thermal spraying, either individually or in conjunction with process steps such as catalyzation process or as a separate post-process step.
[0036] While the invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments or examples thereof, those embodiments and examples are presented for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting. Thus a wide variety of alternative materials and methods may be selected for the purpose of carrying out the invention within the scope of the appended claims. | Ceramic structures such as catalyst supports or combustion exhaust filters that incorporate combinations of high temperature phase change materials, and methods for determining the thermal history of such ceramic structures, by disposing the phase change materials on or within the structures and subsequently detecting the presence or absence of phase changes in the materials after exposure to high temperatures. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to the construction of frame structures of a building including a frame fastener by which a relatively unskilled workman can erect such frame structures in minimal time and with increased accuracy and superior strength. The framing fastener of the present invention can be used for connecting a brace to a post or beam. It can be made from a single piece of sheet metal stock comprising a stiff sheet having at least one flap and at least one opposing side surface extending from a central flat portion. To support a brace to a post or beam, the flap can be bent to a predetermined angle and attached to a portion of the post, the central flat portion can be attached to a portion of the brace, and each of the at least one opposing side surface can be bent and attached to a side portion of the post, brace and/or beam.
[0002] Alternative technology is available in the form of a variety of construction brackets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,898 issued to Tracy et al. in 1969 for a roof framing system comprising a variety of adjustable brackets. U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,780 issued on Aug. 15, 2000 to Kreidt for a building construction device and process comprising a tie down bracket for securing a joist. Others exist but none provide multi-planar attachment for braces, beams and post from a singular initially flat piece of stock. The framing fastener of the instant invention is economical to manufacture and easy to use.
[0003] The citation of the foregoing publications is not an admission that any particular publication constitutes prior art, or that any publication alone or in conjunction with others, renders unpatentable any pending claim of the present application. None of the cited publications is believed to detract from the patentability of the claimed invention.
ADVANTAGES OF THIS INVENTION
[0004] Unlike the foregoing devices which teach structures that require the engagement of multiple pieces of material to form the bracketing device, the framing fastener of the instant invention may be made from a singular initially flat piece of stock which can be folded as needed to create a multi-planar fastening device for connecting together two framing elements, such as a beam, a post and a brace.
[0005] The framing fastener of the present invention can be easily made from a single piece of flat stock sheet medal which can be stamped or otherwise fabricated to create a desired shape with inwardly directed cuts. Fold lines can be incorporated by simply markings or by reducing the sheet thickness to facilitate bending. Bending the framing fastener from its original flat configuration may be done during manufacture or in the construction field. Added strength is achieved through the use of a single stock member.
[0006] These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
[0007] Still other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure that follows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The invention relates to a framing fastener for connecting a brace to a post or beam comprising a stiff sheet having a peripheral edge with the sheet having a primary area and a flap. The primary area includes a central flat portion extending from an edge of the a flap and at least one opposing side surface. The at least one opposing side surface extends from and is bendable to a first angle relative to the central flat portion. The flap is formed by a pair of spaced cuts extending inwardly from the peripheral edge, and the flap is bendable to a second angle relative to the central flat portion. The flap can be bent to the second angle relative to the central flat portion and attached to a portion of the at least one flat exterior surface of the first construction support member, the central flat portion can be attached to a portion of the at least one flat outer surface of the second construction support member, and each of the at least one opposing side surface can be bent to the first angle relative to the central flat portion and attached to a portion of one of the pair of outer side surfaces to fasten the first construction support member to the second construction support member.
[0009] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0010] Preferred embodiments of the invention are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:
[0011] [0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of a framing fastener of the present invention showing a fastener with one flap;
[0012] [0012]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of a framing fastener of the present invention showing a fastener with a flap and a wedge welded between each of the edges of the flap cuts;
[0013] [0013]FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of two framing fasteners installed on a post and each supporting a brace;
[0014] [0014]FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of two framing fasteners installed on a post and beam with each framing fastener supporting an end of a brace;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the first preferred embodiment of the framing fastener connecting a brace to a post with nails shown as the means for attachment;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the framing fastener showing opposing side surfaces in the shape of triangles;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the first preferred embodiment of the framing fastener of FIG. 6 before angular bending of the opposing side surfaces and the flap relative to the central flat portion showing the inwardly extending cuts with blunt termini forming the flap;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 8 is perspective view of a third preferred embodiment of the framing fastener connecting a brace to a post (both shown in phantom) with rectangular opposing side surfaces; and
[0019] [0019]FIG. 9 is a plan view of the third preferred embodiment of the framing fastener of FIG. 8 before angular bending of the opposing side surfaces and the flap relative to the central flat portion showing a lateral dimension of the central flat portion greater than a transverse dimension between the spaced cuts defining the width of the flap.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The invention relates to an apparatus for fastening framing members during construction. Without departing from the generality of the invention disclosed herein and without limiting the scope of the invention, the discussion that follows, will refer to the invention as depicted in the drawing.
[0021] The preferred embodiments of the apparatus depicted in the drawing comprise a framing fastener 1 for connecting a first construction support member 10 having at least one flat exterior surface 11 to a second construction support member 12 having at least one flat outer surface 13 and a pair of outer side surfaces 14 extending away from said at least one flat outer surface comprises a stiff sheet 2 having a peripheral edge 3 . The sheet has a primary area and a flap 5 . The flap is anything flat and broad that hangs loose and is attached at one end. The primary area includes a central flat portion 6 extending from an edge 32 of the flap and at least one opposing side surface 7 . The at least one opposing side surface extends from and is bendable to a first angle 36 relative to the central flat portion 6 .
[0022] The flap 5 is formed by a pair of spaced cuts 8 extending inwardly from the peripheral edge and is bendable to a second angle 34 , preferably acute, relative to the central flat portion. The flap is adapted to overlie a portion of the at least one flat exterior surface 11 of the first construction support member 10 . Moreover, the central flat portion is adapted to overlie a portion of the at least one flat outer surface 13 of the second construction support member 12 , and each of the opposing side surfaces 7 is adapted to respectively overlie a portion of each of the pair of outer side surfaces 14 .
[0023] Another framing fastener 1 of this important invention for connecting a first construction support member 10 having at least one flat exterior surface 11 to a second construction support member 12 having at least one flat outer surface 13 and a pair of outer side surfaces 14 extending away from the at least one flat outer surface comprises a stiff sheet 2 having a peripheral edge 3 , with the sheet having a primary area and a flap 5 . The primary area includes a central flat portion 6 extending from an edge 32 of the flap 5 and at least one opposing side surface 7 . The at least one opposing side surface extends from and is bendable to a first angle 36 relative to the central flat portion 7 .
[0024] Furthermore, the flap 5 is formed by a pair of spaced cuts 8 extending inwardly from the peripheral edge 3 , and the flap is bendable to a second angle 34 relative to the central flat portion. Preferably, the second angle 34 is a fabricated predetermined angle.
[0025] In this way, the flap 5 can be bent to the second angle 34 relative to the central flat portion 6 and attached to a portion of the at least one flat exterior surface 11 of the first construction support member 10 , the central flat portion 6 can be attached to a portion of the at least one flat outer surface 13 of the second construction support member 12 , and each of the at least one opposing side surface 7 can be bent to the first angle 36 relative to the central flat portion 6 and attached to a portion of one of the pair of outer side surfaces 14 to fasten the first construction support member 10 to the second construction support member 12 .
[0026] A preferred embodiment of the framing fastener 1 for connecting a first construction support member having at least one flat exterior surface to a second construction support member having at least one flat outer surface and a pair of outer side surfaces extending away from the at least one flat outer surface comprises a stiff sheet 2 having a peripheral edge 3 . The sheet has a primary area and a flap 5 . The primary area includes a central flat portion 6 extending from an edge 32 of the flap 5 and has opposing side surfaces 7 . The opposing side surfaces extend from and each is bendable along a first fold line 20 to a first angle 36 relative to the central flat portion 6 .
[0027] The flap 5 is formed by a pair of spaced cuts 8 extending inwardly from the peripheral edge 3 . Moreover, the flap 5 is bendable along a second fold line 21 to a second angle 34 relative to the central flat portion 6 . In this way, the flap 5 can be bent to the second angle 34 relative to the central flat portion 6 and attached to a portion of the at least one flat exterior surface 11 of the first construction support member 10 , the central flat portion 6 can be attached to a portion of the at least one flat outer surface 13 of the second construction support member 12 , and each of the opposing side surfaces 7 can be bent to the first angle 36 relative to the central flat portion 6 and respectively attached to a portion of one of the pair of outer side surfaces 14 to fasten the first construction support member 10 to the second construction support member 12 .
[0028] Preferably, the framing fastener 1 can be used with a first construction support member 10 having a pair of exterior side surfaces 30 and each of the bent opposing side surfaces 7 can be respectively attached to a portion of one of the pair of exterior side surfaces 30 to further secure the first construction support member 10 to the second construction support member 12 .
[0029] As shown in FIG. 9, the framing fastener 1 may also have a lateral dimension 22 of the central flat portion 6 measured by the distance between the opposing side surfaces 7 is at least as great as a width of one of the at least one flat exterior surface 11 of the first construction support member 10 and a transverse dimension 24 between the spaced cuts 8 is less than a breath of the one of the at least one flat exterior surface 11 of the first construction support member 12 . Alternatively, the framing fastener 1 may have a transverse dimension 24 between the spaced cuts 8 is equal to a lateral dimension 22 of the central flat portion measured by the distance between the opposing side surfaces and is at least as great as a width of the at least one flat outer surface of the second construction support member from which the pair of outer side surfaces extend, so that the opposing side surfaces of the framing fastener can be disposed proximate to the respective outer side surfaces of the pair of outer side surfaces of the second construction support member, as best seen in FIG. 7.
[0030] In a preferred embodiment of the framing fastener 1 , the pair of spaced cuts 8 extending inwardly from the peripheral edge 3 are parallel, as shown in various figures of the drawing. Moreover, the sheet may be rectangular, as shown in FIG. 9, and each of the pair of spaced cuts 8 can be perpendicular to one of the sides of the sheet, as shown in FIG. 9, or each of the pair of spaced cuts 8 can be obliquely angled relative to one of the sides of the sheet.
[0031] Varying configurations of the opposing side surfaces 7 may be employed having the shape of a right triangle (shown in FIGS. 1 - 7 ), a rectangle (shown in FIGS. 8 - 9 ), a semi-circle or other configuration meeting the needs of the fastening environment. One advantage of these configurations is that they can be adapted for a particular use, for example, two fasteners with triangular opposing side surfaces can be placed in an abutting position to support two braces as shown in FIG. 3.
[0032] Preferably, each of the pair of spaced cuts 8 of the framing fastener has a blunt terminus 26 , as shown in FIG. 7. Rounding or otherwise softening the end of the cuts will provide a blunt terminus 26 for a framing fastener 1 that is less likely to fail.
[0033] The framing fastener 1 of the present invention may also be provided with a live hinge pivot means 28 for at least one of the first fold line 20 and the second fold line 21 to facilitate bending. The live hinge pivot means 28 may be easily and economically formed during the molding or stamping process by reducing the sheet thickness along the appropriate fold line.
[0034] As shown in the drawing, portions of the sheet 2 may be formed with a plurality of spaced holes 9 for receiving at least one of a nail 38 , screw and staple for attaching the framing fastener to one of the first construction support member and the second construction support member. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the plurality of holes need not extend over that portion of the opposing side surfaces which abut the exterior side surfaces unless the surfaces are to be attached. Building code requirements in varying jurisdictions will dictate the manner in which the construction support members need to be nailed, screwed, stapled, or otherwise attached to the bracket of the instant invention and the framing fastener can be manufactured with varying hole configurations to accommodate such requirements.
[0035] As shown in FIGS. 3 - 5 , and 8 , the first angle 36 to which the opposing side surfaces 7 can be bent relative to the central flat portion 6 is preferably 90 degrees and the second angle 34 to which the flap 5 can be bent relative to the central flat portion is preferably 45 degrees. In this way, a brace disposed at a 45 degree angle between a vertical post and a horizontal beam can be secured on each end to the post and beam respectively by the framing fastener.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, the framing fastener 1 of the present invention may further comprise a pair of triangular wedges 16 , each of said pair of triangular wedges having a first edge 17 and a second edge 19 and having a third angle there between. The third angle is equal to the second angle 34 between the flap 5 and the central flat portion 6 of the sheet 2 . Each of said pair of triangular wedges 16 is disposed between an edge of the flap and an edge of the central flat portion from which the edge of the flap was cut, with the first edge 17 of the wedge being attached to one of the edge of the flap and the edge of the central flat portion from which the edge of the flap was cut, and with the second edge 19 of the wedge being attached to the other of the edge of the flap and the edge of the central flat portion from which the edge of the flap was cut. Preferably, the respective edges of the wedge and the sheet are welded together, as shown by the weld bead 18 in FIG. 2.
[0037] It is contemplated that the framing fastener of the present invention can be easily made from flat stock sheet medal which can be stamped or otherwise fabricated to create a desired shape with inwardly directed cuts and thickness reduced live hinge pivot means to facilitate bending which may be done during manufacture or in the construction field. It is also contemplated that a flexibly rigid plastic of suitable strength may be employed. Moreover, as flexible materials sheets continue to generate suitable strength characteristics they may be employed as well.
[0038] While this invention has been described in connection with the best mode presently contemplated by the inventor for carrying out his invention, the preferred embodiments described and shown are for purposes of illustration only, and are not to be construed as constituting any limitations of the invention. Modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and all modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is base, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scop of the present invention.
[0039] My invention resides not in any one of these features per se, but rather in the particular combinations of some or all of them herein disclosed and claimed and it is distinguished from the prior art in these particular combinations of some or all of its structures for the functions specified.
[0040] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
[0041] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. | A framing fastener for connecting framing construction members providing multi-planar attachment surfaces which is made from a single piece of stock. The framing fastener is perfect for attaching a brace to a post or a beam. It is economically made from one piece of sheet metal stock and produces added strength because it is a single member. | 4 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This U.S. patent application claims the benefit of PCT patent application No. PCT/EP2015/067606, filed Jul. 30, 2015, which claims the benefit of German patent application No. 10 2014 216 295, filed Aug. 15, 2014, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The invention relates to a method for generating an item of sensor information, which depends on a rotational speed, using a rotational speed sensor.
[0003] DE 10 2011 080 789 A1discloses a vehicle in which wheel rotational speed sensors for sensing the wheel rotational speed of the individual wheels are installed. These wheel rotational speed sensors are active wheel rotational speed sensors and transmit their measurement data in the form of rotational speed pulses to an evaluation device via a cable as the transmission path.
SUMMARY
[0004] A method for generating an item of sensor information depends on a rotational speed, using a rotational speed sensor, which is set up to output rotational speed pulses at predetermined angular positions of a physical transmitter field which rotates at the rotational speed, and comprises the steps of generating a digital angle signal which depends on the angular position of the physical rotating field, and outputting a predetermined number of most significant bits of the digital angle signal as sensor information.
[0005] This is based on the consideration that, within the scope of the rotational speed sensors mentioned at the outset, the rotational speed pulses are generated on the basis of the poles of the physical transmitter field. For this purpose, a measuring sensor senses the physical transmitter field and generates the rotational speed pulses if the physical transmitter field drifting past it reaches a predetermined threshold value. However, since the distances between the poles of the physical transmitter field are locally invariable, the rotational speed can be sensed only using the interval of time between the rotational speed pulses. However, this interval of time may be very long in the case of particularly low rotational speeds, as occur during an operation of parking a vehicle, for example. However, a current rotational speed is then also not available for an accordingly long time, which then has an effect on the speed of corresponding control and regulating systems which depend on the rotational speed. This may be critical to safety, in particular in road traffic, for example in the parking operation mentioned above.
[0006] Although the number of poles of the transmitter field and therefore the local distance between the poles of the transmitter field could be increased in order to increase the number of rotational speed pulses, yet other information, which could be used for fault diagnosis for example, is intended to be transmitted between the individual rotational speed pulses within the scope of newer data transmission protocols, for example the AK protocol from the working group of the automobile industry which is known per se. If the number of poles of the transmitter field is increased and their local distance with respect to one another is therefore reduced, there might not be sufficient space available in the actual operating range of the rotational speed sensor, that is to say during a journey at normal speed, to transmit the above-mentioned other information between the rotational speed pulses. Furthermore, a correspondingly wide bandwidth would be needed to transmit all rotational speed pulses from the sensor, in particular at higher rotational speeds.
[0007] Determining the angular position of the transmitter field is in the direction of rotation as a digital signal, rather than determining rotational speed pulses from the physical transmitter field. Depending on the required accuracy, the remaining bits can be cut off from this digital angle signal after a particular number of most significant bits. This makes it possible to generate any desired number of rotational speed pulses between two poles. If only the most significant bit is transmitted for example, it is possible to distinguish between states which are similar to a rotational speed pulse between two poles of the physical transmitter field as sensor information, like in the rotational speed sensor mentioned at the outset. If the first two most significant bits of the digital angle signal are transmitted, it is already possible to distinguish between four states which are similar to a rotational speed pulse between two poles of the physical transmitter field as sensor information. Accordingly, the number of states similar to a rotational speed pulse which can be distinguished increases with the number of most significant bits transmitted from the digital angle signal.
[0008] Rotational speed pulses can then be generated again from the sensor information, like in the rotational speed sensor mentioned at the outset. For example, a rotational speed pulse can be generated whenever the digital state of the sensor information changes, that is to say when at least one of the most significant bits output changes its value. This would have the advantage of not having to make any major technical changes to the receiver of the rotational speed signal output by the rotational speed sensor in order to evaluate the rotational speed signal. The receiver must only know that the number of rotational speed pulses between two poles of the physical transmitter field has increased and it must derive an accordingly lower speed from the rotational speed signal.
[0009] Alternatively, the digital state of the sensor information could also be output at fixed intervals of time, in which case the receiver must then compare the change in the sensor information with the fixed intervals of time in order to obtain the rotational speed information. This would have the advantage that an item of rotational speed information which can be clearly evaluated, that is to say a rotational speed of zero, would also be available when the physical transmitter field which actually rotates is stationary. This is because, in the case mentioned at the outset, it would be unclear whether the physical transmitter field is stationary or whether the rotational speed sensor is broken if no rotational speed information were available for a particular time.
[0010] In this case, the angle signal can be generated in any desired manner. However, the rotational speed sensor preferably comprises the above-mentioned measuring sensor which is set up to generate a transmitter signal which depends on the angular position of the physical transmitter field, with the result that a sinusoidal transmitter signal is produced during rotation of the physical transmitter field. In this case, the digital angle signal can be generated on the basis of the argument of the sinusoidal transmitter signal. In this case, the argument of the sinusoidal transmitter signal is intended to be understood as meaning a signal which results in the sinusoidal transmitter signal if a sine or cosine is applied to the signal. Conversely, this means that the argument can be determined from the sinusoidal signal by applying the arc sine or arc cosine to the sinusoidal signal, for example.
[0011] In one development, the rotational speed sensor comprises a further measuring sensor which is set up to generate a further transmitter signal which depends on the angular position of the physical transmitter field and is complementary to the transmitter signal. In this case, the amplitude of the two transmitter signals can be determined on the basis of the trigonometrical Pythagoras theorem, the sinusoidal transmitter signal can be normalized on the basis of the determined amplitude, and the argument of the sinusoidal transmitter signal can be determined on the basis of the normalized sinusoidal transmitter signal. The advantage of this embodiment is that the amplitude of the transmitter signal is present here even when the physical transmitter field is at a standstill, and the transmitter signal can therefore be immediately normalized to 1 in order to be able to apply trigonometrical inverse functions to the transmitter signal.
[0012] In an additional development, the argument is determined by applying an arc cosine to the sinusoidal transmitter signal, outputting the argument as a digital angle signal if the argument is less than 180°, and outputting an argument, to which 180° have been applied, as a digital angle signal if the argument is greater than 180°. Although the argument could also be determined using the arc sine, the cosine is clearly reversible over the first 180°, with the result that only a case distinction is needed to determine the angle signal over a full 360° rotation. Therefore, the practice of determining the argument using the arc cosine is technically the most simple to implement.
[0013] The determination of whether the argument is greater than or less than 180° can be carried out in any desired manner, in principle, for example using the gradient of the sinusoidal transmitter signal, because a cosine function falls below 180° and rises above 180°. However, the sign can be read most quickly from the complementary sinusoidal transmitter signal because this is known to represent the derivative of the sinusoidal transmitter signal and it is therefore immediately clear from the sign whether the transmitter signal is rising or falling. When interpreting the signs, it is only necessary to pay attention to whether the complementary sinusoidal transmitter signal leads or lags the actual transmitter signal.
[0014] The direction of rotation can be determined from the angle signal, in particular if it has been determined in the manner mentioned above, earlier and over shorter travel distances with the vehicle since, whereas the angle signal and therefore the sensor information is rising in one direction of rotation, the angle signal and therefore the sensor information is falling in the other direction of rotation.
[0015] In one development, the sensor information is intended to be adaptively output in the manner described above since a large number of items of sensor information in relatively large rotational speed ranges could interfere with the transmission of other information, for example data relating to fault states, as already explained. Therefore, the sensor information is intended to be output only if the rotational speed determined on the basis of the rotational speed pulses falls below a predetermined value. If the predetermined value is exceeded, the rotational speed pulses can be output in the conventional manner.
[0016] According to another aspect of the invention, a control apparatus is set up to carry out one of the stated methods.
[0017] In one development of the stated control apparatus, the stated apparatus has a memory and a processor. In this case, one of the stated methods is stored in the memory in the form of a computer program and the processor is provided for the purpose of carrying out the method when the computer program has been loaded into the processor from the memory.
[0018] According to another aspect of the invention, a computer program comprises program code means for carrying out all steps of one of the stated methods when the computer program is executed on a computer or one of the stated apparatuses.
[0019] According to another aspect of the invention, a computer program product contains program code which is stored on a computer-readable data storage medium and carries out one of the stated methods when it is executed on a data processing device.
[0020] According to another aspect of the invention, a rotational speed sensor for sensing a rotational speed comprises a transmitter element for outputting a physical transmitter field which rotates at the rotational speed, a measuring sensor which is arranged in a stationary manner with respect to the transmitter element and is intended to output a transmitter signal which depends on the physical transmitter field, and one of the stated control apparatuses.
[0021] In one particular development, the stated rotational speed sensor is a wheel rotational speed sensor.
[0022] According to another aspect a vehicle comprises one of the stated wheel rotational speed sensors.
[0023] Other objects, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and the functions of the related elements of the structure, the combination of parts and economics of manufacture will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a vehicle having a vehicle dynamics control system;
[0026] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a wheel rotational speed sensor in the vehicle from FIG. 1 ;
[0027] FIG. 3 shows a graph having an output signal from two measuring sensors of the wheel rotational speed sensor from FIG. 2 ;
[0028] FIG. 4 shows a graph having an output signal from the wheel rotational speed sensor from FIG. 2 ;
[0029] FIG. 5 shows a graph having an angle signal which is determined in a signal preprocessing circuit of the wheel rotational speed sensor from FIG. 2 ,
[0030] FIG. 6 shows a graph having an expanded angle signal which is determined in a signal preprocessing circuit of the wheel rotational speed sensor from FIG. 2 , and
[0031] FIG. 7 shows a graph having an alternative output signal from the wheel rotational speed sensor from FIG. 2 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] In the figures, identical technical elements are provided with identical reference symbols and are described only once. Reference is made to FIG. 1 which shows a schematic view of a vehicle 2 having a vehicle dynamics control system.
[0033] The vehicle 2 comprises a chassis 4 and four wheels 6 . Each wheel 6 can be decelerated with respect to the chassis 4 via a brake 8 fastened to the chassis 4 in a stationary manner in order to decelerate a movement of the vehicle 2 on a road (not illustrated any further).
[0034] In this case, it may happen, in a manner known to a person skilled in the art, that the wheels 6 of the vehicle 2 lose their traction and the vehicle 2 even moves away from a trajectory, which is predefined using a steering wheel (not shown any further) for example, as a result of understeering or oversteering. This is avoided by means of control circuits such as ABS (anti-lock braking system) and ESP (electronic stability program).
[0035] In the present embodiment, the vehicle 2 has rotational speed sensors 10 on the wheels 6 for this purpose, which sensors sense a rotational speed 12 of the wheels 6 . The vehicle 2 also has an inertial sensor 14 which captures vehicle dynamics data 16 relating to the vehicle 2 , which data may comprise, for example, a pitch rate, a roll rate, a yaw rate, a transverse acceleration, a longitudinal acceleration and/or a vertical acceleration output in a manner known to a person skilled in the art.
[0036] On the basis of the sensed rotational speeds 12 and captured vehicle dynamics data 16 , an evaluation apparatus in the form of a controller 18 can determine, in a manner known to a person skilled in the art, whether the vehicle 2 is sliding on the road or even deviates from the predefined trajectory mentioned above and can accordingly react to this with a controller output signal 20 . The controller output signal 20 can then be used by an actuating device 22 to activate actuators, such as the brakes 8 , by means of actuating signals 24 , which actuators react to the sliding and the deviation from the predefined trajectory.
[0037] In addition to using the rotational speeds 12 from the individual rotational speed sensors 10 in a vehicle dynamics control system described above, the rotational speeds 12 are also used for other applications. One of these applications is, for example, the determination of the ground speed of the vehicle 2 . This speed can then be displayed for the driver or can be used for control purposes, for example when automatically parking the vehicle 2 in a parking space.
[0038] Reference is made to FIG. 2 which shows a schematic view of one of the rotational speed sensors 10 in the vehicle dynamics control system from FIG. 1 .
[0039] In the present embodiment, the rotational speed sensor 10 is in the form of an active rotational speed sensor which comprises an encoder disk 26 , which is fastened to the wheel 6 in a rotationally fixed manner, and two measuring sensors which are fastened in a stationary manner with respect to the chassis 4 and are in the form of a first reading head 28 and a second reading head 29 with a position which is offset with respect to the first reading head.
[0040] In the present embodiment, the encoder disk 26 consists of magnetic North poles 30 and magnetic South poles which are strung together and together excite a transmitter magnetic field (not illustrated any further). If the encoder disk 26 fastened to the wheel 6 rotates with the latter in a direction of rotation 34 , the transmitter magnetic field thus concomitantly rotates.
[0041] The reading heads 28 , 29 may comprise magnetostrictive elements which are constructed within the scope of barber pole technology and linearly change their electrical resistance on the basis of the angular position of the transmitter magnetic field excited by the encoder disk 26 .
[0042] In order to sense the rotational speed 12 , the change in the angular position of the encoder disk 26 , and therefore the change in the electrical resistances of the reading heads 28 , 29 , is sensed. For this purpose, the reading heads 28 , 29 may comprise a resistance measuring circuit (not illustrated any further), for example a bridge circuit, to which the magnetostrictive elements are accordingly connected. A periodic output signal, called rotational speed transmitter signal 36 , 37 below, is generated in the resistance measuring circuit for each reading head 28 , 29 on the basis of the electrical resistances of the magnetostrictive elements of the reading heads 28 , 29 . In a manner which is yet to be described, a pulse signal 40 which depends on the rotational speed 12 and is shown in FIG. 3 can be generated in a signal preprocessing circuit 38 downstream of the reading heads 28 , 29 on the basis of the rotational speed transmitter signal 36 , 37 and can be output to the controller 18 .
[0043] In the present embodiment, in addition to the information relating to the rotational speed 12 , an item of state information 42 which is shown in FIG. 4 and can be used to transmit more detailed information relating to the rotational speed 12 can also be entered in the pulse signal 40 as a data transmission signal. This state information 42 may be, for example, the direction of rotation of the wheel 6 , for which the rotational speed 12 is sensed, and can be determined in the signal preprocessing circuit 38 .
[0044] Reference is made to FIG. 3 which illustrates the rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 in the form of signal values 46 against the time 48 . These signal values are generally voltage values.
[0045] The profile of the electrical resistance of the magnetostrictive elements mentioned above is clearly identifiable from the example of the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 . A magnetic North pole 30 of the encoder disk 26 is axially below the first reading head 28 at each maximum of the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 , whereas a magnetic South pole 32 of the encoder disk 26 is axially below the first reading head 28 at each minimum of the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 . If the encoder disk 26 rotates, the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 oscillates between the two extreme values.
[0046] The second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 has exactly the same structure as the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 . However, since the second reading head 29 is arranged in a manner offset with respect to the first reading head 28 , as seen in the direction of rotation 34 of the encoder disk 26 , the magnetic poles 30 , 32 reach the second reading head 29 before or after the first reading head 28 in terms of time depending on the direction of rotation 34 of the encoder disk 26 . Therefore, the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 either leads or lags the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 .
[0047] In order to sense the rotational speed 12 , the number of oscillations of at least one of the two rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 can be counted during a predetermined period since, the higher the rotational speed 12 , the more oscillations are generated in this predetermined period.
[0048] In order to simplify the data transmission effort between the rotational speed sensor 10 and the device receiving the rotational speed, for example the controller 18 , only the pulse signal 40 , rather than the data-intensive rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 , is transmitted, which pulse signal comprises pulses 50 which are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and are called speed pulses 50 below. Each speed pulse 50 therefore shows the occurrence of an oscillation or possibly a half-oscillation. Thresholds 51 can be introduced in order to generate the speed pulses 50 . In principle, a single threshold 51 which can be set to a signal value 46 of zero suffices. If, for example, the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 passes through the threshold 51 of zero, a speed pulse 50 can be generated.
[0049] However, since the reading heads 28 , 29 are constructed using barber pole technology, there is the risk of additional low-amplitude oscillations being superimposed on the rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 , which is known under the technical term flipping. These would double the frequency of the rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 and therefore the rotational speed 12 to be measured. In order to exclude this, a threshold 51 shown in FIG. 4 is respectively inserted above and below the signal value 46 of zero within the scope of the present embodiment, a speed pulse 50 being generated if the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 intersects the upper threshold 51 from top to bottom and intersects the lower threshold 51 from bottom to top.
[0050] In addition, the direction of rotation 34 of the encoder disk 26 and therefore the rotational speed 12 can be derived from the sign of the phase offset 52 between the first and second rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 for the reasons mentioned above.
[0051] Reference is made to FIG. 4 which illustrates the pulse signal 40 again in the form of signal values 46 against the time 48 . These signal values are generally current values.
[0052] The pulse signal 40 carries the speed pulses 50 with a first pulse level 53 which is called a high pulse level 53 below. These speed pulses 50 are transmitted to the superordinate device, such as the controller 18 , with the highest priority, which means that, in the case of the pending transmission of a speed pulse 50 , the transmission of all other information is postponed or aborted.
[0053] In addition to the speed pulses 50 , the above-mentioned state information 42 is also entered in the pulse signal 40 with at least one further information pulse 54 to 62 which, depending on the information to be transmitted, may have, for example, a second pulse level 63 , which is called a medium pulse level 63 below, or a third pulse level 64 , which is called a low pulse level 64 below. For the sake of clarity, all information pulses 54 to 62 are illustrated with the medium pulse level 63 in FIG. 3 . In the present embodiment, nine information pulses 54 to 62 are entered in the pulse signal 40 after the speed pulse 50 , which information pulses carry information based on the AK protocol from the working group of the automobile industry which is known per se. In this case, each information pulse 54 to 62 carries one bit # 0 to # 8 . If an information pulse 54 to 62 is transmitted with the medium pulse level 63 , its corresponding bit # 0 to # 8 is set to 1. If an information pulse 54 to 64 is transmitted with the low pulse level 64 , its corresponding bit # 0 to # 8 is set to 0. The AK protocol has conventionally already been used to monitor an air gap (not visible any further in FIG. 2 ) between the encoder disk 26 and the reading heads 28 , 29 , the individual information pulses 54 to 62 having been assigned in the following manner:
[0000]
Bit
Pulse
Abbreviation
Description
Coding
#0
54
LR
Air gap reserve
‘0’ = OK
‘1’ = poor
#1
55
#2
56
#3
57
GDR
Direction of rotation
‘0’ = invalid
information validity
‘1’ = valid
#4
58
DR
Direction of rotation
‘0’ = positive
34
‘1’ = negative
#5
59
#6
60
#7
61
#8
62
P
Parity
[0054] It was already explained further above how the direction of rotation 34 , for example, is determined for the bit # 4 .
[0055] The devices downstream of the rotational speed sensor 10 , for example the controller 18 , are therefore provided with more detailed information relating to the rotational speed 12 and its determination, for example the direction of rotation 34 , on the basis of the state information 42 .
[0056] However, the problem with the above-mentioned transmission of the rotational speed 12 with the pulse signal 40 is that, in the case of very low rotational speeds 12 , as occur when parking the vehicle 2 for example, only insufficient speed pulses 50 are transmitted to the controller 18 because no speed pulses 50 are generated and transmitted on account of the slow rotation of the encoder disk 26 over a comparatively long period. No current rotational speed 12 is then available either in this period. This may result in unacceptable delays, in particular in the case of parking assistants or similar applications.
[0057] For this reason, it is proposed, within the scope of the present embodiment, to adaptively change the generation and transmission of the information relating to the rotational speed 12 below a particular speed threshold. The decision as regards which method is used to generate and transmit the rotational speed 12 could be made by the signal preprocessing circuit 38 , for example on the basis of the speed of the vehicle 2 . The changed method itself can also be carried out by the signal preprocessing circuit 38 , for example, and shall be explained in more detail below using FIGS. 5 to 7 .
[0058] The two reading heads 28 , 29 are arranged in such a manner that the two rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 are complementary to one another, that is to say they have a phase offset of 90° with respect to one another.
[0059] The amplitude A can then first of all be determined from the two rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 on the basis of the trigonometrical Pythagoras theorem. If a signal value 46 of the first rotational speed transmitter signal 38 is denoted using X and a signal value 46 of the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 is denoted using Y, the amplitude can be calculated as follows within the scope of the trigonometrical Pythagoras theorem:
[0000] A =√{square root over ( X 2 +Y 2 )}
[0060] Once the amplitude A is known, the two rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 can be normalized to 1. For a more comprehensible description of the embodiments below, the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 , which leads the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 in the manner shown in FIG. 3 , can be handled like a cosine signal and the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 can be handled like a sine signal. Within the scope for generating and transmitting the information relating to the rotational speed 12 , an arc cosine is now applied to the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 . In comparison with the arc sine, the arc cosine has the advantage that it is bijective over the first 180° and therefore requires fewer case distinctions. The result is an intermediate signal 66 , the signal values 46 of which are illustrated against the time 48 in FIG. 5 .
[0061] In contrast to the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 , the signal values 46 of the intermediate signal 66 run in a linear manner over time 48 . In addition, the angular position of the encoder disk 26 can also be discerned, in principle, from the intermediate signal 66 . However, the change in the intermediate signal 66 over time 48 must be considered for this purpose since, if the intermediate signal 66 rises, the position of the encoder disk 26 is between 0° and 180° and, if the intermediate signal 66 falls, the position of the encoder disk 26 is between 180° and 360°. However, the problem is that the information for the rotational speed 12 is intended to be determined in a state of the vehicle 2 in which the rotational speed 12 , and therefore also the intermediate signal 66 , scarcely changes over time 48 . The position of the encoder disk 26 must therefore also be able to be discerned when only one signal value 46 is available for the intermediate signal 66 , because it does not change over time.
[0062] The second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 which is complementary to the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 can be used in a particularly favorable manner for this purpose because it represents the differential quotient for the signal values 46 of the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 in a manner known per se and therefore represents the change in the first rotational speed signal 36 over time 48 . If the two rotational speed transmitter signals 36 , 37 are considered as a cosine and sine in the manner mentioned above, the intermediate signal 66 rises when the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 is positive and falls when the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 is negative. In order to illustrate this, the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 is indicated again for the sake of clarity using dotted lines in FIG. 5 .
[0063] Since the position of the encoder disk 26 can now also be determined if the first rotational speed transmitter signal 36 does not change over time, it is possible to generate an angle signal 68 from which the position of the encoder disk 26 over time 48 can be directly discerned. For this purpose, the intermediate signal 66 is immediately output as an angle signal 68 when the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 is positive. When the second rotational speed transmitter signal 37 is negative, a value of 360° minus the signal value 46 of the intermediate signal 66 is output as the angle signal 68 . The angle signal 68 should be in the form of a digital signal which is indicated in FIG. 6 and is described by digital values 67 over time 48 . In this case, the axis containing the digital values 67 is labeled only with 3-bit intermediate values in FIG. 6 , whereas the digital angle signal 66 can naturally have a far higher resolution.
[0064] In order to now generate the above-mentioned information relating to the rotational speed 12 from this digital angle signal 68 , the most significant bits, which are framed with dotted lines in FIG. 6 and are indicated using the reference symbol 69 , are cut out from the digital values 67 of the angle signal 68 as information relating to the rotational speed 12 in the pulse signal 40 .
[0065] These most significant bits 69 can then be transmitted in any desired manner in the pulse signal 40 . An example of this is indicated in FIG. 7 .
[0066] In this case, the most significant bits 69 of a current digital value 67 of the angle signal 68 are transmitted at regular intervals of time 70 between the actual rotational speed pulses 50 instead of or in addition to the state information 42 as sensor information 71 . Within the scope of FIG. 7 , the sensor information 71 is transmitted instead of the state information 42 . The receiver of this information relating to the rotational speed 12 , that is to say the controller 18 , can derive the total time 72 between a state change of the most significant bits 69 of the angle signal 68 and therefore the rotational speed 12 from the known intervals of time 70 .
[0067] However, the transmission of the speed pulses 50 is ultimately optional. Alternatively, the speed pulses 50 could also be replaced with the most significant bits 69 , in which case an accordingly large amount of effort in the receiver of the information relating to the rotational speed 12 , that is to say the controller 18 , would then be needed to decode the information.
[0068] The information relating to the rotational speed 12 generated in the manner described above and transmitted in the pulse signal 40 allows the receiver of the information relating to the rotational speed 12 to also directly discern the direction of rotation 34 of the encoder disk 26 from the state change of the most significant bits 69 in the pulse signal 40 since the direction of rotation 34 of the encoder disk 26 can also be clearly distinguished by a rise or fall in the digital values 67 of the angle signal 68 which are described with the most significant bits 69 .
[0069] The foregoing preferred embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the structural and functional principles of the present invention, as well as illustrating the methods of employing the preferred embodiments and are subject to change without departing from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the scope of the following claims. | A method for producing sensor information depends on a rotational speed, using a rotational speed sensor which is adapted to output rotational speed pulses in predetermined angular positions of a physical sensor field that rotates at the rotational speed. In order to increase resolution, a digital angle signal each is determined between the pulses. A defined number of most significant bits of said angle information is output to determine the rotational speed so that the interval between two pulses is subdivided into a defined number of subintervals. An angle value which can be unambiguously interpreted by means of the sinusoidal signal can be determined from the cosine signal by using two phase shift sinusoidal signals and an arccos function. The device optionally outputs the angle signal below a threshold value and an impulse signal above the threshold value to determine speed. | 1 |
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-037648 filed on Feb. 19, 2008. The content of the application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration actuator, and a lens barrel and a camera provided with the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, a vibration actuator is known wherein progressive vibration waves (below referred to as progressive waves) are generated at a driving face of an elastic body utilizing the expansion and contraction of an electromechanical conversion element, which generates elliptical motion at the driving face by these progressive waves, whereby a relative moving member making pressure contact with the wave crests of the elliptical motion is driven (for example, refer to Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. H1-17354.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, there has been demand to miniaturize such vibration actuators. However, as the vibration actuators are miniaturized, the surface area of the joining face of the electromechanical converter and the elastic body becomes smaller, and if the conditions of the electromechanical converter other than the thickness and dielectric constant and the like are fixed, the capacitance of the electromechanical converter will decrease. As the capacitance of the electromechanical converter is reduced, the driving performance such as the startup torque of the vibration actuator and the like will accordingly be reduced.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a vibration actuator which has good driving performance even when miniaturized, and a lens barrel and camera provided with the same.
A first aspect of the present invention is to provide a vibration actuator comprising, an electromechanical conversion element having a first joining face and which is subject to excitation, an elastic body having a second joining face which is joined to the first joining face and a driving face which gives rise to vibration waves as a result of said excitation, and a relative moving member having a contact face which is in pressure contact with the driving face which is driven by the vibration waves and which moves relative to the elastic body, wherein an outer shape of said first joining face has a shape which differs from an outer shape of said contact face.
The contact face may be round, and in the first joining face, a width in a direction orthogonal to a progressive direction of the relative moving member may differ depending on the position in the progressive direction of the relative moving member.
The contact face may be round, and in the first joining face, a width in a radial direction of the contact face may be nonuniform.
The outer shape of the contact face may be smaller than an outer shape of the second joining face.
An outer shape of the driving face may be smaller than an outer shape of the second joining face.
The outer shape of the first joining face and the outer shape of the second joining face may be elliptical shapes.
A short radius of the second joining face may be approximately the same as a length in a direction parallel to the short radius of the driving face.
The second joining face may have a shape which is approximately the same as the first joining face.
The driving face may have a similar shape to the contact face.
The outer shape of the contact face may be round.
A second aspect of the present invention is to provide an electromechanical conversion element comprising, a joining face having an outer shape other than round and which is joined to an elastic body, and a round through-hole formed in a central portion of the joining face.
A third aspect of the present invention is to provide an elastic body comprising, a joining face having an outer shape other than round, and which is joined to an electromechanical conversion element, and a driving face which gives rise to vibration waves due to excitation of the electromechanical conversion element.
The driving face may be round.
The outer shape of the joining face may be an elliptical shape.
An outer shape of the driving face may be smaller than the outer shape of the joining face.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is to provide a lens barrel comprising the vibration actuator according to the above aspects.
The lens barrel may, further comprise, a lens unit driven by the vibration actuator, a lens retaining mount which retains the lens unit, and a housing which encloses the lens retaining mount wherein, the vibration actuator is positioned between the lens retaining mount and the housing.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is to provide a camera comprising the vibration actuator according to above aspects.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vibration actuator which has good driving performance even when miniaturized, and a lens barrel and camera provided with the same.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a drawing explaining the camera of the first embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a drawing of the lens barrel in the camera of FIG. 1 , viewed from the photographic object side;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional drawing of the ultrasonic wave motor of the first embodiment;
FIGS. 4A to 4C are drawings showing the vibrating element of the first embodiment; and
FIGS. 5A to 5C are drawings showing the vibrating element of the second embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Below, embodiments of the present invention are explained with reference to the figures. Further, the following embodiments explain the vibration actuator giving an ultrasonic wave motor as an example.
(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a drawing explaining the camera 1 of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a drawing showing the lens barred 3 in the camera 1 viewed form the photographic object side.
The camera 1 of the first embodiment is provided with a camera body 2 having an imaging element, and a lens barrel 3 having a lens 7 .
The lens barrel 3 is an interchangeable lens which is removable from the camera body 2 . Further, in the present embodiment, the lens barrel 3 is shown by an example of an interchangeable lens, but this is not a limitation, and it may for example also be a lens barrel which is integrated with the camera body.
The lens barrel 3 is provided with a lens 7 , a cam tube 6 , gears 4 , 5 , an ultrasonic wave motor 10 , enclosed in a housing 9 , and the like. In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic wave motor 10 , as shown in FIG. 2 , is located in the gap between the cam tube 6 and the housing 9 . The ultrasonic wave motor 10 is used as an actuator for driving the lens 7 during the focus operation of the camera 1 , and the driving power obtained from the ultrasonic wave motor 10 is transmitted to the cam tube 6 via the gears 4 , 5 . The lens 7 is a focusing lens retained by the cam tube 6 , and is moved approximately parallel to the optical axis direction (the direction of the arrow L in FIG. 1 ) by the driving power of the ultrasonic wave motor 10 , to carry out focusing.
In FIG. 1 , an image is formed of the photographic object at the imaging surface of the imaging element 8 by a lens group (including the lens 7 ) not shown in the drawing, provided in the lens barrel 3 . The formed image of the photographic object is converted to an electric signal by the imaging element 8 , and image data is obtained by A/D conversion of this signal.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional drawing of the ultrasonic wave motor 10 of the first embodiment.
The ultrasonic wave motor 10 of the first embodiment is provided with a vibrating element 11 , a moving element 15 , an output shaft 18 , a pressurizing member 19 , and the like, and is configured so that the vibrating element 11 side is fixed, and the moving element 15 is rotationally driven.
The vibrating element 11 is a member with a hollow form, and having an elastic body 12 , and a piezoelectric body 13 which is joined to the elastic body 12 . The vibrating element 11 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A described later, has an outer shape which is an approximately elliptical shape when viewed from the moving element 15 side, and in its central portion, a through-hole 11 c having an approximately round shape is formed.
In this specification the word “round” means a shape in which every part of the circumference is equidistant from the center.
The elastic body 12 is a member formed of a metal material having a high resonance sharpness. The elastic body 12 has a hollow form, and its shape is an approximately elliptical shape when viewed from the moving element 15 side (refer to FIG. 4A ), and this elastic body 12 has a comb tooth portion 12 a , a base portion 12 b , a flange portion 12 c , and the like.
The comb tooth portion 12 a is formed with a plurality of grooves cut at the surface on the opposite side of the surface joining the piezoelectric body 13 (the elastic body-side joining surface 12 e ), and the tip surface of this comb tooth portion 12 a is in pressure contact with the moving element 15 , and becomes the driving face 12 d which drives the moving element 15 . A lubricant surface treatment such as Ni—P (nickel-phosphorous) plating or the like is applied to this driving surface. The reason for providing the comb tooth portion 12 a is to make the neutral plane of the progressive waves arising at the driving face 12 d by the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric body 13 get as close as possible to the side of the piezoelectric body 13 , thereby increasing the amplitude of the progressive waves of the driving face 12 d.
The base portion 12 b is a portion which is continuous in the peripheral direction of the elastic body 12 , and the piezoelectric body 13 is joined at the elastic body-side contact face 12 e , which is the opposite side to the comb tooth portion 12 a of the base portion 12 b.
The flange portion 12 c is a brim-shaped portion which projects in the inner radial direction of the elastic body 12 , and is arranged in the center of the thickness direction of the base portion 12 b . The vibrating element 11 is fixed to the fixed member 16 by this flange portion 12 c.
Further, the details concerning the form of the elastic body-side joining face 12 e and the driving face 12 d , as well as the later described piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a will be explained later.
The piezoelectric body 13 is an electromechanical conversion element which converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. In the present embodiment, a piezoelectric element is used as the piezoelectric body, but it is also possible to use an electrostrictive element or the like.
The piezoelectric body 13 has an approximately planar shape, and has a piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a which is joined with the elastic body 12 , and is a member with a hollow form where a through-hole 13 c with a round shape is formed in the central portion of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a (refer to FIG. 4 ). In the piezoelectric body 13 , the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a is joined to the elastic body-side joining face 12 e using an adhesive.
This piezoelectric body 13 has electrode portions formed thereon, not shown in the drawings, in order to input a driving signal.
The wiring of flexible printed circuit board 14 is connected to the electrode portions of the piezoelectric body 13 . The flexible printed circuit board has the function of providing the driving signal to the piezoelectric body 13 .
The elastic body 12 is excited by the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric body 13 caused by the driving signal provided from this flexible printed circuit board 14 , and progressive waves are generated on the driving face of the elastic body 12 . In the present embodiment, four progressive waves are generated.
The moving element 15 is a member which is rotationally driven by the progressive waves arising on the driving face of the elastic body 12 . The moving element 15 is a member having an approximately disk-like shape, formed of a light metal such as aluminum or the like, and has a contact face 15 a which contacts the vibrating element 11 (the driving face 12 d of the elastic body 12 ).
The contact face 15 a has an approximately round shape, and a surface treatment of alumite or the like is applied to the surface of the contact face 15 a in order to improve the abrasion resistance.
The output shaft 18 is a member having an approximately cylindrical shape. One end of the output shaft 18 contacts the moving element 15 via a rubber member 23 , and it is arranged so as to rotate as one piece with the moving element 15 .
The rubber member 23 is a member of an approximately round shape, formed of rubber. This rubber member 23 has the function of allowing the moving element 15 and the output shaft 18 to rotate as one piece due to the viscoelasticity of the rubber, and the function of absorbing vibrations so that vibrations from the moving element 15 are not transmitted to the output shaft 18 , and butyl rubber, silicon rubber, propylene rubber and the like can be used.
The pressurizing member 19 is a member which generates pressure to make pressure contact between the vibrating element 11 and the moving element 15 . This pressurizing member 19 is arranged between a gear 4 and a bearing receiving member 21 . As the pressurizing member 19 in the present embodiment, a compression coil spring is used, but it is not limited to this.
The gear 4 is inserted so as to fit with a D-cut of the output shaft 18 , and is fixed with a stopper 22 such as an E-ring or the like, and is arranged so as to be integral in the rotational direction and the axial direction with the output shaft 18 . The gear 4 , by rotating with the rotation of the output shaft 18 , transmits driving power to the gear 5 (refer to FIG. 1 ).
Further, the bearing receiving member 21 is arranged at the inner radial side of the bearing 17 , and the bearing 17 is constituted to be arranged at the inner radial side of the fixed member 16 .
The pressurizing member 19 pressurizes the vibrating element 11 towards the moving element 15 side, in the axial direction of the shaft 18 , and as a result of this pressure, the moving element 15 is in pressure contact with the driving face of the vibrating element 11 , and is rotationally driven. Further, between the pressurizing member 19 and the bearing receiving member 21 , a pressure adjusting washer may be arranged, so that an appropriate pressure can be obtained for the driving of the ultrasonic wave motor 10 .
Next, the shape of the driving face 12 d , the elastic body-side joining face 12 e and the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a will be explained.
FIG. 4 is a drawing showing the vibrating element 11 of the first embodiment. Further, in order to facilitate understanding, in FIG. 4 and the below shown FIG. 5 , the orthogonal coordinate system XYZ is provided. The direction parallel to the axial direction of the output shaft 18 is set as the Z axis direction, and the direction facing the moving element 15 side in the Z axis direction is set as the Z axis positive direction. Then, the direction parallel to the long radius (long axis) of the elliptical shape of the outer shape of the vibrating element 11 viewed from the Z axis positive direction (the moving element 15 side) is set as the X axis direction, and the direction parallel to the short radius (short axis) is set as the Y axis direction.
FIG. 4A is a drawing showing the vibrating element 11 as seen from the moving element 15 side, FIG. 4B is a cross sectional drawing of the vibrating element 11 along the cross section of the S 1 -S 2 arrows, parallel to the XZ plane, and FIG. 4C is a cross sectional drawing of the vibrating element 11 along the cross section of the S 3 -S 4 arrows, parallel to the YZ plane. Further, in FIG. 4A , the shape shown by the dotted lines is the shape of the contact face 15 a of the moving element 15 contacting the driving face 12 d , and the contact face 15 a contacts the driving face 12 d in the region shown by this dotted line.
The piezoelectric body 13 is member having an approximately planar shape, having a piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a joined to the elastic body 12 , and a through-hole 13 c with a round shape is formed in the center portion of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a . This piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a has an outer shape which is an elliptical shape when viewed from the elastic body 12 side (the Z axis positive side).
As shown in FIG. 4 , the end face in the Z axis direction positive side of the elastic body 12 is the driving face 12 d , and the end face in the Z axis direction negative side is the elastic body-side joining face 12 e.
The outer shape of the elastic body-side joining face 12 e is an elliptical shape. The shape of this elastic body-side joining face 12 e approximately coincides with the shape of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a . Further, in the present embodiment, the outer shape of the driving face 12 d approximately coincides with the outer shape of the elastic body-side joining face 12 e , and when viewed from the moving element 15 side along the Z axis direction, as shown in FIG. 4A , the outer shapes of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a , the elastic body-side joining face 12 e , and driving face 12 d approximately coincide.
In the present embodiment, when a is the long radius of the elliptical shape which is the outer shape of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a , the elastic body-side joining face 12 e , and the driving face 12 d , and b is the short radius, the length ratio of the long radius and short radius is, a:b=1.5:1
Table 1 compares the ultrasonic wave motor of the present embodiment and ultrasonic wave motors of the Comparative Examples concerning the capacitance of the piezoelectric body and the like.
TABLE 1
Comparative
Present
Comparative
Example 1
Embodiment
Example 2
Ratio a:b of long radius to
1:1
1.5:1
3:1
short radius
Ratio of capacitance of
1
1.5
3
piezoelectric body (for
inner radius of 0)
Difference in vibration
∘
Δ
x
amplitude in radial
direction of driving face
Irregularity in rotational
∘
Δ
x
speed in peripheral
direction of moving element
∘ = good;
Δ = usable;
x = unusable
The ultrasonic wave motors of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, not shown in the drawings, have approximately the same shape as the ultrasonic wave motor 10 of the present embodiment, except for the point that the outer shapes of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a and the like differ.
The vibrating element of the ultrasonic wave motor of Comparative Example 1 has an approximately round shape. Accordingly, the outer shapes of the piezoelectric body-side joining face, the elastic body-side joining face and the driving face of Comparative Example 1 are round shapes, and a:b=1:1. The outer diameters of the piezoelectric body-side joining face, the elastic body-side joining face, and the driving face of this Comparative Example 1 have the same length as the short radius b of the outer shape of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a of the present embodiment.
The outer shapes of the piezoelectric body-side joining face, the elastic body-side joining face and the driving face of the ultrasonic wave motor of Comparative Example 2 are elliptical-shapes, and the ratio of the long radius of the elliptical shape and the short radius is a:b=3:1. The short radius of the piezoelectric body-side joining face of this Comparative Example 2 has similar lengths to the short radius of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a of the present embodiment, and the long radius is twice as long as the length of the long radius of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a of the present embodiment.
The ratios of the capacitances of the piezoelectric bodies shown in Table 1 are the ratios of the capacitances of the piezoelectric body of the other Comparative Example and the present embodiment for the case that the capacitance of the piezoelectric body of Comparative Example 1 is set to 1. Further, this capacitance is for the case that the inner diameter c of the through-hole formed in the center of each of the piezoelectric bodies is c=0, namely, it is a comparison for the state in which the through-hole is not formed.
The difference in vibration amplitude in the radial direction of the driving face is a result of comparing the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the driving face of the driving face concerning the size of the vibration amplitudes of the progressive waves arising at the driving face. A small difference in the size of the vibration amplitude in the radial direction of the driving face is evaluated as “good” and indicated as “o” in Table 1; some difference in the radial direction, which is nonetheless suitable for use, is evaluated as “usable”, and indicated as “Δ” in Table 1; and a large difference in the radial direction, which is not suitable for use, is evaluated as “unusable” and indicated as “x” in Table 1.
Further, the irregularity in the rotational speed in the peripheral direction of the moving element is an irregularity in the rotational speed in the peripheral direction of the contact face 15 a when the moving element 15 is rotationally driven by the progressive waves of the driving face. In the peripheral direction of the contact face 15 a , a small irregularity of the rotational speed is evaluated as “good” and indicated as “o” in Table 1; some irregularity in the rotational speed, which is nonetheless suitable for use, is evaluated as “usable” and indicated as “Δ” in Table 1; and a large irregularity in the rotational speed, which is not suitable for use, is evaluated as “unusable” and indicated as “x” in Table 1.
As shown in Table 1, it can be understood that the capacitance increases as the long radius a becomes larger. This is because, when the conditions of the thickness and dielectric property and the like are fixed, the capacitance of the piezoelectric body is proportional to the surface area of the polarized region of the piezoelectric body; therefore, by increasing the surface are of the piezoelectric body, the area of the polarized region can be increased. Namely, if the surface area of the joining face of the piezoelectric body and the elastic body increases, it is possible to increase the region of polarization of the piezoelectric body, and it is possible to increase the capacitance of the piezoelectric body. In this way, it is possible to obtain a larger driving force.
However, as shown in Table 1, as the ratio of the long radius a and the short radius b becomes large, the difference between the vibration amplitude in the radial direction of the driving face become large. The vibration amplitude of the progressive waves has a tendency to become large towards the outer peripheral side in the radial direction of the driving face. Accordingly, usually, compared to the inner peripheral side of the driving face, the outer peripheral side has a larger vibration amplitude of the progressive waves.
When the outer shape of the driving face is an elliptical shape, for example in the present embodiment, for the point t 1 in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the short radial direction of the driving face 12 d , and the point t 2 in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the long radial direction, the size of the vibration amplitude differs, and the vibration amplitude of the point t 2 is larger than the vibration amplitude of the point t 1 .
This change in the size of the vibration amplitudes is not simply proportional to the position in the radial direction, thus in the region contacting the contact face 15 a of the moving element 15 (the region enclosed by the dotted lines in FIG. 4A ), for example, for the point t 3 positioned in the short radial direction of the driving face 12 d of the present embodiment, and the point t 4 positioned in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the long radial direction, the vibration amplitude of the point t 3 is large compared to the vibration amplitude of the point t 4 .
As is the case with the difference in the vibration amplitude of the progressive waves at the point t 3 and the point t 4 , the difference in vibration amplitude in the region which the contact face 15 a contacts becomes larger as the ratio of the long radius a of the elliptical shape of the driving face to the short radius b becomes larger (refer to Table 1).
As stated above, because differences in the vibration amplitude arise in the region where the contact face 15 a contacts the driving face, irregularities arise in the rotational speed of the moving element 15 in its peripheral direction. If these irregularities in the rotational speed become large, it becomes impossible to carry out stable driving of the moving element 15 , and reductions or the like in the driving performance and driving efficiency of the ultrasonic wave motor will arise.
However, in the present embodiment, the ratio of the long radius a to the short radius b, of the elliptical shape which form the outer shape of the driving face 12 d and the like, is set to a:b=1.5:1, thus the desired driving power and stable driving can be made compatible.
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain an ultrasonic wave motor with good driving performance, even if miniaturized. For example, if an ultrasonic wave motor of the prior art, where the vibrating element has an round shape, is miniaturized, when a comparison is made for the case that the outer radius of the vibrating element has the same length as the short radius b of the present embodiment, the ultrasonic wave motor 10 of the present embodiment can provide greater torque.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the outer shape when viewed from the Z axis direction is elliptical. Accordingly, it can be located in a space where one length is long and the other length is short in the X axis and Y axis directions, when viewed from the Z axis direction, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 , in the gap between the cam tube 6 in the inner portion of the lens barrel 3 and the outer tube of the lens barrel 3 , thus the efficiency in terms of space is increased.
(Second Embodiment)
The ultrasonic wave motor of the second embodiment has approximately the same shape as the first embodiment, except for the point that the outer shape of the driving face 32 d of the vibrating element 31 is different. Accordingly, the parts performing the same function as for the first embodiment described above have the same reference numbers, and overlapping explanations are omitted where appropriate.
FIG. 5 is a drawing showing the vibrating element 31 of the ultrasonic wave motor of the second embodiment. FIG. 5A is a drawing of the vibrating element 31 viewed from the moving element 15 side; FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional drawing of the vibrating element 31 along the cross section of the S 5 -S 6 arrows parallel to the XZ plane, and FIG. 5C is a cross sectional drawing of the vibrating element 31 along the cross section of the S 7 -S 8 arrows parallel to the YZ axis. Further, the region shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 5A is the shape of the contact face 15 a of the moving element 15 which contacts the driving face 32 d , and is approximately the same as the region where the contact face 15 a contacts the driving face 32 d.
The vibrating element 31 of the second embodiment has an elastic body 32 , a piezoelectric body 13 , and a through-hole 31 c . The through-hole 31 c has a shape approximately the same as the through-hole 11 c of the first embodiment.
The elastic body 32 of the second embodiment has a comb tooth portion 32 a , a base portion 32 b , a flange portion 32 c , a driving face 32 d , and an elastic body-side joining face 32 e . The comb tooth portion 32 a , the base portion 32 b , the flange portion 32 c , and the elastic body-side joining face 32 e are parts which perform approximately the same function as the functions shown for the first embodiment, but the outer shape of the driving face 32 d differs from the first embodiment, thus the shapes of the outer peripheral sides of the comb tooth portion 32 a and the base portion 32 b are different from those of the first embodiment (refer to FIG. 5B ). These differences in shape will be described below.
The driving face 32 d , as shown in FIG. 5A and the like, has a shape which when viewed from the moving element 15 side (the Z axis positive side) is an round shape with an outer radius r, and is a similar shape to the contact face 15 a of the moving element 15 .
The center of the driving face 32 d and the center of the elliptical shape of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e are located on the same straight line parallel to the Z axis direction, and the length of the outer radius r of the driving face 32 d is the same as the length of the short radius b of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e , r=b=(⅔)×a.
As shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C , in the short radius direction (Y axis direction) of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e , the dimension of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e (2×b), and the dimension of the driving face 32 d (2×r) are the same, but in the long radius direction (X axis direction) of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e , the dimension of the driving face 32 d (2×r) is smaller than the dimension of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e (2×a).
Accordingly, the outer shape of the driving face 32 d is small compared to the outer shape of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e , and as shown in FIG. 5B , a portion of the outer peripheral side of the comb tooth portion 32 a and the base portion 32 b have a shape which is inclined towards the inner peripheral side.
The driving face 32 d of the present embodiment has an outer shape which is a round shape, thus the progressive waves arising on the driving face 32 d have a small difference in the size of the vibration amplitude in the peripheral direction. For example, the difference in the size of the vibration amplitude of the progressive waves of the point t 5 located in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge in the Y axis direction on the driving face 32 d , and the point t 6 located in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge in the X axis direction, is small compared to the difference of the vibration amplitude of the progressive waves at the points t 1 ad t 2 (refer to FIG. 5A ) shown for the above described first embodiment.
Further, by making the outer shape of the driving face 32 d a round shape, for the region where the contact face 15 a contacts the driving face 32 d , the position in the radial direction of the outer radius of the driving face 32 d is approximately constant regardless of the position in the peripheral direction.
Accordingly, in the region of the driving face 32 d which contacts the contact face 15 a (the region shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 5A ), the difference in the size of the vibration amplitude of point t 7 located in the Y axis direction and the point t 8 located in the X axis direction is small.
From the above, according to the present embodiment, the difference in the size of the vibration amplitude in the peripheral direction of the region of the driving face 32 d which contacts the contact face 15 a is small, and the irregularity of the rotational speed in the peripheral direction of the moving element 15 can be made small. Accordingly, the moving element 15 can be stably driven, and the driving performance of the ultrasonic wave motor can be improved.
Further, according to the present embodiment, in the same way as for the first embodiment, the ultrasonic wave motor can be miniaturized without reducing the driving force.
Furthermore, the radius r of the driving face 32 d has the same length as the short radius b of the elastic body-side joining face 32 e , thus the region which contacts the contact face 15 a can be made the outer peripheral side in the radial direction of the driving face 32 d , regardless of the position in the peripheral direction. Accordingly, it is possible to drive the moving element 15 by a greater vibration amplitude, and the torque of the ultrasonic wave motor can be improved.
(Modifications)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and many modifications or alterations are possible.
(1) In each of the embodiments, an example was shown where the outer shapes of the piezoelectric body-side joining face 13 a and the elastic body-side joining face 12 e , 32 e have an elliptical shape, but this is not a limitation, and for example, they may be polygonal, to further increase the efficiency in the use of space.
(2) In each of the embodiments, a rotationally driven ultrasonic wave motor was given as an example to explain the moving element 15 , but this is not a limitation, and the moving element can be applied to a vibration actuator of a linear type which is driven in a straight line.
(3) In each of the embodiments, an ultrasonic wave motor using vibrations in the ultrasonic wave region was used as an example for the explanation, but this is not a limitation, and for example, it can be applied to a vibration actuator using vibrations outside of the ultrasonic wave region.
(4) In each of the embodiments, an example of an ultrasonic wave motor used to drive a lens at the time of the focusing operation is shown, but this is not a limitation, and for example, the ultrasonic wave motor can be used for driving at the time of the zooming operation of a lens.
(5) In each of the embodiments, an example of an ultrasonic wave motor used for a camera is shown, but this is not a limitation, and for example, it can be used as a driving portion of a copying machine, or a driving portion of a steering wheel tilt device or headrest of an automobile.
Further, the above embodiments and modifications can also be used in appropriate combinations, but detailed explanations thereof are omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited by the above-explained embodiments. | To provide a vibration actuator having good driving performance even when miniaturized, and a lens barrel and camera provided with the same. A first aspect of the present invention is to provide a vibration actuator comprising, an electromechanical conversion element, having a first joining face, and which is subject to excitation, an elastic body having a second joining face which is joined to the first joining face, and a driving face which gives rise to vibration waves as a result of said excitation, and a relative moving member, having a contact face which is in pressure contact with the driving face, which is driven by the vibration waves, and which moves relative to the elastic body, wherein an outer shape of said first joining face has a shape which differs from an outer shape of said contact face. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heating apparatus for liquids or gases wherein the viscosity rises significantly at a lower temperature or wherein maintenance at a proper temperature is necessary for a certain purpose.
Such fluids as described require heating to a temperature higher than a fixed value in the storage tank, on the way through transporting pipe line, etc.
The most frequently used equipment among the conventional heating equipments is one shown in FIG. 11. In this conventional equipment, a heat transfer pipe 8 made from steel pipe is provided inside the storage tank 9 in a way that one end is protruded from said tank 9 and an inner cylinder 82 filled with rock wool 81 is inserted into this heat transfer pipe 8. On the outer circumference of this inner cylinder 82, MI cable (nonadhering insulated heating cable) 83 is wound spirally and densely and, in the space between MI cable 83 and heat transfer pipe 8, alumina 84 is filled to make the heat resistance low between the cable 83 and the heat transfer pipe 8. When charging MI cable 83 with electricity, Joule heat generated is transmitted to the oils in storage tank through the filled layer of alumina 84 and the heat transfer pipe 8. Numeral 91 is a flange for fitting and numeral 85 is a connection box in FIG. 11.
With the heating equipment above, the handling is easy at the time of running, but, at the time of breakdown, the whole equipment mainly composed of heat transfer pipe 8 must be exchanged. Since all of the contents of the tank must be removed for the exchange of the heater, there was a problem in coping with the breakdown. Moreover, it is the present status that, even if alumina is filled between the heat transfer pipe and MI cable, the heat resistance is still high resulting in that the temperature of MI cable becomes high and the limit on heating temperature of the heating apparatus is considerably lower than the tolerance temperature of MI cable. Furthermore, there were problems that the output of the heating apparatus and the length of heat transfer pipe are restricted by the output and the length of MI cable making the apparatus unsuitable for the storage tank of large capacity, and so on.
The purpose of the invention is to improve the aforementioned problems of the conventional heating, that is, to provide a heating apparatus wherein the maintenance work at the time of breakdown etc. is simple, the output and heating temperature can be established without any restriction by the cable insulation etc., the apparatus can be installed to the center of the container even when heating tanks of large capacity and, at the same time, the equipment can be installed in low cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is one carrying out the heating of fluids by utilizing thermosiphon principle. The first practical embodiment is a thermosiphon having an operation section at one side which is provided inside the storage tank or transport pipe of fluid in such a way that said thermosiphon lies horizontally or inclines downwardly to the operation section and that the operation section appears outside said tank or pipe, a receiver section for a working fluid is formed at the bottom of said thermosiphon on the side of operation section, a degassing pipe is inserted from the outside of the vessel into said thermosiphon, and the working fluid in the receiver section is heated and evaporated by the heating means. The second practical embodiment is an apparatus wherein the receiver section of working fluid is separated from the thermosiphon and a receiving vessel of working fluid is installed outside or inside said tank or pipe so that the working fluid flows into the thermosiphon and the receiving vessel. Further, the third practical embodiment is that in which at least the circumferential side wall of said tank or pipe is formed doubly through a fixed spatial layer, at the same time, said spatial layer is communicated to the thermosiphon so that the condensed fluid generated in the spatial layer can flow into the thermosiphon, and the working fluid in the thermosiphon is heated and evaporated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 through FIG. 3 are concerned in the first practical embodiment of the invention, wherein FIG. 1 is a partially abbreviated cross section showing one example of heating apparatus, FIG. 2 is a partially abbreviated cross section of necessary portion showing the thermosiphon in another example, and FIG. 3 is an approximate ground plan exemplifying the heating apparatus used in the thermosiphon shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 are concerned in the second practical embodiment of the invention, wherein FIG. 4 is a partially abbreviated cross section showing one example of heating apparatus, FIG. 5 is a partially abbreviated cross section of necessary portion showing the thermosiphon in another example, FIG. 6 is an approximate side view exemplifying the heating apparatus used in the thermosiphon shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a partially abbreviated cross section showing further different example.
FIG. 8 through FIG. 10 show the third practical embodiment of the invention, wherein FIG. 8 is a partially abbreviated cross section showing one example of heating apparatus, FIG. 9 is a partially abbreviated and expanded cross section of the thermosiphon in the example in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a cross section exemplifying another embodiment of the apparatus.
FIG. 11 is a partially abbreviated cross section showing the conventional heating apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a heating apparatus utilizing a thermosiphon in which the latent heat is given and received through the evaporation and the condensation of a working fluid, and the principle of a heat pipe is applied ingeniously in the invention. Through the evaporation of working fluid, the latent heat of evaporation is transferred to the whole thermosiphon or further to a spatial layer provided on the circumferential side wall of the container, the fluid being therein, to warm the fluid contacted therewith and simultaneously the condensed fluid of the vapor of working fluid circulates to the receiver section of working fluid installed inside or outside of thermosiphon and is heated to evaporate again. In this way, by repeating the exchange of the latent heat of evaporation, the fluid in the storage tank or the transport pipe is heated.
The working fluid to be placed in the thermosiphon is selected appropriately depending on the temperature at which the fluid to be heated is kept. As the combinations of such working fluids with the temperature to heat and keep the fluid to be heated, which is shown in parentheses, water (50°-150° C.), water containing an inhibitor, Freon (-10°-50° C.), naphthalene (150°-220° C.), toluene (60°-150° C.), diphenyl (150°-200° C.), mixture of diphenyl with diphenyl ether (150°-260° C.), etc. can be exemplified, but any medium fluid can be used besides of above, if it evaporates in the vicinity of a fixed working temperature, it is excellent in the thermal stability and it has high transfer rate of heat of evaporation and condensation.
The heating of working fluid is made directly by immersing, the heating means into working fluid or indirectly by heating the receiver section or the receiving vessel of working fluid of the thermosiphon from outside of the thermosiphon. For the heating means, a heating pipe containing a heating medium may be used in addition to an electric heater. For the heating means consisting of a cartridge heater, it is desirable from the point of safety to provide a thermocouple and to shut off the power source connected to the heating means when the temperature of heating means reaches a fixed value through the dry up of working fluid, generation of noncondensing gas or the like. Moreover, for the heating means consisting of cartridge heater, it is desirable to provide a screw portion on the cover or end plate and to fit the heating means thrusting into the receiver section of working fluid in order to make the exchange easier at the time of breakdown.
In the thermosiphon, a temperature detector indicating the temperature of vapor is provided. By controlling said heating means based on the measured value of the temperature in the thermosiphon through this one-point temperature detection, the temperature in thermosiphon is kept constant over time.
Furthermore, in the thermosiphon, a thin degassing pipe is provided. One end of this pipe inside the thermosiphon is opened and the other end protruding through the side of the operation section is closed tightly by means of a valve or other means. This degassing pipe is fitted so that the opening portion is kept at a distance as far as possible from the receiver section of working fluid. Thus, when the noncondensing gas etc. accumulates in the thermosiphon, it becomes possible to remove the accumulated gas by opening the end of the degassing pipe at the side of operation section.
The heat transfer pipe of a thermosiphon is not limited to the steel pipe made from carbon steel, but stainless steel pipe, pipes made from copper or alloys thereof, pipes made from aluminum or the alloys thereof, flexible pipe, ceramic pipe and other materials which tolerate the working temperature can be used. Pipes with fins may also be used.
The fluids to which the heating equipment of the invention can be applied extend over an extremely wide range. The equipment has been applied to, for example, oils such as Minas crude oil, C-grade heavy oil, lubricating oil, edible oil, etc., various raw materials, intermediates and products such as water, sulfuric acid, caustic soda, phenol, paraffin, urea, sulfur, metallic sodium, asphalt, pitch, tar, chocolate, butter, margarine, TDI, MDI, Varnish, ink, etc., further, air, LPG, chlorine gas, sulfur dioxide, and the like to obtain excellent results.
The invention will be illustrated in more detail based on the examples shown in the drawings.
EXAMPLE 1
In FIG. 1, numeral 9 indicates the storage tank of oils, and an aperture 92 with a flange 91 is formed on the side face.
Numeral 1 is the thermosiphon which has the operation section 12 on one side and in which the receiver section 2 to accumulate the working fluid 3 is formed at the bottom on the side of said operation section 12. In this example, a short pipe 1a with large diameter and a principal pipe 1b with small diameter, both consisting of the steel pipes made from carbon steel, are welded through a reducing joint 1c, and a cap 1d is welded to the tip of the principal pipe 1b.
This thermosiphon 1 is positioned so that the operation section 12 including the heating means 4 etc. appears outside the tank 9 and the thermosiphon 1 protrudes approximately horizontally from said aperture 92 of the tank 9 toward the inside or inclines slightly downward to the side of operation section 12 where the receiver section 2 is provided, and fitted by fixing the outer circumference of a cover 11 to close the side of aperture against the flange 91. If necessary, the thermosiphon 1 may be supported in the tank 9 by the appropriate supporting members (not shown in the drawing).
Accordingly, when the condensed fluid is generated inside the thermosiphon 1, it can flow naturally into the receiver section 2 of working fluid 3.
In the receiver section 2 of working fluid 3, the heating means 4 consisting of cartridge heater is provided passing through the cover 11 and, by this heating means 4, the working fluid 3 in the receiver section 2 is heated and evaporated.
Numeral 5 is the temperature detector provided in said thermosiphon 1 passing through the cover 11 and numeral 6 is the thin degassing pipe provided so as to reach to the deepest upper portion in the thermosiphon 1 passing through the cover 11. Through the cover 11, a supply port (not shown in the drawing) is provided in the vicinity of the receiver section 2 of working fluid 3 to supply the working fluid 3. Numeral 7 is a connection box provided for covering of the operation section 12 including heating means 4, temperature detector 5, valve 61, etc.
According to the heating equipment in the example aforementioned, the working fluid 3 in the receiver section 2 heated by the heating means 4 is evaporated to reach to whole portion inside the thermosiphon 1, the latent heat thereof is transferred to the oils in the storage tank 9 through the thermosiphon 1, and the working fluid condensed by releasing the latent heat returns to the receiver section 2. Through such repetition of exchange of latent heat, the oils in the tank 9 are heated to appropriate temperature.
When the tank 9 has large capacity, a plurality of thermosiphons 1 as described above can be provided at regular intervals directed circumferentially or vertically in tank 9 in the state aforementioned.
FIG. 2 shows other example, wherein a pipe with large diameter 1a and a principal pipe with small diameter 1b consisting of approximately corrugated flexible pipe are welded through a reducing joint and a cap 1d is welded to the tip of the principal pipe 1b to construct the thermosiphon 1A. With the thermosiphon 1A in this example, the condensed fluid is accumulated at the inside bottom of the principal pipe with small diameter 1b, but it flows into the receiver section 2 when accumulated in more than a fixed amount.
The thermosiphon in FIG. 2 is suitable for installation of the principal pipe 1b in a spiral loop in the tank 9 as shown in FIG. 3 or for installation on the principal pipe 1b so as to rise upwardly and spirally in the tank. The functional effect in such configuration is same as that of the equipment of the example in FIG. 1.
EXAMPLE 2
In FIG. 4, numeral 9 indicates the storage tank for oils, and the thermosiphon 1B having a vent 16 on the bottom face is provided in this tank 9 being supported by legs 17.
The thermosiphon 1B is constructed by welding an end plate 1e to one end and a cap 1d to other end of the steel pipe made from carbon steel, and the posture of this thermosiphon 1B is oriented so that the condensed fluid generated in said thermosiphon 1 flows to the direction of the vent 16 aforementioned. Namely, the thermosiphon 1 is installed horizontally as in this example, or in the inclined state downward to the direction of the vent 16 aforementioned.
Numeral 2a is the receiving vessel in which the working fluid 3 resides. On the upper face, this receiving vessel communicates to the portion of vent 16 of said thermosiphon 1 through a pipe 15 so that the vapor of working fluid 3 generated in the receiving vessel 2a enters into the thermosiphon 1 through this pipe 15 and the condensed fluid generated in the thermosiphon 1 flows down into the receiving vessel 2a through this pipe 15. At appropriate portion of this receiving vessel 2a, a supply port (not shown in the drawing) is provided to supply the working fluid 3.
In the receiving vessel 2a of working fluid 3, the heating means 4 consisting of cartridge heater is provided passing through the end wall 21 and, by this heating means 4, the working fluid 3 in the receiving vessel 2a is heated and evaporated. The heating means can also be fitted outside the receiving vessel 2a of working fluid 3.
Numeral 5 is the temperature detector provided in said thermosiphon 1 passing through the end plate 1e and the side wall of tank 9. This is inserted into the thermosiphon 1 through a guide 71 which is pipe-like and serves also as a cover, one end thereof being welded to the end plate 1e while other end thereof passing through the side wall of tank 9. Numeral 6 is the thin degassing pipe provided so as to reach to the deepest upper portion in thermosiphon 1B passing through the end plate 1e and the side wall of tank 9. This is inserted into the thermosiphon 1B through a guide 72 which is pipe-like and serves also as a cover, one end thereof being welded to the end plate 1e while other end thereof passing through the side wall of tank 9.
Numeral 92 is a connection box provided for covering of the operation section including receiving vessel 2a, heating means 4, temperature detector 5, valve 61, etc.
According to the heating apparatus in the example aforementioned, the working fluid 3 in the receiving vessel 2a heated by the heating means 4 is evaporated to fill the thermosiphon 1B, the latent heat thereof is transferred to the oil in the storage tank 9 through the thermosiphon 1B and the working fluid condensed by releasing the latent heat returns to the receiving vessel 2a through the pipe 15. Through such repetition of the exchange of latent heat, the oil in the tank 9 is heated to the appropriate temperature.
When the tank 9 has large capacity, a plurality of thermosiphons 1B as described above can be provided at regular intervals toward the circumferential or vertical direction of tank 9 in the state aforementioned.
Moreover, if the orientation of thermosiphon 1B and pipe 15 is established so that the condensed fluid generated in the thermosiphon 1B flows into the receiving vessel 2a through the pipe 15, the location of the vent 16 of thermosiphon 1B is not limited to that in the example aforementioned, and putting into practice is also possible even if provided, for example, at the lower portion of the end plate 1e or the cap 1d.
The thermosiphon 1C, which does not use the straight pipe as in the example aforementioned but uses a flexible pipe formed approximately in the corrugated shape as shown in FIG. 5, the end plate 1e and the cap 1d being welded to both ends thereof, can also be put into practice. With the thermosiphon 1C in the example in FIG. 5, the condensed fluid is accumulated at the inside bottom, but it flows into the receiving vessel 2a when accumulated more than a fixed amount.
The thermosiphon in FIG. 5 is suitable for installation spirally toward vertical direction in the tank 9 as shown in FIG. 6 or to install spirally in the tank 9, and the functional effect in such configuration is approximately same as that of the equipment in the example in FIG. 4.
In each example above, putting into practice is also possible even if the receiving vessel 2a of working fluid 3 is installed inside the tank 9 as shown in FIG. 7. In the example in FIG. 7, the receiving vessel 2a is positioned under the thermosiphon 1D, the thermosiphon 1D and the receiving vessel 2a are communicated by a straight pipe 15, and the heating means 4 consisting of cartridge heater is inserted changeably from outside the tank 9 into the receiving vessel 2a through a guide 22 which is pipe-like and serves also as a cover so that the heating means 4 can be operated from outside the tank 9. Numeral 23 in the same drawing indicates a supply pipe provided for supplying the working fluid 3. This is provided so as one end and thereof to communicate to the receiving vessel 2a while other end to protrude from the tank 9. The functional effect of this example in FIG. 7 is also similar to that of the example in FIG. 4.
EXAMPLE 3
In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, numeral 9A indicates a container of oil which is a tank. Tank 9A is constructed with outer tank 31 and inner tank 32 which has similar configuration to outer tank 31 and is smaller than outer tank 31. The outer tank 31 and the inner tank 32 are fixed to each other by the spacers 33 placed at appropriate positions on the circumferential wall portion at regular distances toward circumferential direction to make the circumferential side wall 9a and the bottom wall 96 of tank 9A jacketed structure leaving a fixed spatial layer S therebetween. It is preferable to give a heat-insulating finish (not shown in the drawing) to the outer circumferential face of outer tank 31 in order to prevent or suppress the radiation of heat in the spatial layer S toward outside.
Although the upper end of said spatial layer S is not shown in the drawing it is closed, and a switchable degassing port (not shown in the drawing) is provided to remove gas if necessary when the noncondensing gas etc. are accumulated in said spatial layers.
Numeral 1E is the receiving vessel for the thermosiphon in which the working fluid 3 is sealed, the end plate 21 being welded to one end while the cap 1d being welded to other end of straight pipe. The thermosiphon is installed approximately horizontally under the tank 9A aforementioned and communicated to said spatial layer S through a connecting pipe 14 so that the condensed fluid generated in the spatial layer S of tank 9A flows into the thermosiphon. It is desirable to cover the thermosiphon 1 with the heat-insulating material not shown in the drawing to prevent the heat radiation toward outside.
Into the receiving vessel 1E aforementioned, the heating means 4 consisting of cartridge heater is inserted passing through the end plate 21 and being immersed into the working fluid 3 and, by this heating means 4, the working fluid 3 in the receiving vessel 1E is heated and evaporated. The heating means 4 can also be fitted outside the receiving vessel 1.
Numeral 5 is the temperature detector inserted into the receiving vessel 1E aforementioned passing through the end plate 21, and the temperature in the thermosiphon 1E and that in the spatial layer 3 of the tank as well is kept constant approximately.
According to the heating equipment in the example aforementioned, the working fluid 3 in the receiving vessel 1E heated by the heating means 4 is evaporated to fill the spatial layer S of the tank 9A, the latent heat thereof is transferred to the oils in the tank 9A, and the working fluid condensed by releasing the latent heat returns to the receiving vessel 1E through the pipe 14. Through such repetition of the give and receipt of latent heat, the oils in the tank 9A are heated to appropriate temperature.
When the tank 9A has large capacity, a plurality of thermosiphons as described above can be provided.
In the example aforementioned, the spatial layer S is formed also on the bottom wall 9b of the tank 9A. But, depending on the size of tank 9A, the spatial layer S may be formed only on the circumferential side wall 9a of the tank 9A to communicate this spatial layer S to the receiving vessel 1E.
FIG. 10 shows another example of the invention, which is suitable for provision along a pipe line used for transporting fluids.
With the pipe 10 in FIG. 10, large and small pipes 18 and 19 are arranged doubly through a fixed spatial layer S, the flanges 36 and 37 being welded to both ends thereof. The spatial layer S aforementioned is connected to the receiving vessel 1F similar to that in preceding example through a connecting pipe 14 so that the condensed fluid generated in said spatial layer S flows into the receiving vessel 1F. It is desirable to provide a degassing port (not shown in the drawing) at the upper end portion of the pipe 10 similarly to the example aforementioned. Since the other constitution and the functional effect of the apparatus in this example are similar to those of the equipment in the example in preceding FIG. 8, the explanation thereof is omitted.
With each heating equipment described above, the structure is extremely simple, the installation can be made inexpensively, and, at the time of breakdown, the heating means 4 etc. can be repaired partially without replacing the whole apparatus. Moreover, there is no restriction by the constituting members. Therefore, it becomes possible to install the heating equipment of large capacity.
As evident from the explanation above, with the heating apparatus in accordance with the invention, the maintenance work on breakdown etc. is simple in the extreme, the output and the heating temperature can be established without being restricted by the cable etc. compared with the conventional apparatus, and, even when a large capacity is to be heated, the equipment fitted to the volume thereof can be installed. At the same time, the structure is simple, the installation can be made in low cost, and, in addition, the running cost becomes also low since the working fluid is enough is small amount and the energy for heating is also settled low. | An apparatus for heating fluid in a storage tank or transport pipe includes a elongated horizontally positioned tubular receiver having a cover plate at one end thereof through which an electric cartridge heater is inserted into a lower portion of the receiver. A vaporizable working fluid partially fills the lower portion of the receiver to a level sufficient to cover the heater and a temperature detector for controlling the heater is inserted through the cover plate into the receiver above the level of the fluid therein. A sealed tubular heat exchanger communicates with the receiver through a single passage through which vaporized working fluid enters the heat exchanger and condensed working fluid's returned to the receiver and the receiver and heat exchanger are evaculated of gasses. The heat exchanger may be disposed whithin a container holding fluid to be heated or constitute a jacket disposed around the container. | 5 |
FIELD
[0001] The invention pertains to systems that need large numbers of gas or smoke detectors to monitor an industrial or commercial environment. More particularly, the invention pertains to detecting the status of such detectors in the context of managing large industrial environments such as refineries.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Large numbers of gas detectors are frequently required during events such a refinery shutdowns and there are several companies that provide rental instruments as a service. In the event of large refinery shutdowns, several thousand rental gas detectors may be required. In these situations, both the rental company and the company using the detectors have to manage a large number of instruments. They must determine ownership of instruments as well as verify the operational status of each instrument.
[0003] While every instrument has a unique serial number, it can be difficult to read and the operational status of the instrument (i.e. is the calibration and bump check status up to date). It is desirable to have some means of quickly and reliably reading large numbers of instrument serial numbers as well as the associated operational status. It is also desirable to collect this information without having to remove detectors from packaging or shipping containers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an RFID enabled system which embodies the invention;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an RFID related subsystem of FIG. 1 ; and
[0006] FIG. 3 is another block diagram of an RFID enabled detector in accordance with invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0007] While embodiments of this invention can take many different forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention, as well as the best mode of practicing same, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.
[0008] Embodiments of the invention can include adding an RFID tag chip to at least some of the detectors. RFID tag chips contain pre-programmed information and when interrogated by an RFID reader, they respond. RFID tags do not need external power and will respond even when the instrument is switched off or inactive.
[0009] The RFID tag can be programmed with the instrument serial number, model number and sensor configuration by the manufacturer. This information will be permanently stored in the RFID tag and will allow anyone with an RFID reader to query the instrument. This will allow easy asset tracking for the detectors.
[0010] In an aspect of the invention, the RFID tag can transmit the current status of the detector. This adds significant value because it allows users to easily determine the status of instruments even if they are in cartons or other containers. The current status of the instrument can be encoded into the RFID tag in different ways.
[0011] In a disclosed embodiment, an RFID tag with an external interface can be incorporated into the circuitry of a detector. One such RFID tag is commercially available as an Atmel ATA5570 RFID IC. This device has an external sensor input that allows the IC to indicate whether an external resistance is high or low when queried. The detector circuit can be constructed such that the external resistance is high when the detector is operating properly (all self-tests passed, sensors within calibration interval and within bump check range) and low when the detector is out of conformance with pre-determined parameters and in need of maintenance.
[0012] Alternately, RFID tags with digital interfaces are available commercially. These interfaces allow considerably more information to be transferred from a programmable processor, or microcontroller in the gas detector to the RFID tag. Examples of these chips include, without limitation, Texas Instruments TMS37157, ST Microelectronics M24KR64, a Melexis ML90129 and a Ramtron WM72016. The information transferred from the gas detector's microcontroller to the RFID chip through this interface can include gas detector status, last calibration date, gas type, etc. Such additional information can be used by a displaced, or, an external monitoring system as would be understood by those of skill in the art.
[0013] In another embodiment, a docking/test station can be equipped with an RFID reader/writer. When an instrument is bump tested or calibrated, the docking/test station can use the RFID reader/writer to update the information in the RFID tag on the associated detector. The RFID tag on the detector could then retain the most recent dates for bump testing and calibration operations.
[0014] In either of the above embodiments handheld RFID readers could query the detectors for the stored information at any time.
[0015] In mustering applications, RFID tags in detectors duplicate the function of security tags in use. In this embodiment, users can scan in at a mustering point with their detector instead of an id badge.
[0016] In access control related applications, a gas detector can be used to control entry to restricted areas. For example, the gas detector must be of the correct type and in working condition (bump check valid, etc.) in order to gain entry to an area.
[0017] In inventory management related applications, a box of detectors can be scanned with an RFID reader. The detectors could then be signed in or out of a facility as a group. This aspect can be used to manage large numbers of detectors in rental fleets, manufacturing, distribution, etc.
[0018] In yet another aspect of the invention, detector status can be checked via an RFID reader at facility entry points. If a detector is compliant with policy (correct gas type, bump check & calibration interval correct, self-tests passed, etc.) then the user can enter facility. Readers can be installed at facility gates and/or operations offices. This process can also be implemented in the facility using a hand held RFID reader. This is useful for performing spot checks.
[0019] Further, the status of one or more detectors can be checked at exit points to see if an alarm/event occurred during the user's shift. If an alarm was reported, the user can complete an incident report either on paper or on-line. A hand held computer with an RFID reader can be used to enter incident reports on the spot reducing time for incident reporting.
[0020] Embodiments of the invention support loss prevention programs. For example, RFID reader gates can be set up at facility entry/exit points. Detectors passing through these points can then be recognized and a signal is generated which indicates that presence of a -detector has been recognized. Thus, detectors can be signed out and/or returned to the facility.
[0021] Preferably, onboard RFID tags in respective devices can be programmed with user information such as operator name and/or Operator ID.
[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 in accordance with the invention. The system 10 can include a plurality of RFID-type enabled detectors 12 , 12 - 1 , 12 - 2 . . . 12 - n , of which detector 12 is an example. The detectors, such as 12 are in wireless communication, intermittently, with an RFID reader 14 which is in turn coupled to a gas detector data management system 16 . System 16 can be implemented with one or more personal computers, such as 16 - 1 which execute data management and collection software 16 - 2 .
[0023] The components of detector 12 , and the other members of the plurality 12 - 1 . . . 12 - n can be carried in a respective portable housing such as 12 a . A clip 12 b , of a type that can be used to attach the detector 12 to clothing or equipment of a user, is affixed to the housing 12 a . The detector 12 can be energized by an internal, replaceable battery B.
[0024] As will be understood by those of skill in the art, the detectors, such as detector 12 can include a gas sensor 20 a which is in turn coupled to interface circuitry 20 b . The interface circuitry 20 b can in turn be coupled to a programmable processor 20 c . The processor 20 c can include or be coupled to storage unit(s) 20 d such as EEPREOM or ROM storage devices which can store control software executable by the processor 20 c.
[0025] An RFID subsystem, interface, 22 is carried by housing 12 a and coupled to the sensor/control circuits 20 . Interface 22 is in wireless communication with the RFID reader 14 .
[0026] As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the RFID subsystem 22 includes an RFID chip 32 . The RFID chip 22 includes some nonvolatile memory which is used to store gas detector information. The information stored in the RFID chip 22 can include, without limitation:
Detector model number Detector serial number Gas type of detector Operator name Last calibration date Last bump test date Last alarm date Power up self test status (pass or fail) Current status information (pass or fail)
[0036] The above representative information can be obtained from the gas detection circuitry 20 and can be written to the RFID chip 32 by the gas detector microcontroller 20 c . The over the air RF link can be used to read data from the RFID chip 32 .
[0037] As those of skill will understand, all of the information listed above can be stored in the EEPROM 20 d on the RFID chip 32 prior to interrogation by an RFID reader 14 . The Status information can change suddenly (if the battery is removed for example) and the processor 20 c may not have the opportunity or ability to update the status in the RFID chip's EEPROM 20 d . In this case, the RFID chip 32 can initiate a read of the status information from the gas detector processor, or microcontroller, 20 c over a digital link 32 a when an RFID reader 14 interrogates the RFID chip 32 .
[0038] Alternately, if the RFID chip 32 has a sensor input 32 b it can be used to indicate status information over the RF link. Some RFID chips have a sensor input where an analog voltage can be read. A digital output 32 c on the gas detector microcontroller 20 c can be connected to the RFID 32 chip as illustrated in FIG. 3 .
[0039] For example, if the microcontroller 20 c is off, or the microcontroller pulls the status line 32 c low to indicate an off state, then the RFID chip 32 will read a low voltage at the sensor input pin 32 b . This will in turn be reported back to the RFID reader 14 when the RFID chip 32 is queried. Similarly, when the microcontroller 20 c pulls the status line 32 c high the RFID chip 32 reads a high voltage at the sensor input pin 32 b and status indicator is reported as being active.
[0040] From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims. | In large systems of ambient condition detectors the respective detectors can each include an RFID-type tag or integrated circuit. The tag can transmit detector identification information and status information wirelessly to a displaced receiver. Receivers can be installed in docking/test stations as well as in portable units which can be carried by an individual entering, or, moving through a region being monitored by the detectors | 6 |
[0001] This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/494,284 filed Aug. 12, 2004, which is a 35 USC §371 National Phase Entry Application from PCT/CA02/01651, filed Nov. 1, 2002, which claims the benefit of Canadian Patent Application No. 2360849 filed on Nov. 1, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention pertains to the use of N,N-diethyl-2-[-4-(phenylmethyl)-phenoxy]ethanamine monohydrochloride (DPPE), commonly known as Tesmilifene, in the treatment of cancer.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Primary treatment for many cancers is some form of surgery to remove the cancerous tissue. Following primary therapy, patients at risk of relapsing often undergo adjuvant therapy, which is initiated soon after primary therapy in order to delay recurrence and/or to prolong survival. One kind of adjuvant systemic therapy is adjuvant chemotherapy, which involves administration of one or more chemotherapeutic agents.
[0004] The use of N,N-dialkyl-2-[((4-phenylmethyl)-phenoxy]ethanamine and N-morpholino-2-[(4-phenylmethyl)phenoxy]ethanamine compounds and their salts, as anti-cancer agents, has been previously described. Compositions, including mixtures of these ethanamine compounds with therapeutically active anti-cancer compounds, such as doxorubicin, have been found particularly beneficial and have been previously described for use to treat breast and colon cancer.
[0005] N,N-diethyl-2-[-4-(phenylmethyl)-phenoxy]ethanamine monohydrochloride (DPPE) has been shown to inhibit the in vitro growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells that are estrogen-receptor negative (ER−)/AEBS+, or ER+/AEBS+ (U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,227).
[0006] DPPE has also been shown to inhibit normal cell proliferation while promoting malignant cell proliferation in vivo in an animal model, DPPE is a potent antagonist selective for intracellular histamine receptors when administered in amounts sufficient to inhibit the binding of intracellular histamine to the receptors in normal and malignant cells. The same study indicated that DPPE can act synergistically with doxorubicin (Adriamycin™) in tumour-bearing animals treated concurrently with DPPE (International Patent Application WO92/11035; U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,065). It has been postulated that this effect was achieved through the use of DPPE at doses which inhibit the growth of normal cells, but which promote the growth of tumour cells, thus rendering the latter more susceptible to the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents (U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,065).
[0007] More recently, based on competition assays, compounds such as N,N-diethyl-2-[4-(4′-fluorophenone)-phenoxy]ethanamine (DFPE) have been shown to act in a similar manner to DPPE but with greater potency. These studies suggest that DFPE also acts, at the appropriate amounts, to inhibit normal cell proliferation and promote malignant cell proliferation. It has been postulated that such compounds can be used to enhance the therapeutic index of conventional chemotherapy drugs (U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,799).
[0008] Rapidly growing, aggressive or metastatic cancers are particularly difficult to treat and patients with this type of cancer have significantly reduced survival rates. Typically, combinations of chemotherapeutic agents are used in the treatment of such patients in order to slow the growth of the cancer.
[0009] It has recently been demonstrated that DPPE is useful in enhancing the effect of chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of hormone-unresponsive metastatic prostate cancer. An initial intravenous infusion of DPPE over an approximately one hour, period prior to cyclophosphamide treatment was shown to potentiate the anti-cancer activity and ameliorate the toxicity associated with using cyclophosphamide, or other chemotherapeutic agents which are normally inactive against this type of cancer (U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,912).
[0010] Despite encouraging results in small scale clinical studies trials set up to test the effect of DPPE in combination with a second chemotherapeutic on various cancers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,065), a recent phase III clinical trial for breast cancer did not reveal a significant synergistic effect or potentiation of doxorubicin during, or shortly after, the treatment period. A need still exists, therefore, for an effective treatment of rapidly growing, aggressive or metastatic cancers.
[0011] This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention. Publications referred to throughout the specification are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties in this application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide a use of N,N-diethyl-2[-4-(phenylmethyl)-phenoxy]ethanamine monohydrochloride (DPPE) in cancer therapy. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a use of DPPE in the treatment of a cancer patient having, or suspected of having, an aggressive cancer and thereby extending the survival of the patient.
[0013] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a use of DPPE in the treatment of a patient suspected of having an existing cancer and thereby extending the survival of the patient, wherein the use follows a surgery for treatment of a primary cancer that is an estrogen-receptor negative cancer.
[0014] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a use of DPPE to manufacture a medicament for the treatment of a patient having, or suspected of having, an aggressive cancer and thereby extend the survival of the patient.
[0015] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a use of DPPE to manufacture a medicament for the treatment of a cancer patient having an existing cancer and thereby extend the survival of the patient, wherein the use follows a surgery for treatment of a primary cancer that is an estrogen-receptor negative cancer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0016] FIG. 1 provides a graphical representation of survival time of ER negative patients receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX), or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0017] FIG. 2 provides a graphical representation of survival time of ER positive patients receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0018] FIG. 3 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients receiving doxorubicin alone, with a comparison of ER negative and ER positive patients.
[0019] FIG. 4 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients receiving DPPE and doxorubicin, with a comparison of ER negative and ER positive patients.
[0020] FIG. 5 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of ≦6 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0021] FIG. 6 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of >6 months to ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0022] FIG. 7 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration >36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0023] FIG. 8 provides a graphical representation of survival time of ER positive patients having a duration ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0024] FIG. 9 provides a graphical representation of survival time of ER negative patients having a duration ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0025] FIG. 10 provides a graphical representation of survival time of ER positive patients having a duration >36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0026] FIG. 11 provides a graphical representation of survival time of ER negative patients having a duration >36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0027] FIG. 12 provides a graphical representation of time to progression for ER negative patients receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0028] FIG. 13 provides a graphical representation of time to progression for ER positive patients receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0029] FIG. 14 provides a graphical representation of time to progression for patients having a duration of ≦6 months and receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0030] FIG. 15 provides a graphical representation of time to progression for patients having a duration of >6 months to ≦36 months and receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0031] FIG. 16 provides a graphical representation of time to progression for patients having a duration of >36 months and receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX).
[0032] FIG. 17 provides a graphical representation of time to progression for patients receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX), with a comparison of patients having a duration of ≦6 months, >6 months to ≦36 months, or >36 months.
[0033] FIG. 18 provides a graphical representation of time to progression for patients receiving doxorubicin alone (DOX), with a comparison of patients having a duration of ≦6 months, >6 months to ≦36 months, or >36 months.
[0034] FIG. 19 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients receiving doxorubicin alone (DOX), with a comparison of patients having a duration of ≦6 months, >6 months to ≦36 months, or >36 months.
[0035] FIG. 20 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX), with a comparison of patients having a duration of ≦6 months, >6 months to ≦36 months, or >36 months.
[0036] FIG. 21 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX). In the DOX arm n=100 and the median is 12.1973. In the DPPE/DOX arm n=91 and the median is 29.6548. p=0.0016.
[0037] FIG. 22 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration >36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX). In the DOX arm n=50 and the median is 28.6356. In the DPPE/DOX arm n=62 and the median is 19.8247. p=0.7485.
[0038] FIG. 23 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of either ≦36 months or >36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX).
[0039] FIG. 24 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of either ≦36 months or >36 months, receiving doxorubicin (DOX) alone.
[0040] FIG. 25 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of <6 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
[0041] FIG. 26 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of <6 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had not received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
[0042] FIG. 27 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of >6 to ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
[0043] FIG. 28 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of >6 to ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had not received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
[0044] FIG. 29 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of >36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
[0045] FIG. 30 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of >36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had not received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
[0046] FIG. 31 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
[0047] FIG. 32 provides a graphical representation of survival time of patients having a duration of ≦36 months, receiving DPPE and doxorubicin (DPPE/DOX) or doxorubicin alone (DOX), who had not received chemotherapy prior to the trial.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0048] The present invention is based on the surprising and unexpected enhanced survival of cancer patients treated with DPPE and a second chemotherapeutic agent in phase III clinical trial studies. This survival advantage was observed in the absence of any preceding statistically significant increase in progression free survival (PFS) or objective response rate as revealed by interim analysis. Normally, one skilled in the art would expect to see substantial differences in objective response, modest differences in PFS and little, if any, increase in survival, especially in situations in which second or even third line therapy is subsequently available.
[0049] In addition, the present invention demonstrates for the first time that specific sub-populations of cancer patients derive a surprising benefit from the survival advantage mediated by DPPE. Notably, in one study breast cancer patients who have a relapse in disease 36 months or less from original breast surgery/diagnosis have been shown to derive the benefit of a DPPE-mediated survival advantage, while patients who originally relapsed after 36 months did not benefit from treatment with DPPE. Other factors, such as estrogen receptor status (i.e. denoting hormone-responsive breast cancers versus hormone-resistant breast cancers) have also been correlated for the first time with the observed DPPE-mediated survival advantage in breast cancer patients.
[0050] The identification of such sub-populations allows for the more effective design and delivery of cancer treatments. The present invention provides a method of identifying sub-populations of patients that derive the greatest benefit from DPPE treatment. These sub-populations are identified amongst patients in clinical trials to study the effect of DPPE on a particular cancer. The method involves dividing each arm of the trial (i.e. the DPPE-treated arm and the control arm) into subgroups according to the duration of the cancer, or according to the presence or absence of markers predictive of the aggressivity of the cancer, and analysing the survival time of each sub-group. A statistically significant difference between a subgroup in the DPPE arm compared to the corresponding subgroup in the control arm indicates that a sub-population that derives a benefit from DPPE treatment.
[0051] The present invention offers an alternative or supplement to chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and radiation therapy in the treatment of advanced disease in sub-populations of cancer patients thus identified, as well as in the adjuvant setting. Moreover, the present invention offers an alternative or supplement to chemotherapy or tamoxifen therapy for those with estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer.
DEFINITIONS
[0052] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.
[0053] “Time-to-progression” or “Progression free survival,” as used herein, refers to the time from the initiation of treatment (or randomisation, as the case may be) to the time of progression, or the time of death for patients who have died in the absence of progression, irrespective of the cause.
[0054] “Progression,” as used herein, refers to an increase of at least 25% in the overall sum of measurable lesions as compared to nadir (i.e. best response) and/or the appearance of new lesions.
[0055] “Response status,” as used herein, refers to a measurement of the behaviour of a tumour(s) or lesion(s) under chemotherapy, namely any observed growth (progression of disease), stability, or shrinkage (complete or partial response).
[0056] “Advanced disease,” as used herein, refers to overt disease in a patient, wherein such overt disease is not amenable to cure by local modalities of treatment, such as surgery or radiotherapy.
[0057] “Duration,” as used herein, refers to the time from the initial pathological diagnosis of a primary cancer to the appearance of advanced, metastatic or locally advanced disease which may require institution of chemotherapy (e.g. anthracycline chemotherapy).
[0058] “Relapse,” as used herein, refers to the relapse of a patient with advanced disease. “Relapse time,” as used herein, refers to the time from the initial appearance of a primary cancer to the appearance of advanced disease requiring chemotherapy.
[0059] “Indolent cancer,” as used herein, refers to a cancer that has relapsed in approximately the latter one third of the spectrum of relapse times for a given cancer. In the case of a breast cancer, “indolent,” as used herein with reference to breast cancer, refers to a cancer that has relapsed after 36 to 40 months following initial diagnosis, wherein the patient has advanced disease and for the first time has become a candidate for chemotherapy (such as anthracycline chemotherapy).
[0060] As used herein, the term “aggressive cancer” refers to a rapidly growing cancer. One skilled in the art will appreciate that for some cancers, such as breast cancer or prostate cancer the term “aggressive cancer” will refer to an advanced cancer that has relapsed within approximately the earlier two-thirds of the spectrum of relapse times for a given cancer, whereas for other types of cancer, such as small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) nearly all cases present rapidly growing cancers which are considered to be aggressive. The term can thus cover a subsection of a certain cancer type or it may encompass all of other cancer types.
[0061] As used herein, the phrase “suspected of having an aggressive cancer,” refers to a situation wherein a patient has had a tumour or lesion, which tumour or lesion had features correlated with the development of advanced disease, for example, markers predictive of aggressive disease. In a specific example, an indication of aggressive breast cancer is a tumour that is estrogen-receptor negative (ER−). Alternatively, the tumour may be ER positive, but the patient may exhibit other markers predictive of aggressive disease, such as node positivity. In these situations adjuvant therapies may be applied.
[0062] The term “adjuvant therapy,” as used herein, refers to a treatment that is added to increase the effectiveness of a primary treatment. In cancer, adjuvant therapy usually refers to chemotherapy, hormonal therapy or radiation therapy after surgery (primary therapy) to increase the likelihood of killing all cancer cells.
[0063] The term “neoadjuvant therapy,” as used herein, refers to a treatment given before the primary treatment. Examples of neoadjuvant therapy include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy.
[0064] The term “hormone therapy,” as used herein, refers to a treatment in which hormones or anti-hormone drugs are administered to a patient in order to slow or stop the growth of certain cancers (such as prostate and breast cancer) by blocking the body's natural hormones.
[0065] The term “hormone-resistant cancer,” as used herein, refers to a cancer that does not respond to hormone therapy, whereas the term “hormone-responsive cancer” refers to a cancer that does respond to hormone therapy.
Therapeutic Use of DPPE
[0066] The present invention provides for the use of DPPE in conjunction with one or more other chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of a patient suffering from cancer in order to enhance survival.
[0067] In one embodiment of the present invention, the patient is suffering from a rapidly growing or aggressive cancer. The cancer may be a locally advanced cancer or it may be a metastatic cancer. One skilled in the art will appreciate that when the relapse time is used to define an aggressive cancer, this time will vary depending on the type of cancer and may vary further within sub-populations of patients suffering from the same type of cancer. For example, breast cancer can be considered to be aggressive when the cancer has relapsed within 40 months or less of the initial diagnosis.
[0068] In one embodiment of the present invention, DPPE is used to treat an aggressive cancer that has relapsed within a time period of 40 months or less from the time of initial diagnosis. In another embodiment, DPPE is used to treat an aggressive cancer that relapsed within a time period of 38 months or less from the time of initial diagnosis. In another embodiment, DPPE is used to treat an aggressive cancer that relapsed within a time period of 36 months or less. In other embodiments, DPPE is used to treat an aggressive cancer that relapsed within a time period of 34 months or less or 32 months or less the time of initial diagnosis.
[0069] Patients who can benefit from DPPE treatment include, but are not limited to, those suffering from leukemias, lymphomas, sarcomas and carcinomas. Specific examples include, but are not limited to, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, oesophageal cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
[0070] The term “leukaemia” refers broadly to progressive, malignant diseases of the blood-forming organs. Leukaemia is typically characterized by a distorted proliferation and development of leukocytes and their precursors in the blood and bone marrow but can also refer to malignant diseases of other blood cells such as erythroleukaemia which affects immature red blood cells. Leukaemia includes, for example, acute nonlymphocytic leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, acute granulocytic leukaemia, chronic granulocytic leukaemia, acute promyelocytic leukaemia, adult T-cell leukaemia, aleukaemic leukaemia, aleukocythemic leukaemia, basophylic leukaemia, blast cell leukaemia, bovine leukaemia, chronic myelocytic leukaemia, leukaemia cutis, embryonal leukaemia, eosinophilic leukaemia, Gross' leukaemia, hairy-cell leukaemia, hemoblastic leukaemia, hemocytoblastic leukemia, histiocytic leukaemia, stem cell leukaemia, acute monocytic leukaemia, leukopenic leukaemia, lymphatic leukaemia, lymphoblastic leukaemia, lymphocytic leukaemia, lymphogenous leukaemia, lymphoid leukaemia, lymphosarcoma cell leukaemia, mast cell leukaemia, megakaryocytic leukaemia, micromyeloblastic leukaemia, monocytic leukaemia, myeloblastic leukaemia, myelocytic leukaemia, myeloid granulocytic leukaemia, myelomonocytic leukaemia, Naegeli leukaemia, plasma cell leukaemia, plasmacytic leukaemia, promyelocytic leukaemia, Rieder cell leukaemia, Schilling's leukaemia, stem cell leukaemia, subleukaemic leukaemia; and undifferentiated cell leukaemia.
[0071] The term “sarcoma” generally refers to a tumour which originates in connective tissue, such as muscle, bone, cartilage or fat, and is made up of a substance like embryonic connective tissue and is generally composed of closely packed cells embedded in a fibrillar or homogeneous substance. Sarcomas include bone cancer, soft tissue sarcomas, chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, lymphosarcoma, melanosarcoma, myxosarcoma, osteosarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, Abernethy's sarcoma, adipose sarcoma, liposarcoma, alveolar soft part sarcoma, ameloblastic sarcoma, botryoid sarcoma, chloroma sarcoma, chorio carcinoma, embryonal sarcoma, Wilms' tumour sarcoma, endometrial sarcoma, stromal sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, fascial sarcoma, fibroblastic sarcoma, giant cell sarcoma, granulocytic sarcoma, Hodgkin's sarcoma, idiopathic multiple pigmented haemorrhagic sarcoma, immunoblastic sarcoma of B cells, lymphoma; immunoblastic sarcoma of T-cells, Jensen's sarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, Kupffer cell sarcoma, angiosarcoma, leukosarcoma, malignant mesenchymoma sarcoma, parosteal sarcoma, reticulocytic sarcoma, Rous sarcoma, serocystic sarcoma, synovial sarcoma, spindle cell sarcoma and telangiectaltic sarcoma.
[0072] The term “carcinoma” refers to a malignant new growth made up of epithelial cells tending to infiltrate the surrounding tissues and give rise to metastases. Exemplary carcinomas include, for example, bladder cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, rectal cancer, skin cancer, stomach cancer, thyroid cancer, uterine cancer, cancer of the vulva, acinar carcinoma, acinous carcinoma, adenocystic carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, carcinoma adenomatosum, carcinoma of adrenal cortex, alveolar carcinoma, alveolar cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, carcinoma basocellulare, basaloid carcinoma, basosquamous cell carcinoma, bronchioalveolar carcinoma, bronchiolar carcinoma, bronchogenic carcinoma, cerebriform carcinoma, cholangiocellular carcinoma, chorionic carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, colloid carcinoma, comedo carcinoma, corpus carcinoma, cribriform carcinoma, carcinoma en cuirasse, carcinoma cutaneum, cylindrical carcinoma, cylindrical cell carcinoma, duct carcinoma, carcinoma durum, embryonal carcinoma, encephaloid carcinoma, epiermoid carcinoma, carcinoma epitheliale adenoides, exophytic carcinoma, carcinoma ex ulcere, carcinoma fibrosum, gelatiniform carcinoma, gelatinous carcinoma, giant cell carcinoma, carcinoma gigantocellulare, glandular carcinoma, granulosa cell carcinoma, hair-matrix carcinoma, haematoid carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, Hurthle cell carcinoma, hyaline carcinoma, hypernephroid carcinoma, infantile embryonal carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, intraepidermal carcinoma, intraepithelial carcinoma, Krompecher's carcinoma, Kulchitzky-cell carcinoma, large-cell carcinoma, lenticular carcinoma, carcinoma lenticulare, lipomatous carcinoma, lymphoepithelial carcinoma, carcinoma medullare, medullary carcinoma, melanotic carcinoma, carcinoma molle, mucinous carcinoma, carcinoma muciparum, carcinoma mucocellulare, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, carcinoma mucosum, mucous carcinoma, carcinoma myxomatodes, naspharyngeal carcinoma, oat cell carcinoma, non-small cell carcinoma, carcinoma ossificans, osteoid carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, periportal carcinoma, preinvasive carcinoma, prickle cell carcinoma, pultaceous carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma of kidney, reserve cell carcinoma, carcinoma sarcomatodes, schneiderian carcinoma, scirrhous carcinoma, carcinoma scroti, signet-ring cell carcinoma, carcinoma simplex, small-cell carcinoma, solanoid carcinoma, spheroidal cell carcinoma, spindle cell carcinoma, carcinoma spongiosum, squamous carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, string carcinoma, carcinoma telangiectaticum, carcinoma telangiectodes, transitional cell carcinoma, carcinoma tuberosum, tuberous carcinoma, verrucous carcinoma, and carcinoma villosum.
[0073] Additional cancers encompassed by the present invention include, for example, multiple myeloma, neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, primary thrombocytosis, primary macroglobulinemia, small-cell lung tumours, primary brain tumours, malignant pancreatic insulanoma, malignant carcinoid, gliomas, testicular cancer genitourinary tract cancer, malignant hypercalcemia, endometrial cancer and adrenal cortical cancer.
[0074] Adenocarcinomas are carcinomas that originate in cells that make organs which have glandular (secretory) properties or that originate in cells that line hollow viscera, such as the gastrointestinal tract or bronchial epithelia. For example, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and the like are adenocarcinomas. In one embodiment of the present invention, DPPE in conjunction with one or more other chemotherapeutic agents is used to treat patients with adenocarcinomas. In another embodiment, the adenocarcinoma is breast cancer. In another embodiment, the breast cancer is an aggressive cancer. In another embodiment, the breast cancer is a locally advanced cancer. In still another embodiment, the breast cancer is metastatic breast cancer.
[0075] In another embodiment of the present invention, DPPE either alone, or in combination with one or more other chemotherapeutic agents, is used to treat a breast cancer patient with advanced disease within 40 months or less from the time of diagnosis. In another embodiment, DPPE is used to treat the breast cancer patient within 36 months or less from the time of diagnosis.
[0076] As is known in the art, cancers that originate in endocrine glands, such as breast and prostate cancer, can be resistant or responsive to hormone therapy. Hormone-resistant cancers are typically more aggressive than their hormone-responsive counterparts. The present invention contemplates the use of DPPE in conjunction with one or more other chemotherapeutic agents, to treat both hormone-resistant and hormone-responsive cancers.
[0077] Hormone-resistant breast cancers are known to lack a functional estrogen receptor (ER). Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, DPPE is used to treat ER-negative (ER−) breast cancers. In another embodiment, DPPE is used to treat ER-positive (ER+) breast cancers. The term “estrogen-receptor negative (ER−) breast cancer” is used herein to denote the disorder of those patients who have ER− breast cancer tumours prior to primary treatment and the term “estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer” is used herein to denote the disorder of those patients who have ER+ breast cancer tumours prior to primary treatment. Methods of classifying tumours as ER+ or ER− are well-known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to, measurement of intracellular receptor protein by either a steroid-binding assay or by immunochemical assay or by measuring mRNA corresponding to the receptor protein using Northern blot analysis.
[0078] The present invention contemplates that DPPE in conjunction with one or more chemotherapeutic agents, may be used as part of a neoadjuvant therapy or as part of an adjuvant therapy to treat a patient suspected of having an aggressive cancer. Alternatively, DPPE may be used in conjunction with one or more chemotherapeutic agents to treat a recurring and/or aggressive cancer, metastatic or advanced disease. DPPE can be used to treat patients who have undergone prior chemotherapy or it may be used to treat chemotherapy naïve patients. Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, DPPE is used as part of an adjuvant therapy. In another embodiment, DPPE is used as a second line of therapy. In another embodiment, DPPE is used to treat patients who have already undergone one or more courses of prior chemotherapy.
[0079] In an adjuvant or neoadjuvant setting, it will not be readily apparent whether or not a patient has an aggressive cancer or advanced disease. A variety of markers are known in the art, the presence of which in relation to a tumour is predictive of aggressivity or advanced disease. One or more of these markers are suitable for use in the evaluation of patients suspected of having an aggressive cancer in order to determine whether the cancer is aggressive and thus whether the patient would benefit from the use of DPPE as part of a neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. For example, breast cancers that are estrogen-receptor negative (ER−) are highly likely to be aggressive breast cancers. It is also known, however, that ER+ breast cancers can be aggressive. A patient with an ER+ cancer, therefore, can be further evaluated by determination of the presence or absence of other markers, such as node positivity, the presence of which is widely accepted to be an indicator of aggressive disease.
[0080] In one embodiment of the present invention, DPPE is used as part of a neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy in the treatment of a patient with a breast cancer that is ER−. In another embodiment, DPPE is used as part of a neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy in the treatment of a patient with a breast cancer that is ER+ and who exhibits node positivity.
[0081] As indicated above, DPPE is used in conjunction with one or more chemotherapeutic agents. A wide range of cancer chemotherapeutic agents is known in the art and includes those chemotherapeutic agents which are specific for the treatment of a particular type of cancer as well as those which may be applicable to a range of cancers, such as doxorubicin, mitoxantrone, irinotecan (CPT-11). The present invention contemplates the use of both types of chemotherapeutic agent in conjunction with DPPE. Combination therapies using standard cancer chemotherapeutics are also well known in the art and may be used in conjunction with DPPE. Examples of chemotherapeutic agents suitable for the treatment of breast cancer include, but are not limited to, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, cisplatin, carboplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), taxanes such as paclitaxel and docetaxel and various anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin and epi-doxorubicin (also known as epirubicin). Combination therapies using standard cancer chemotherapeutics may also be used in conjunction with DPPE and are also well known in the art, for example, the combination of epirubicin with paclitaxel or docetaxel, or the combination of doxorubicin or epirubicin with cyclophosphamide, which are used for breast cancer treatments. Polychemotherapeutic regimens are also useful and may consist, for example, of doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide/5-fluorouracil or cyclophosphamide/epirubicin/5-fluorouracil.
[0082] Cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone and estramustine are known to be suitable for the treatment of prostate cancer. Cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and etoposide are used in the treatment of small cell lung cancer, as are combinations of etoposide with either cisplatin or carboplatin. In the treatment of stomach or oesophageal cancer, combinations of doxorubicin or epirubicin with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil are useful. For colorectal cancer, CPT-11 alone or in combination with 5-fluorouracil-based drugs, or oxaliplatin in combination with 5-fluorouracil-based drugs can be used. Other examples include the combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; the combination of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and DTIC in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease and the combination of cisplatin or carboplatin with any one or a combination of gemcitabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, vinorelbine or etoposide in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.
[0083] In one embodiment of the present invention, DPPE is used in combination with an anthracycline, such as doxorubicin or epirubicin, either with or without other chemotherapeutics. In another embodiment, DPPE is used in combination with a taxane, either with or without other chemotherapeutics.
Pharmaceutical Compositions
[0084] The synthesis of DPPE and its salts has been described in the art, for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,227. The pharmaceutically active compound or salts thereof may be administered as pharmaceutical compositions with an appropriate pharmaceutically physiologically acceptable carrier, diluent, excipient or vehicle. The pharmaceutical compositions may also be formulated to contain DPPE and one or more other chemotherapeutic agents for concurrent administration to a patient.
[0085] The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may be administered orally, topically, parenterally, by inhalation or spray or rectally in dosage unit formulations containing conventional non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, adjuvants and vehicles. The term parenteral as used herein includes subcutaneous injections, intravenous, intramuscular, intrasternal injection or infusion techniques.
[0086] The pharmaceutical compositions may be in a form suitable for oral use; for example, as tablets, troches, lozenges, aqueous or oily suspensions, dispersible powders or granules, emulsion hard or soft capsules, or syrups or elixirs. Compositions intended for oral use may be prepared according to methods known to the art for the manufacture of pharmaceutical compositions and may contain one or more agents selected from the group of sweetening agents, flavouring agents, colouring agents and preserving agents in order to provide pharmaceutically elegant and palatable preparations. Tablets contain the active ingredient in admixture with suitable non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable excipients including, for example, inert diluents, such as calcium carbonate, sodium carbonate, lactose, calcium phosphate or sodium phosphate; granulating and disintegrating agents, such as corn starch, or alginic acid; binding agents, such as starch, gelatine or acacia, and lubricating agents, such as magnesium stearate, stearic acid or talc. The tablets can be uncoated, or they may be coated by known techniques in order to delay disintegration and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby provide a sustained action over a longer period. For example, a time delay material such as glyceryl monosterate or glyceryl distearate may be employed.
[0087] Pharmaceutical compositions for oral use may also be presented as hard gelatine capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with an inert solid diluent, for example, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate or kaolin, or as soft gelatine capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with water or an oil medium such as peanut oil, liquid paraffin or olive oil.
[0088] Aqueous suspensions contain the active compound in admixture with suitable excipients including, for example, suspending agents, such as sodium carboxymethylcellulose, methyl cellulose, hydropropylmethylcellulose, sodium alginate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, gum tragacanth and gum acacia; dispersing or wetting agents such as a naturally-occurring phosphatide, for example, lecithin, or condensation products of an alkylene oxide with fatty acids, for example, polyoxyethyene stearate, or condensation products of ethylene oxide with long chain aliphatic alcohols, for example, hepta-decaethyleneoxycetanol, or condensation products of ethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and a hexitol for example, polyoxyethylene sorbitol monooleate, or condensation products of ethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitol anhydrides, for example, polyethylene sorbitan monooleate. The aqueous suspensions may also contain one or more preservatives, for example ethyl, or n-propyl p-hydroxy-benzoate, one or more colouring agents, one or more flavouring agents or one or more sweetening agents, such as sucrose or saccharin.
[0089] Oily suspensions may be formulated by suspending the active ingredients in a vegetable oil, for example, arachis oil, olive oil, sesame oil or coconut oil, or in a mineral oil such as liquid paraffin. The oily suspensions may contain a thickening agent, for example, beeswax, hard paraffin or cetyl alcohol. Sweetening agents such as those set forth above, and/or flavouring agents may be added to provide palatable oral preparations. These compositions can be preserved by the addition of an anti-oxidant such as ascorbic acid.
[0090] Dispersible powders and granules suitable for preparation of an aqueous suspension by the addition of water provide the active compound in admixture with a dispersing or wetting agent, suspending agent and one or more preservatives. Suitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents are exemplified by those already mentioned above. Additional excipients, for example sweetening, flavouring and colouring agents, may also be present.
[0091] Pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may also be in the form of oil-in-water emulsions. The oil phase may be a vegetable oil, for example, olive oil or arachis oil, or a mineral oil, for example, liquid paraffin, or it may be a mixtures of these oils. Suitable emulsifying agents may be naturally-occurring gums, for example, gum acacia or gum tragacanth; naturally-occurring phosphatides, for example, soy bean, lecithin; or esters or partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitol, anhydrides, for example, sorbitan monoleate, and condensation products of the said partial esters with ethylene oxide, for example, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoleate. The emulsions may also contain sweetening and flavouring agents.
[0092] Syrups and elixirs may be formulated with sweetening agents, for example, glycerol, propylene glycol, sorbitol or sucrose. Such formulations may also contain a demulcent, a preservative, and/or flavouring and colouring agents.
[0093] The pharmaceutical compositions may be in the form of a sterile injectable aqueous or oleaginous suspension. This suspension may be formulated according to known art using suitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents such as those mentioned above. The sterile injectable preparation may also be sterile injectable solution or suspension in a non-toxic parentally acceptable diluent or solvent, for example, as a solution in 1,3-butanediol. Acceptable vehicles and solvents that may be employed include, but are not limited to, water, Ringer's solution, lactated Ringer's solution and isotonic sodium chloride solution. Other examples are, sterile, fixed oils which are conventionally employed as a solvent or suspending medium, and a variety of bland fixed oils including, for example, synthetic mono- or diglycerides. In addition, fatty acids such as oleic acid find use in the preparation of injectables.
[0094] Other pharmaceutical compositions and methods of preparing pharmaceutical compositions are known in the art and are described, for example, in “ Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy ,” Gennaro, A., Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philidelphia, Pa. (2000) (formerly “ Remingtons Pharmaceutical Sciences ”).
Administration and Dosage Protocols
[0095] In accordance with the present invention, DPPE or a pharmaceutical composition comprising DPPE is administered to a patient in order to treat an aggressive cancer. DPPE or a pharmaceutical composition comprising DPPE may be administered in a manner consistent with its normal manner of administration following conventional chemotherapeutic practice. Typically DPPE is administered as a solution by intravenous infusion.
[0096] In one embodiment of the present invention, DPPE is administered to the patient in conjunction with one or more chemotherapeutic agents. DPPE can be administered prior to, or after, administration of the one or more other chemotherapeutic agents, or it can be administered concomitantly.
[0097] When DPPE is administered prior to the one or more other chemotherapeutic agents, the length of time between administration of the DPPE and the other compound(s) will depend on the mode of administration and the size of the patient. Generally, DPPE is administered to the patient for between about 30 minutes and about 90 minutes prior to administration of the other chemotherapeutic agent(s). In one embodiment, DPPE is administered to the patient for about 60 minutes prior to administration of the other chemotherapeutic agent(s).
[0098] When DPPE and the one or more other chemotherapeutic agents are administered concurrently, administration of the compounds may be initiated at the same time, or administration of the other chemotherapeutic(s) may be initiated at a suitable time after administration of DPPE was initiated. Generally, administration of the other chemotherapeutic(s) is initiated about 30 minutes to about 90 minutes after administration of DPPE was initiated. In one embodiment of the present invention, administration of the other chemotherapeutic(s) is initiated about 60 minutes after administration of DPPE was initiated.
[0099] The dosage of DPPE to be administered will be dependent upon the type of cancer to be treated and the size of the patient and can be readily determined by a skilled practitioner. DPPE dosages of 4 mg/kg (160 mg/M 2 ) administered over 1 hour (intravenously) have been shown to be non-toxic and dosages of only 8 mg/M 2 over 24 to 72 hours do not result in clinical side effects, while dosages of 240 mg/M 2 administered over 1 hour may result in CNS toxicity (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,065). Typically, the dosage range of DPPE is between about 8 mg/M 2 and about 320 mg/M 2 . In some instances, however, dosages up to 1200 mg/M 2 per day may be appropriate.
[0100] In one embodiment of the present invention, a DPPE dosage of between 8 mg/M 2 and 240 mg/M 2 is administered to a patient over a time period of 30 minutes to 90 minutes. In another embodiment, a DPPE dosage of between 4 mg/kg and 8 mg/kg is administered to a patient over a time period of 80 minutes. In other embodiments, a DPPE dosage of about 6 mg/kg (or 240 mg/M 2 ) or of about 5.3 mg/kg is administered to a patient over a time period of 80 minutes. In another embodiment, the DPPE is administered with concurrent administration of one or more other chemotherapeutic agents over the last 20 minutes. In still another embodiment, the other chemotherapeutic is doxorubicin. In a related embodiment, the doxorubicin is administered at a dose of 60-90 mg/M 2 .
[0101] Treatment regimens are typically designed such that the DPPE is administered to the patient in cycles. Treatment with DPPE in accordance with the present invention may be pan of a treatment regimen that involves one cycle of administration or the regimen may involve more than one cycle. Generally, the treatment regimen involves between about 2 and about 10 cycles. In one embodiment of the present invention, the treatment regimen involves between about 2 and about 8 cycles. In another embodiment, the treatment regimen involves about 4 cycles. Typically, a cycle is between about 1 and about 4 weeks. In one embodiment, the cycle is about 3 weeks.
[0102] If cyclophosmamide were to be included as a chemotherapeutic with DPPE in such a treatment regimen, it could be administered at a dose of approximately 600 mg/M 2 . It is to be understood, however, that the dosage and frequency of administration may be adapted to the circumstances in accordance with known practices in the art, for the treatment of different cancers.
Pharmaceutical Kits
[0103] The present invention additionally provides for therapeutic kits containing DPPE in pharmaceutical compositions for use in the treatment of cancer. Individual components of the kit would be, packaged in separate containers and, associated with such containers, can be a notice in the form prescribed by a governmental agency regulating the manufacture, use or sale of pharmaceuticals or biological products, which notice reflects approval by the agency of manufacture, use or sale for human administration.
[0104] When the components of the kit are provided in one or more liquid solutions, the liquid solution can be an aqueous solution, for example a sterile aqueous solution. In this case the container means may itself be an inhalant, syringe, pipette, eye dropper, or other such like apparatus, from which the composition may be administered to a patient.
[0105] The components of the kit may also be provided in dried or lyophilised form and the kit can additionally contain a suitable solvent for reconstitution of the lyophilised components. Irrespective of the number or type of containers, the kits of the invention also may comprise an instrument for assisting with the administration of the composition to a patient. Such an instrument may be an inhalant, syringe, pipette, forceps, measured spoon, eye dropper or any such medically approved delivery vehicle.
[0106] The kit may further comprise one or more other chemotherapeutic agents for administration to a patient in conjunction with DPPE.
[0107] To gain a better understanding of the invention described herein; the following examples are set forth. It should be understood that these examples are for illustrative purposes only. Therefore, they should not limit the scope of this invention in any way.
EXAMPLES
[0108] A phase clinical trial study (the results of which are analyzed in the examples which follow) was conducted which involved breast cancer patients who relapsed following surgery, requiring anthracycline chemotherapy. Following surgery and prior to inclusion in the trial, patients may or may not have received treatments, such as radiotherapy, hormone treatments or other chemotherapies, but not treatment with anthracyclines.
[0109] Two arms of treatment were involved in this trial. Patients were randomly selected to participate in either arm. In one arm, patients were treated with DPPE and doxorubicin, in the other arm patients were treated with doxorubicin alone.
[0110] In the trial, patients were permitted to stay on doxorubicin for a maximum of about 7 cycles (5 months). Many of the patients stopped DPPE before stopping doxorubicin, thus the median number of DPPE cycles was 4 (i.e. 3 months, range 1 to 8 cycles), whereas the median number of doxorubicin cycles on the DPPE arm was 6 (i.e. 4½ months, range 1 to at least 8 cycles). DPPE was administered to patients in the amount of 6 mg/kg (or 240 mg/M 2 ) over 80 minutes, with the concurrent administration of doxorubicin over the last 20 minutes at a close of 60-90 mg/M 2 .
Example I
Demonstration of DPPE-Mediated Survival Advantage
[0111] Between 3 and 8 months following the start of treatment of patients, only a small and non-widening difference was observed between the DPPE survival and control curves. At about 8 months, however, the DPPE curve trajectory ceases to be parallel with the control curve; and quite clearly starts to flatten its trajectory. This abrupt inflexion in the curve at 8 months indicates that there is a reduction in the rate of death due to breast cancer, which is suggestive of a DPPE-related survival advantage. In short, breast cancer patients on standard chemotherapy lived on average fifteen months and those who had taken DPPE together with standard chemotherapy lived on average just over 23 months. Furthermore, many of the patients in the DPPE arm are still alive, and fewer of the control group are still alive. Therefore, the true extent of the survival difference would be expected to increase.
Example II
Effect of DPPE on Patients with Estrogen-Receptor Negative Cancers
[0112] The survival analysis by subgroup (see FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 ) indicates a benefit in the known ER− patients due to DPPE. A benefit is also observed in ER+ patients, which is less and appears later (at about 0.11 months). ER analysis shows the control ER+/− difference being obscured by DPPE thus increasing the ER− significantly, and the ER+ only a little. Overall, many of the patients with indolent cancers (>36 m duration) are in fact ER+, and DPPE seems mainly to help the patients with ER− breast cancer, a more rapidly progressive disease.
[0113] ER status was only ascertained in about half the sample (see Table 2). By analysing whether endocrine therapy was received prior to trial, one can impute an ER status to the unknowns, such that those receiving hormone treatment are regarded as ER+ and those not receiving it are regarded as ER−.
[0114] This ER− difference is very large (p=0.003) and the p value is the most impressive in any subgroup, all the more so for being achieved with only half the sample. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a big difference between ER+ (longer) and ER− (shorter) survival for the DOX arm (p=0.0021), which shrinks dramatically under the influence of DPPE (p=0.1121) due to the relative improvement in ER− patients.
[0115] Table 1 shows that in each group the ER+ patients did better than the ER− patients, but this difference is large for the control group and marginal for the DPPE group. Furthermore, the reason for the obscuration of the ER+/− survival difference relates to the huge improvement in ER− survivals in the DPPE arm. The very asymmetric effect by ER status points to an underlying biological reality, which in turn is further evidence of the survival advantage mediated by DPPE in a distinct sub-population of breast cancers.
[0116] Including both ER known and imputed (i.e. the whole sample) does not change the results substantially: the p value for ER− survival is 0.0054 (with 81 ER− patients in the DOX arm and 85 in the DPPE/DOX arm); the p value for ER+ survival is 0.3934 (with 69 in DOX and 68 in DOX/DPPE). Interestingly, for time-to-progression (TTP) the ER+ graph achieves significance (p=0.0445). These data further demonstrate that ER+ tumours may be helped by DPPE.
Example III
Effect of DPPE on Patients Diagnosed with Cancer in 3 years or Less Post Surgery
[0117] The patients in the trial were assigned to subgroups based on duration, i.e. the length of time between the initial diagnosis of breast cancer and the appearance of advanced disease. The subgroups were: (i) less than or equal to 6 months, (ii) between 6 months and 36 months and (iii) more than 36 months.
[0118] Analysis of survival by duration subgroup revealed large differences for the < or = to 6 months, and 6 to 36 month subgroup in favour of DPPE, but there appears to be no difference in those patients whose duration was >36 months ( FIGS. 5 , 6 and 7 , respectively). These results are shown in Table 3.
[0119] These data show statistically that patients with more rapidly relapsing disease had substantial benefit whereas those with more indolent disease had no benefit. Note that 191/303 patients (63%) relapsed in <36 months, so that the sub-population which benefited from the DPPE mediated survival advantage accounted for about two thirds of the patients in the trial and by analogy about two-thirds of possible breast cancer patients with advanced disease.
[0120] In the doxorubicin alone arm (DOX), there is a spread amongst the survival times for the 3 duration subgroups, which is statistically significant (p=0.0163; see FIG. 19 ) with the more benefit being derived by the patients with indolent cancers (36 months) than by either of the two shorter duration groups (which are similar). However, in the DPPE/DOX group, the 3 subgroups by duration show similar survival times and the p value is lost (0.9903; see FIG. 20 ) because the two shorter duration groups now behave very much like the longer duration (indolent) group. In this regard, indolent patients are different from those that have short duration times and do not appear to benefit from treatment with DPPE.
[0121] There is no significant difference in the effect of DPPE observed in patients who had a relapse in disease <6 m and 6-36 m post diagnosis (see FIG. 20 ). These two sub-populations may accordingly be regarded as one group.
[0122] It is important to note that the optimal split in duration between aggressive and indolent cancer may be different for different cancers, or within sub-populations of a particular group of cancer patients. For example, it may be that the optimal cut-off point for DPPE efficacy in breast cancer patients is 32 months, 40 months, some other month in-between, or within the range between 32 and 40 months. Furthermore, the optimal cut-off point or range may vary for ER− and ER+ patients. The optimal split in a given instance may be found by dichotomising patients in clinical trials along various time points e.g. <32 m vs. ≧32 m; <33 m vs. ≧33 m; etc.
Time-To-Progression (TTP) by Duration
[0123] The p values for TTP by duration indicate a correlation with the survival by duration outcomes. By inspection, the curves for the <6 m and 6-36 m subgroups do exhibit a break-apart at about 8 to 9 m (see FIGS. 14 , 15 and 16 ). For the indolent >36 m subgroup, there is no break-apart. This pattern of correlation with survival by duration, and the p values, suggest that whatever was responsible for the survival prolongation was operating during the co-administration of DOX and DPPE. Further corroboration for this conclusion comes from the graphs provided in FIGS. 17 and 18 which show that the statistically significant spread of TTP by the 3 subgroups (duration) in the DOX arm (p=0.0215; FIG. 17 ) is lost in the DOX/DPPE arm (p=0.9232; FIG. 18 ). Again, this is due to the improvement in the two shorter relapse subgroups, such that under the influence of DPPE the TTP course for these two groups very closely resembles that of the indolent group.
[0124] It is to be understood that the 36 m time point used for the purposes of the illustrated embodiment of the invention is only one specific duration marker for the efficacious administration of DPPE to cancer patients. As indicated above, the cut-off for determining which cancers are aggressive and which are indolent may be earlier or later than the value selected for this trial.
Example IV
Survival and Time-to-Progression by Response Status
[0125] In the present study, survival and TTP data is presented for the first time as a function of response to chemotherapy. The data presented in Table 4 indicate that patients who respond to doxorubicin probably benefit from the addition of DPPE (p=0.1201) and those whose disease stabilises show definite benefits (p=0.0075) (see also FIGS. 5 , 6 and 7 ). By contrast, those who experience immediate disease progression experience no benefit (p=0.9232).
[0126] Accordingly, overall, it seems that benefit from DPPE is concentrated in patients whose disease responds or stabilises on doxorubicin, who are ER− and who relapse within 36 m. However, benefit in ER+ patients is also seen.
Example V
Survival Time by Duration and Estrogen-Receptor Status
[0127] Tables 5 and 6 demonstrate that the proportion of ER− patients is relatively constant over the two shorter relapsing subgroups (5.6 m and 6-36 m patients), at 67.9% and 60.7%, but that the proportion of ER− patients in the ≧36 m indolent subgroup drops to 29.2%. This pattern is consistent with ER status being a significant and useful marker of the DPPE-mediated survival advantage.
[0128] Closer examination of the short duration (i.e. <36 m) ER+ patients and the long duration (i.e. ≧36 m) ER− patients (Table 7, note that the two shorter relapsing groups (i.e. ≦6 m and 6-36 m) have been fused into one <36 m group), suggests that it is not ER which is the key driver of the DPPE-mediated effects, but duration. The <36 m, ER− subgroup shows a large difference, as expected. The >36 m ER+ subgroup shows no difference, as expected. The >36 m, ER− subgroup has too few number to be meaningful. When one looks at this subgroup with imputed values added in, the p value is 0.9008 indicating that there is little difference. This analysis suggests that duration is probably a bigger factor than ER status and that ER+ patients with duration <36 m also appear to benefit from DPPE treatment. TTP data is also consistent with this conclusion indicating some benefit for ER+patients (see FIGS. 12 and 13 ).
Example VI
Survival Time by Duration and Treatment Type
[0129] FIGS. 23 and 24 show the comparison of the survival of patients in the DPPE arm ( FIG. 23 ) or the DOX arm ( FIG. 24 ) when divided into subgroups (i) of less than or equal to 36 months duration and (ii) greater than 36 months duration.
[0130] These data show that, in the DOX arm, the >36 month duration patients have a more prolonged survival compared with the <36 month group. This is well known and is a consequence of the inherent indolence of the cancer in the late relapsers. In the patients receiving treatment with DPPE, those in the <36 month group behave as if they were late relapsers, i.e. they come to resemble the >36 month group in which the cancers are indolent rather than aggressive.
Example VII
Survival Time by Prior Treatment
[0131] For this subgroup analysis, the 3 duration subgroups (<6 m, 6-36 m and >36 m) are further subdivided into groups of patients that (i) have undergone prior chemotherapy, and (ii) have not undergone prior chemotherapy. The overall breakdown of the number of patients in the trial who had undergone chemotherapy is provided in Table 8. The results of the analysis are shown in FIGS. 25 to 32 .
[0132] The <6 month group, which exhibited a large benefit, consists almost entirely of chemo-naïve patients and, therefore, is non-informative for this analysis (see FIGS. 25 and 26 ). The 6-36 month group, however, shows a greater benefit in the “prior chemotherapy group” such that the addition of DPPE extended the median survival time (MST) of this group from 10.7 months to “not yet achieved”, but >17.5 months, and the one year survival from 40% to just under 70% (p=0.0335; see FIG. 27 ). The “no prior chemotherapy” group (6-36 m) shows little, if any, benefit (p=0.4403). In the >36 m group, neither of the subgroups show any benefit from the addition of DPPE, as expected from the above Examples (see FIGS. 29 and 30 ).
[0133] These data are entirely consistent with the above conclusion that benefit from DPPE treatment is greatest in patients relapsing within 3.6 months, i.e. patients with aggressive disease.
[0134] The statistical finding with respect to prior chemotherapy compared to no prior chemotherapy most likely relates to the aggressivity of the tumour and the influence of adjuvant therapy on relapse date. Thus, patients with highly aggressive tumours who are not (by chance) offered adjuvant chemotherapy will relapse in <6 months. If, on the other hand, adjuvant chemotherapy is available, then these same highly aggressive tumours will relapse later, for example, between 6 and 36 months. There is, therefore, a huge benefit of DPPE treatment in the <6 months group (consisting almost exclusively of highly aggressive tumours) and also a huge benefit in the “prior chemotherapy” group (6-36 m), which also comprises highly aggressive tumours that have been delayed by 6 months or more because of the adjuvant chemotherapy (which frequently takes up to 6 months to complete).
[0135] The lack of benefit of DPPE treatment in the “no prior chemotherapy” group of 6-36 m is due to the fact that this subgroup is comprises less aggressive cancers (i.e. those that did not relapse in <6 m). The lack of benefit >36 m in either subgroup is also consistent, since both these subgroups comprise indolent cancers which had not relapsed earlier than 36 m.
Example VIII
Survival by ECOG Performance Status
[0136] For this analysis, the patients in the trial were divided into subgroups based on Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status (PS). ECOG PS is a widely accepted standard for the assessment of the progression of a patient's disease as measured by functional impairment in patients, with ECOG PS1 indicating no functional impairment and ECOG PS 1 and 2 indicating that patients have progressively greater functional impairment but are still ambulatory.
[0137] The results of this analysis are provided in Table 9 (note the sample size in the PS subgroup is too small to be meaningful). This analysis indicates that, although there were a few more PS 0 patients in the DPPE/DOX arm (69 compared to 60), the maintenance of a statistically significant difference (p=0.0459) in this subgroup excludes this minor maldistribution as being responsible for the overall survival benefit from DPPE in the whole trial. In the ECOG PS 1 subgroup, there is a trend to benefit for DPPE, the large. MST difference in PS2 patients does not achieve significance because of the very small sample size.
Example IX
Survival by Geographic Distribution
[0138] In this example, the patients were divided into subgroups of those patients that originated from Eastern Europe and those that originated mainly from Western Europe and North America. Those patients that originated from Eastern Europe were excluded and the above analyses (Examples II-V and VIII) were conducted on the second subgroup. The results are summarised in Table 10 and compared to those for the all patients enrolled in the trial.
[0139] Similar survival rates were found for the geographically restricted subgroup when compared to the trial overall. The p values vary slightly due to the fewer numbers of patients being analysed once those in the Eastern Europe subgroup have been excluded. The majority of the parameters, including and especially survival, do not vary between the Western patients (the “Geographically restricted subset” in Table 10) and the trial as a whole. This, is an important conclusion as it eliminates the possibility that the results of the trial may be influenced by the type of treatment and/or care available to the patients prior to their enrolment or after discontinuation of the DPPE treatment.
[0140] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
[0000]
TABLE 1*
Effect of DPPE on ER− and ER+
Patients (Only ER Known Patients)
ER status (known)
ER+
ER−
n
MST 1
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
DOX/DPPE
40
20 + m
70%
43
15 m
65%
DOX
33
16.5 m
62%
41
9.5 m
36%
p value
0.1985 (NS)
0.003
Figure
2
1
*Does not include imputed data
1 median survival time in months (m)
[0000]
TABLE 2
ER values were known in 157 patients, and unknown in 146
Negative
Positive
Unknown
DPPE/DOX
43
40
70
DOX
41
33
76
[0000]
TABLE 3
Median survival time (MST) and one year survival (1 yr) by ‘duration’
data in Table 1 is reproduced below with p values and n values inserted.
Duration
<6 m
>6 but <36 m
>36 m
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
DOX/DPPE
48
23.5 m
71%
43
17.9 m+
65%
62
19.9 m
77%
DOX
50
15 m
56%
50
11.5 m
45%
50
20.3 m
77%
p value
0.0192
0.0337
0.7485 (NS)
Figure
5
6
7
[0000]
TABLE 4
Survival Information
Response
CR/PR 1
SD 2
PD 3
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
DOX/DPPE
44
29.5 m
87%
67
19 m+
80%
29
10 m
38%
DOX
44
28.5 m
74%
68
17 m
59%
23
10.5 m
34%
p value
0.1201
0.0075
0.9232 (NS)
1 CR/PR = complete response and/or partial response
2 SD = stable disease
3 PD = progressive disease
[0000]
TABLE 5
Distribution of ER according to duration for all patients
Duration
≦6 m
6 = 36 m
≧36 m
All
ER
n
(%)
n
%
n
%
n
%
Negative
36
(36.7)
34
(36.6)
14
(12.5)
84
(27.7)
Positive
17
(17.3)
22
(23.7)
34
(30.4)
73
(24.1)
Unknown
45
(45.9)
37
(39.8)
64
(57.1)
146
(48.2)
TOTAL
98
(100.0)
93
(100.0)
112
(100.0)
303
(100.0)
[0000]
TABLE 6
Distribution of ER according to duration
for only patients with known ER status
Duration
≦6 m
6-36 m
≧36 m
All
ER
n
(%)
n
%
n
%
n
%
Negative
36
(67.9)
34
(60.7)
14
(29.2)
84
(53.5)
Positive
17
(32.1)
22
(39.3)
34
(70.8)
73
(46.5)
TOTAL
53
(100.0)
56
(100.0)
48
(100.0)
157
(100.0)
[0000]
TABLE 7
Patients with known ER status.
<36 m, ER+
<36 m, ER−
>36 M, ER+
>36 m, ER−
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
N
MST
1 yr
DPPE/DOX
17
20+ m
77%
22
13.5 m
60%
23
19.5 m
68%
11
15 m
81%
DOX
22
15.5 m
52%
38
9.5 m
36%
11
18 m
82%
3
12 m
66%
P value
0.0953
0.0034
0.9074
0.7827
Figure
8
9
10
11
[0000]
TABLE 8
Prior Chemotherapy Status
Prior Chemotherapy
No Prior
Adjuvant
Metastatic
Total
Chemotherapy
DPPE/DOX
57
9
66 (43%)
87 (57%)
DOX
50
11
61 (41%)
91 (59%)
[0000]
TABLE 9
Survival time by ECOG status
ECOG PS
PS 0
PS 1
PS 2
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
n
MST
1 yr
DOX/DPPE
69
29.5 m
85%
73
15.3 m
63%
11
10.9 m
27%
DOX
60
20.3 m
75%
78
11.7 m
48%
12
5.9 m
33%
p value
0.0459
0.1250
0.5974
[0000]
TABLE 10
Analysis by Geographical Distribution and Overall Summary
Parameter
Whole trial
Geographically restricted subset
Interpretation
Overall survival
MST
23.6 m vs 15.6 m
MST
17.5 m vs 12 m
Consistent for
p = 0.008 (unstratified)
p = 0.0723
this very
p = 0.021 (stratified)
1 yr
70% vs 50%
important
1 yr
72% vs 60%
(FIG. 1)
endpoint,
similar
proportional
increase in
survival in
favour of DPPE.
Survival by
MST
18 + m vs 11.5 m
MST
17 m vs 9 m
Consistent and
duration: 6-36 m
p = 0.0337
p = 0.18
similar
<6 m
N/A
>36 m
N/A
Survival by ER
MST
15 m vs 9.5 m
MST
15 m vs 9 m
Very
status ER−
1 yr
65% vs 36%
1 yr
68% vs 39%
consistently in
p = 0.003
p = 0.0674
favour of DPPE
Survival by
MST
20 + m vs 16 m
MST
19 m vs 15.5 m
Very similar
ER+
1 yr
70% vs 62%
1 yr
65% vs 55%
graphs
p = 0.1985
p = 0.3821
DPPE/DOX for
ER+ slightly better than ER−
ER+ slightly better than ER−
Very similar
ER+ vs ER−
p = 0.1121
p = 0.2510
graphs
DOX for ER+
ER+ considerably better than ER−
ER+ considerably better than ER−
Very similar
vs ER−
p = 0.0021
p = 0.0687
graphs
Survival by
1 yr
86% vs 74%
1 yr
88% vs 62%
Very similar
response:
p = 0.1201
p = 0.2650
graphs in favour
CR/PR
of DPPE
Survival by
MST
19 + m vs 17 m
MST
17.5 m vs 12 m
Bigger
response: SD
1 yr
80% vs 59%
1 yr
73% vs 53%
difference in
p = 0.0075
p = 0.2650
favour of DPPE
for whole trial
Survival by
Superimposable
DPPE a little better at first
Fairly similar
response: PD
p = 0.9232
p = 0.7664
Survival by
MST
29.5 m vs 20.3 m
MST
29.5 m vs 16.5 m
Looks very
ECOG = 0
1 yr
85% vs 75%
1 yr
85% vs 63%
similar
p = 0.0459
p not given
Survival by
MST
15.2 m vs 11.7 m
MST
13.5 m vs 11.5 m
Looks similar
ECOG = 1
1 yr
63% vs 48%
1 yr
59% vs 42%
p = 0.1250
p not given | The present invention provides for the use of N,N-diethyl-2-[-4-(phenylmethyl)-phenoxy]ethanamine monohydrochloride (DPPE) in cancer therapy. DPPE is used in the treatment of patients having, or suspected of having, an aggressive cancer. The present invention further provides for the use of DPPE in the treatment of a patient suspected of having an existing cancer, wherein the use follows a surgery for treatment of a primary cancer that is estrogen-receptor negative. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions comprising DPPE for use in the treatment of patients having, or suspected of having, an aggressive cancer and pharmaceutical kits comprising such compositions. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electrical resistance heaters and more particularly to such heaters formed in situ on metal substrates.
Electrically heated metal bodies have a wide variety of commercial and industrial uses, such as in thermostatic devices, thermal relays, time-delay relays, circuit breakers, etc. It is advantageous to have the electrically energized heater in good heat-exchange relation to the metal body, frequently a bimetal strip or disk, which changes its configuration as a function of temperature. Also, it is desirable to be able to supply such heater-metal units in various shapes and configurations at minimal expense. By providing a heater constituted by a relatively thin layer or coating applied on a surface area of the metal substrate to be heated, excellent heat transfer can be achieved. However, such heater layers are subjected to high temperatures for extended periods of time and in many applications must undergo repeated flexing. Epoxy resins mixed with graphite or other materials have been used for this purpose but at elevated temperatures, i.e., in the order of 200°C. or higher, these materials tend to degrade and deteriorate and fail to provide stable resistance characteristics necessary to long-term reliable functioning. Electrical resistance heater tapes and films have been made of polyimide and polyamide-imide resin compositions containing carbon particles, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,444,183, 3,563,916, Belgium Pat. No. 630,749 and Netherlands application Ser. No. 6,511,346. There remains, however, a need for heater-metal composite units which will reliably function at elevated temperatures and economically provide for convenient supply of electrical current to the unit and flow through desired paths.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Among the several objects of this invention may be noted the provision of an electrical resistance heater bonded to a metal substrate surface which operates satisfactorily for extended periods of time at temperatures of at least about 200°C. without substantial degradation of its resistance characteristics, which will withstand flexing of the substrate, and to which electrical current is conveniently supplied for flow through desired paths; the provision of such heater on substrate units which are economical in cost and reliable in operation. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Briefly, the invention is directed to an electrical resistance heater on a metal substrate which comprises an insulating layer of a cured polyimide or polyamide-imide resin bonded to a surface of the substrate. A second layer of a cured polyimide or polyamide-imide resin, having dispersed therein at least approximately 60% by weight of graphite flakes, is bonded thereto. Intermediate and bonded to a portion of the insulating layer and an opposing portion of the second layer is an electrically conductive stripe which constitutes a high conductivity path to interconnect the second layer to an external electrical circuit. The stripe is formed from a cured polyimide or polyamide-imide resin having dispersed therein flakes of a conductive metal. The layers are flexible and the second layer and stripes have electrical conductivities which are not substantially degraded during operation at temperatures of at least 200°C. for extended periods of time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1-5 illustrate sequential steps in a process for fabricating an electrical resistance heater on a metal substrate made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective of a heater and bimetal composite illustrating the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the FIG. 6 composite;
FIG. 8 is a cross-section on line 8--8 of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the composite of FIGS. 6-8 utilized in a low current circuit breaker for an electrical load; and
FIG. 10 graphically illustrates the relationship between the resistance of an electric heater on a metal substrate formed in accordance with this invention and the percentage of loading of a conductivity-modifying material.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings, a metal substrate constituted, for example, by a strip of bimetal is indicated at numeral 3. Strip 3 typically comprises a layer 3a of metal or an alloy having one thermal coefficient of expansion and a layer 3b of another metal or alloy bonded thereto and having a different thermal coefficient of expansion. Exemplary metallic layers are nickel-plated copper and stainless steel clad aluminum. The substrate, for example, may be 25-35 mils in thickness and has an exposed surface of layer 3a which does not oxidize at temperatures in the order of 200°C. That surface is cleaned by any of the conventional cleaning methods such as by abrading, a degreasing solvent (e.g., trichloroethylene), or ultrasonic cleaning, etc.
A thin layer 5 of a polyamic acid or polyamide-imide polymer, as formed by condensation reaction of an anhydride, such as pyromellitic dianhydride or trimellitic anhydride and an aromatic diamine, and dissolved in a solvent therefor, e.g., N-methyl pyrrolidone, is then applied by roller, doctor blade, brush, or silk screening, etc., to an exemplary thickness of 0.7 or 0.8 mil, preferably after wiping the substrate surface with N-methyl pyrrolidone. Such polyamic polymers are commercially available under the trademark "Pyre-ML" from E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., while polyamide-imide polymers are are commercially available under the trademark "AI-10" from Amoco Chemicals Corporation. The former is a viscous liquid of the polyamic acid dissolved in N-methyl pyrrolidone, while the latter polymer is in a dry particulate state ready for mixing with a desired amount of solvent. Both of these polymers may be converted into cured resins by heating as will be described hereinafter at prescribed temperature and time conditions. The polymer-solvent (e.g., 17% solids) layer is then dried for about 2 minutes at about 70°C. the temperature then being increased slowly up to about 150°C. for a total drying time of 7 minutes, the thickness of the dried film being about 0.1 mil. As a thicker layer is usually desired this process is repeated several times, but with the application of somewhat thicker polymer-solvent layers. A typical total thickness of dried insulating layer 5 is 1-1.5 mil. This dried uncured insulating polymer layer is then further heated to 250°C. for one hour to effect a partial curing.
A paste is then prepared from 2.7 g. of a mixture of polyamic acid (or polyamide-imide) polymer dissolved in N-methyl pyrrolidone (17% polymer by weight) and 3 g. of silver flakes (e.g., 40-50 micron particle size). This paste, containing approximately 87% by weight of silver, is silk-screened on the surface of the partially cured insulating layer 5 as illustrated at 7 of FIG. 2 to form a stripe about 3-5 mils in thickness. After drying at 40°C. for about 10 minutes and gradually increasing the temperature stepwise to 150°C. the solvent is evaporated and then the insulation layer, substrate, stripe assembly is heated to 250°C. for an hour to effect partial curing of the stripe 7 which has a final thickness of about 1.5-2.5 mils. The underlying insulating layer, while further cured, remains only partially cured. The resistivity of this conductive stripe is 0.2-0.3 Ω/ /0.001 inch. It will be understood that flakes of other conductive metals, such as nickel, or silver-copper alloys, may be used instead of silver.
An electrical conductor is then temporarily attached to the exposed surface of stripe 7. A masking layer of a non-conductive coating (acrylic, polystyrene, etc.), that is not attacked by and is compatible with an electrolyte such as CuSO 4 , is applied to the assembly except for stripe 7 which is left exposed. After rubbing the exposed surface of stripe 7 with steel wool or other abrasive, the assembly of FIG. 2 is immersed in a copper plating bath (e.g., 28 oz./gal. CuSO 4 and 7 oz./gal. H 2 SO 4 ) and plated at a rate not greater than 10 amp./ft. 2 to form a thin conductive surface film 8 (FIG. 3) of copper on the exposed surface of stripe 7. The resistivity of the thus coated stripe is 0.002-0.008 Ω/ /0.001 inch. The protective masking coating is then removed by an appropriate solvent, and preferably a thin margin portion of the upper surface of layer 3a of substrate 3 is exposed as indicated at 6 (FIG. 3) by steel brushing or abrading so as to remove the overlying insulating layer 5 therefrom.
A second paste is then prepared from 3 g. of a mixture of polyamic acid (or polyamide-imide) polymer dissolved in N-methyl pyrrolidone (30-32% polymer by weight) and 2 g. of graphite flakes (-325 mesh-40 micron particle size), such as that obtainable under the trade designation "2134" from Superior Graphite Co.). This paste containing about 67% graphite was applied, preferably after washing the assembly of FIG. 3 with N-methyl pyrrolidone, by silk screening or brushing on the exposed surface of the FIG. 3 assembly to form a 3-5 mil thick coating. This coating after drying (as described above in regard to the conductive stripe 7) and partial curing by baking the assembly at 250°C. for an hour, constitutes an electrical heater layer 9 as shown in FIG. 4 having a thickness of about 1.5-2 mils. The resistivity of this heater layer 9 is about 200 Ω/ /0.001 inch. If a lower resistance, higher current-carrying heater layer 9 is desired, conductive metal flakes, e.g., silver or nickel, may be added when forming the heater paste. For example 5% by weight of silver flakes (of about 40 microns particle size), such as those obtainable under the trade designation "grade 750" from Alcan Metal Powders, when added to the heater paste described above, will reduce the resistivity thereof to about 70 Ω/ /0.001 inch. In accordance with this invention the resistance or conductivity of layer 9 may be adjusted or trimmed to provide a precise value by abrading the exposed surface of heater layer 9 to the extent desired. This adjusting or "trimming" of the resistance of layer 9 may be used to increase the resistance up to 20-25%.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, an exposed area of the conductive metal stripe surface 8 and an exposed area 6 of the substrate may be left exposed for securing electrical leads (not shown) for connection to electrical components and circuitry. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 5 a layer 10 of a polyamic acid or polyamide-imide polymer may be applied to the assembly of FIG. 4, as described above in regard to insulating layer 5 to partially or completely envelope the assembly which is then dried and partially cured in a similar manner.
It will be noted that the heater layer 9, the conductive stripe 7 and the insulating layer 5 are partially cured in varying degrees, inasmuch as these polymers require baking about 4 hours at 250°C. (or somewhat shorter periods of time at elevated temperatures above 250°C.) for full curing. However, as partially cured, the assembly may be put into use and after a relatively short period of time operating in its ultimate environment as a thermal relay, etc., all layers and stripes will soon become fully cured.
A typical utilization of the heater and bimetal composite of FIG. 5 is as a switch arm for a circuit breaker such as illustrated in FIGS. 6-8 wherein a conventional electrical contact button 11 is secured, by welding preferably, to the undersurface of the heater on bimetal assembly of FIG. 5.
FIG. 9 shows a low current circuit breaker utilizing such a heater on bimetal assembly to energize an electrical load from an electrical power source L1, L2, with L1 being electrically connected to the exposed portion of conductive stripe 7. The left end of the assembly as viewed in FIGS. 6 and 7 is secured to a base (not shown) so that it is cantilever-mounted thereon with contact 11 positioned for mating engagement with a fixed contact 13 also secured to the base. With layer 3b the higher expansion bimetal layer and contacts 11 and 13 normally engaged, the heater layer 9 will heat to a temperature which is a function of the load current flow therethrough. At a temperature corresponding to a predetermined level of overload current the differential expansion of layers 3a and 3b will cause contact 11 to move away from contact 13 thereby breaking the circuit to the load and providing overload protection. The current flow through the electrical resistance layer 9 is indicated by arrows in FIG. 8. As insulation layer 5 has good thermal conductivity and is quite thin and the major portion of electrical resistance layer 9 is in contact therewith, there is excellent thermal contact and heat transfer between heater 9 and bimetal strip 3. The conductive stripe 7 with its overlying conductive layer 8 provides a high conductivity path for the flow of electrical current into the resistance heater layer 9 and avoids any tendency for localized heating and possible separation of these layers because of localized areas of increased resistance along the bonded interface therebetween.
The degree of loading of the graphite relative to the resistivity of the resulting heater layer 9 is represented in FIG. 10. It has been found in accordance with this invention that the percentage of weight of these particles should be at least 60% whereby the resistivity of the layer is essentially a function of the resistance of the particles themselves rather than partially a function of the resin material parameters as is the case where lower bonding or packing is employed. Similarly the concentration or loading of the conductive particles in stripe 7 is maintained at such high levels.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. | An electrical resistance heater on a metal substrate. Bonded to a surface of the substrate is an insulating layer of a cured polyimide or polyamide-imide resin. A second layer of a cured polyimide or polyamide-imide resin having dispersed therein at least approximately 60% by weight of graphite flakes is bonded to the insulating layer. Intermediate and bonded to a portion of the insulating layer and an opposing portion of the second layer is an electrically conductive stripe which provides a high conductivity path to interconnect the second layer to an external electrical circuit. The stripe is formed from a cured polyimide or polyamide-imide resin having dispersed therein flakes of a conductive metal. The layers are flexible and the second layer and stripe have electrical conductivities which are not substantially degraded during operation at temperatures of at least 200°C. for extended periods of time. | 7 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of controlled, local delivery of pharmacologically active agents, and to polymer compositions useful therein, and to methods of making and using such polymer compositions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Systemic administration of drugs for the treatment of diseases can be effective, but may not be the most efficacious method for diseases which are localized within specific parts of the body. The controlled localized delivery of a drug to diseased tissue has become increasingly desirable because less drug can be administered locally resulting in a corresponding decrease in side effects, as well as providing economic benefit due to the expense of many drugs.
Controlled localized delivery in body lumens can be difficult because the movement of bodily fluids through body lumens such as blood vessels and ducts can carry the drug away from the afflicted area.
Some methods of controlled local delivery of drugs involve inserting or implanting medical devices that include a polymer composition for release of a biologically active material. These polymer compositions may be applied to the surface as a coating. For example, various types of drug-coated stents have been used for localized delivery of drugs to a body lumen. See commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,562 to Ding et al. Such stents have been used to prevent, inter alia, the occurrence of restenosis after balloon angioplasty.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a polymer composition for the controlled local delivery of therapeutic agent(s). The polymer composition includes at least one poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymer wherein the sites of unsaturation provide active sites for binding of pharmacologically active agent(s) thereto.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a polymer composition that may be used as a controlled release carrier for at least one therapeutic agent including at least one fluoropolymer having at least one therapeutic agent is covalently conjugated to the fluoropolymer.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for modifying a fluoropolymer having at least one —CF adjacent to at least one —CH by dehydrofluorination of said at least one —CF and said at least one adjacent —CH to form —C═C—, and covalently conjugating at least one therapeutic agent to said at least one —C═C—.
The polymer compositions may be used in combination with insertable and/or implantable medical devices such as endoprosthetic devices, for example, as a coating disposed thereon.
These and other aspects of the invention are described in the Detailed Description and in the claims below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a partial surface of a medical device such as an endoprosthetic device with a drug-containing polymer composition according to the invention disposed on the surface.
FIG. 2 is longitudinal cross-sectional view of a catheter assembly in accordance with which the drug-containing polymer compositions according to the invention may be employed.
FIG. 3 is longitudinal side view of a stent disposed on a medical balloon, the stent having a drug-containing polymer composition according to the invention disposed thereon.
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section of a stent and balloon taken along the longitudinal axis of the balloon and having a drug-containing polymer composition disposed on the stent.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there are described in detail herein specific embodiments of the invention. This description is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated.
All published documents, including all US patent documents, mentioned anywhere in this application are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Any copending patent applications, mentioned anywhere in this application are also hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to polymer compositions for the controlled local delivery of pharmaceutical agent, and to methods of making the same. The polymer compositions according to the invention include at least one fluoropolymer that has alkenylenic active sites, i.e. —C═C— unsaturation, for binding of pharmacologically active agents. These polymers may be referred to generally as poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymers. As used herein, any fluoropolymer containing unsaturation may be referred to as a poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymer.
The polymers employed in the invention may be fluoropolymers that have been dehydrofluorinated. Suitable polymers for dehydrofluorination have hydrogen and fluorine atoms on adjacent carbon atoms so that extraction of the hydrogen and fluorine results in a C═C double bond. The polymers may include various monomers such as vinylidene fluoride, tetrafluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene, perfluoromethylvinyl ether and other vinyl ether structures such as cyano-functional vinyl ethers, ethylene and other olefin monomers, chlorotrifluoroethylene and other halogenated monomers, trifluoroethylene and other partially fluorinated monomers and so forth. In some embodiments, the polymer includes at least vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene, trifluoroethylene or combinations thereof.
Examples of specific polymers include, but are not limited to, homopolymers of vinylidene fluoride or trifluoroethylene, copolymers or terpolymers containing including vinylidene fluoride and at least one copolymer selected from hexafluoropropylene, trifluoroethylene, vinyl fluoride, vinyl chloride, chlorotrifluoroethylene, and mixtures thereof.
Any suitable process of dehydrofluorinating a suitable fluoropolymer as described herein may be employed. For example, exposing a suitable polymer to a basic solution such as onium hydroxide basic solutions, alkoxides, or organic amines to induce dehydrofluorination of the polymer. Examples of specific basic compounds useful herein include, but are not limited to, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, rubidium hydroxide, quaternary ammonium compounds such as tetrabutylammonium hydroxide and tetrabutylammonium halides, secondary or tertiary alkyl amines, etc., as well as mixtures thereof. Aliphatic, heterocyclic or aromatic amines may be employed, examples of which include, but are not limited to, triethylamine, pyridine, quinoline and salts thereof. Of course, mixtures of any of the basic compounds can also be employed. Dehydrofluorination is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,842, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Suitably, dehydrofluorination is accomplished at a solution pH of about 8 to about 14, and more suitably about 10 to about 14.
It may be desirable to also add acid scavengers to minimize reverse hydrohalogenations. Examples of acid scavengers could include, but are not limited to, calcium carbonate or lead stearate.
Surfactants may also be added to the basic composition.
Depending on the basic compound selected for use, the solvent may be either aqueous or organic in nature. Examples of solvents include, but are not limited to, water, N,N-dimethyl formamide, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, triethylphosphate, dimethyl acetamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, methanol, ethanol, butanol, etc. and cosolvent blends.
The above lists are intended for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended as a limitation on the scope of the present invention. Such materials are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In one specific embodiment, a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene is dehydrofluorinated to provide a poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymer. Copolymers vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene are known to be biostable. The dehydrofluorination process is represented by the following general formula:
See Bottino, A., Capannelli, U. and Comite, A., Novel porous membranes from chemically modified poly(vinylidene fluoride), 273 Journal of Membrane Science, pp. 20-24 (2006), the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein. See also Wang, S, and Legare, John M., Perfluoroelastomer and fluoroelastomer seals for semiconductor wafer processing equipment, 122 Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, pp. 113-119 (2003) for other vinylidene fluoride containing polymers which may be employed herein, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein.
In some embodiments the dehydrofluorination reaction is conducted to an extent that active sites, i.e. C═C bonds, are produced in the polymer chain in amounts of about 5 mol % or less based on the number of available sites of dehydrohalogenation in the polymer, for instance about 3 mol % or less, in some cases about 1 mol % or less. In some instances the amount is at least about 0.1 mol %.
Dehydrofluorination may be accomplished alone, or concurrently with a further modification of the fluoropolymer described herein, for instance as part of an overall reaction which produces a direct grafting of primary or secondary amines to vinylidene fluoride containing fluoropolymers.
In some cases a nucleophile can be applied directly to displace fluorine atoms of a fluoropolymer to produce a conjugate without isolation of a poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymer.
The site of unsaturation can be employed to modify the fluoropolymer described herein by covalently conjugating a therapeutic agent to the polymer at the unsaturated carbon-carbon double bonds. The modified polymer can then be used for delivery of the therapeutic agent to a desired treatment site within a patient. Of course, two, three or more therapeutic agents may be conjugated to the polymer as well.
Conjugation of the therapeutic agent may be accomplished in some cases by direct bond between the polymer and the therapeutic agent or in other cases by means of an intermediate linking moiety. Suitably the therapeutic agent is bound by a means that allows for gradual release over time, e.g. via hydrolysis or enzymatic reaction at a site of implantation. The rate of release is influenced by several factors, including the type of chemical bond joining the active parent drug to the conjugate moiety.
Many techniques for producing drug conjugates are known. The polymer may be modified using any suitable method known in the art including free radical addition or nucleophilic attack across the double bonds of the poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymer to achieve the desired surface modification. Addition across the double bond may be accomplished directly in some cases where the therapeutic agent has a suitable reactive functionality. In other cases a linking compound may be used that adds to the double bond and also provides a group that will link to the therapeutic agent in a subsequent reaction. For instance a linking compound may provide a carboxy, hydroxy, thiol, or amine group that will link to the therapeutic agent using, e.g. an ester, amide, ether, carbamate, thioester, or thioether bond. In still another example the therapeutic agent is first reacted with a linking compound to produce a derivative that is then reacted with a poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymer to produce a conjugate of the invention.
For example, organic peroxides, polythiols, polyhydroxyl compounds and polyamines are known to add to poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymers in vulcanization reactions. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,480, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein. These reactions may be modified to provide suitable linkages between a therapeutic agent and a poly(fluoroalkene) in accordance with the present invention.
A nucleophile readily adds across a double bond of a poly(fluoroalkene) containing polymer. Nucleophiles often carry a negative charge, but any compound that is readily attracted to a positive center can be employed as a nucleophile.
Any therapeutic agent that is nucleophilic, or that can be added via a free radical addition to the double bonds of the (fluoroalkene) polymer, or that can be linked via a suitable linking compound as described above, may be employed in the present invention. As used herein, the terms, “therapeutic agent”, “drug”, “pharmaceutically active agent”, “pharmaceutically active material”, “beneficial agent”, “bioactive agent”, and other related terms may be used interchangeably and include genetic therapeutic agents, non-genetic therapeutic agents and cells. A drug may be used singly or in combination with other drugs. Drugs include genetic materials, non-genetic materials, and cells.
Therapeutic agents are disclosed in commonly assigned copending U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2004/0215169, 2005/0113903 and 2006/0129727, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. See also U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050149163, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Suitable therapeutic agents that may be added to the double bond include, but are not limited to, cell adherent compounds, endothelial cells, functional groups, growth enhancing factors, etc.
More specifically, compounds having amine groups, amino acids, carbohydrates, sugars, alcohols, chelating and/or ligand groups, enzymes, catalysts, hormones, lectins, proteins, peptides, antibiotics, vitamins, antigens, nucleic acids, DNA, RNA, etc., may be added to the fluoropolymers described herein.
If a linking compound is used it may be for instance an oligopeptide, a polyether, a polyester, a functionalized silane, etc.
Some exemplary therapeutic agents include, but are not limited to, anti-inflammatory agents such as dexamethasone, prednisolone, corticosterone, budesonide, estrogen, sulfasalazine, mesalamine, and analogues thereof; antineoplastic/antiproliferative/anti-miotic agents such as paclitaxel, everolimus, 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, vinblastine, vincristine, rapamycin, epothilones, endostatin, angiostatin, thymidine kinase inhibitors, and analogues thereof, anesthetic agents such as lidocaine, bupivacaine, ropivacaine, and analogues thereof, anti-coagulants; integrins, chemokines, cytokines and growth factors.
Some preferred therapeutic agents for use herein include, but are not limited to, anti-restenosis drugs, such as paclitaxel, sirolimus, everolimus, tacrolimus, dexamethoasone, estradiol, ABT-578 (Abbott Laboratories), trapidil, liprostin, Actinomycin D, Resten-NG, Ap-17, clopidogrel and Ridogrel.
The polymer compositions according to the invention can be employed as drug delivery coatings on any of a variety of insertable and/or implantable medical devices. Examples include, but are not limited to stents including both self-expanding and balloon-expandable stents, stent-grafts, dilatation balloons, any type of catheter assembly and any component thereof including, but not limited to, central venus catheters, diagnostic catheters and cardiovascular catheters, extracorpeal circuits, vascular grafts, pumps, heart valves, and cardiovascular sutures, blood exchanging devices, vascular access ports, to name a few. Regardless of detailed embodiments, applicability of the invention should not be considered limited with respect to implant design, implant location or materials of construction. Further, the present invention may be used with other types of implantable prostheses not specifically mentioned herein.
In some embodiments a device such a medical device is provided with a coating layer of a suitable fluoropolymer so that the layer has a device interface on one side and an exterior surface on the other side and then the exterior surface of the coating layer is subjected to the reactions of dehydrofluorination and conjugation with therapeutic agent. In some such embodiments, for instance in coated endoprosthetic devices such as stents, the reactions may be controlled so that the integrity and/or composition of the coating at the device interface is substantially unaltered so that as the therapeutic agent is released continuity of the polymer coating is maintained.
In other embodiments the polymer/therapeutic agent conjugates may be formed first and then applied to a suitable medical device substrate. In still other embodiments an implantable medical device may be formed of a polymer/therapeutic agent conjugate of the invention.
Turning now the figures, FIGS. 1-4 illustrate drug delivery polymer coatings on some exemplary embodiments of a medical device. These embodiments are intended for illustrate purposes only, and not as a limitation on the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates a partial surface of a medical device 10 such as an endoprosthetic device with a drug-containing polymer composition 12 according to the invention disposed on the surface.
FIG. 2 is longitudinal cross-sectional view of a catheter assembly 100 in accordance with which the drug-containing polymer compositions according to the invention may be employed. In this embodiment, catheter assembly 100 , is employed for purposes of delivering an endoprosthetic device, in this embodiment, a balloon-expandable stent 40 , is disposed on an expandable balloon member 20 . Balloon member 20 in combination with stent 40 is disposed about the distal end of the catheter assembly, in this embodiment, a dual lumen catheter assembly having an inner shaft 32 , an outer shaft 34 , and an inflation lumen 36 through which inflation fluid can be transported to the interior of balloon 20 .
The drug delivery polymer compositions according to the invention can be disposed on any of the components of the catheter assembly. In one embodiment, drug delivery polymer composition 12 is disposed on stent 40 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 . FIG. 3 is an expanded longitudinal side view of a stent 40 similar to that shown in FIG. 2 , disposed on a expandable balloon member 20 , stent 40 having a drug-containing polymer composition 12 according to the invention disposed thereon.
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section stent 40 and expandable balloon member 20 taken at section 4 in FIG. 3 . Drug delivery polymer composition 12 is shown disposed on stent struts 18 in FIG. 4 . While the coating 12 is shown on only one surface 17 (i.e. outer stent surface) of the struts 18 , it should be noted that depending on the application method employed, the coating could be on the sides 19 of struts 18 , as well as on the bottom 21 (i.e. inner surface) of the stent struts 18 as well. For example, while spraying may produce a coating on the outer surface 17 and the sides 19 of struts 18 , dipping of stent 40 may produce a coating on all surfaces ( 17 , 19 and 21 ), and brushing may produce a coating on only the outer surface 17 of struts 18 .
The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the attached claims. Those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto. | Fluoropolymers having a —CF adjacent to a —CH which are subsequently dehydrofluorinated to create a —C═C— can be used as controlled release carriers for therapeutic agent(s) by covalently conjugating the therapeutic agent(s) to the fluoropolymer at the —C═C—. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to system groups or networks, such as desktop groups, and arrangements for sharing files and the like therewithin.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Efforts have long been made in the realm of improving the portability of files between different computer systems. Present efforts have evolved to the point of being able to move files between systems via a graphic interface. For examples, files can easily be moved from one system to the other by way of a “drag and drop” between a remote file server window and a local directory window.
There are limits to these arrangements, however. For instance, conventional systems to date have provided no manner for moving the apparent ownership of running application windows from one user's computer to another. Accordingly, a compelling need has been recognized in connection with affording such a capability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Broadly contemplated herein, in accordance with at least one presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, is the collaborative sharing of resources on demand based on proximity. Thus, in the context of systems connected via existing communications and networking technologies, there is broadly contemplated herein the “tiling” of a collection of logically adjacent individual graphical desktops in a virtual desktop.
In such a setting, the action of dragging a window or icon off of one desktop and onto another would effectively transfer user interactability, and/or perceived ownership of the object, to the desktop where the window or icon graphically “lands”.
Different scenarios are possible. In an “X windows” scenario, e.g., a window display can be moved to the “target” or receiving system while retaining processing on the “original” or “moved-from” system. On the other hand, in an “MS Windows” scenario, a document and application state could be serialized and then moved as a unit to the “target” system. Generally, local spaces such as virtual conference rooms could be set up with distinct wireless subnets, to permit the automatic generation and creation of “groups”.
In summary, one aspect of the invention provides an apparatus comprising: an arrangement for affording, at an originating computer in group of connected computers, a transfer of an object to at least one target computer in the group; an arrangement for effecting a transfer of an object from an originating computer to at least one target computer via a graphical manipulation conducted at the originating computer.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method comprising the step of transferring, from an originating computer in a group of connected computers, an object to at least one target computer in the group via a graphical manipulation conducted at the originating computer.
Furthermore, an additional aspect of the invention provides a program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps, the method comprising the step of transferring, from an originating computer in a group of connected computers, an object to at least one target computer in the group via a graphical manipulation conducted at the originating computer.
For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a virtual desktop topology.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, computers are collaboratively connected together to present a single virtual desktop. Preferably, the process of interconnecting involves the exchange of screen resolutions among the computers in question, mutual authentication, and the establishment of a preferred virtual desktop topology. The topology may be determined by the users, or at least initialized to a layout where every user is depicted as being adjacent to all other users.
FIG. 1 schematically depicts a virtual desktop topology in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Here, users A, B, C, D and E, at different desktops (indicated by underlined letters), are working together collaboratively. They have chosen to connect their desktops in the manner shown. Thus, D is connected to C, A, B and E, wherein the smaller letters within D's “space” indicate connections to C, A, B, and E respectively. A similar configuration holds true for the other spaces B, C, A and E. It should be understood that desktops as depicted in the virtual topology need not necessarily be shown as physically adjacent in order to transfer files or information from one desktop to another. Thus, e.g., while desktops C and B are not shown as being physically adjacent, they are still functionally interconnected with one another via the smaller letters “B” and “C”, respectively.
By way of an illustrative yet non-restrictive working example, assume that user A is working on a document and then wishes to pass it along to user D for editing. This can be accomplished by dragging the window from his desktop off the upper left edge, into the larger space labelled “ D ”. Within the virtual desktop depicted, the window may appear to “slide” off the edge of user A's desktop and onto user D's. The transfer of the document need not necessarily be immediate or automatic; for instance, user D may choose to virus-scan or otherwise inspect the incoming data before accepting the document on his/her desktop.
In terms of what is received at user D's desktop, in accordance with one embodiment (the “MS Windows” scenario), the document and application's state is serialized and transferred to D's system, where processing restarts locally. In accordance with another embodiment (the “X windows” scenario), the display window can appear on D's desktop while processing still continues at user A's desktop (though this will not be visible to user A; in other words, the processing of the display window will remain on system A while it will only be visually available on system D). Similar transfers can be made concurrently between any two partners in the session.
Preferably, each desktop will have a virtual unified desktop (as depicted in FIG. 1 ) displayed for each user's benefit, as this helps help all users “see” all desktops at once, even though each will only control his/her own desktop. The image as shown (or other analogous images) can of course be scaled to fit each user's display. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each user's screen will have a miniature “map” of the workgroup's tiled virtual desktop, and windows or iconified representations of windows can be dragged or drop to different locations within the “map”.
By way of an alternative, a transfer of the type described further above could be accomplished by selecting “user D” from a menu (e.g., drop-down menu) or other display of users to which user A is linked. For instance, a “target” user in the workgroup could be selected from a right-click context menu, or a window menu (e.g., represented by an icon in the upper left corner of the window frame).
By way of yet another alternative, a schematic depiction of desktop topology (as in FIG. 1 ) could be dispensed with in favor of simply permitting a user to drag a window off the screen edge in a given direction (e.g., left, right, “up” [corresponding perhaps to “forward”] and “down” [corresponding perhaps to “behind”]), and thus on to the virtually—or even physically—adjacent screen of another user in the workgroup. In other words, a basic topology such as that shown in FIG. 1 could be understood by all users, and even marked on or about the entirety of a user's screen, wherein windows are dragged not within a topological “map” on-screen, but off in a given direction “off-screen”. The dragging of a window “off-screen” in a given direction could even be representative of an actual corresponding physical direction in which another desktop lies (e.g., dragging off to the left will “send” a document or other data or information to a desktop that literally is to the left).
In any of the above embodiments, it may be helpful to color-code the members of the workgroup. For example, if the implemented gesture (i.e., visual representation) is dragging off the screen edge, then the edges of the screen could be colored differently to make evident which user in the workgroup is adjacent to each portion of the screen edge. It may also be helpful to assign distinct sounds to each user in the workgroup, such that an arriving window and application would “announce” itself as being from a particular user.
Generally, the underlying mechanism for capturing any window transfer gesture could be implemented using a modification to the video driver, a service, the operating system, or the window manager. Other analogously functioning mechanisms are of course conceivable.
By way of a further refinement, once a document has been handed off from one user in a workgroup to another, the problem arises of what to do when the second user chooses to save the document. Possible answers include routing the save action back to the originating system through the channel by which the document was transferred, tagging the document with a network address and saving back to a server directly from the second user's system, or tagging it with a network address and saving it locally on the second user's system, to be synchronized with the server or the first user's system at a later time.
It is to be understood that the present invention, in accordance with at least one presently preferred embodiment, includes elements that may be implemented on at least one general-purpose computer running suitable software programs. These may also be implemented on at least one Integrated Circuit or part of at least one Integrated Circuit. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both.
If not otherwise stated herein, it is to be assumed that all patents, patent applications, patent publications and other publications (including web-based publications) mentioned and cited herein are hereby fully incorporated by reference herein as if set forth in their entirety herein.
Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the 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. | The collaborative sharing of resources on demand based on proximity, within a group or network of computers. Broadly contemplated herein the “tiling” of a collection of logically adjacent individual graphical desktops in a virtual desktop. In such a setting, the action of dragging a window or icon off of one desktop and onto another would effectively transfer user interactability, and/or perceived ownership of the object, to the desktop where the window or icon graphically “lands”. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to portable stand that needs not touch the ground. The portable stand can serve as a stable platform for devices used in construction.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
During construction, constant measurements must be taken to insure that the structure is adhering to the design being built. Many times a scanner and/or total stations are used to take these measurements. A total station is an electronic/optical instrument used in modern surveying. The total station is an electronic theodolite (transit) integrated with an electronic distance meter (EDM) to read distances from the instrument to a particular point.
The total station, and most all other devices, need to be stable in order to make precise measurements. However, in many situations, the surface near where the device must be set does not allow a tripod to provide a stable surface. Other times it is just inconvenient or very difficult to use a tripod due to the state of the surface. In some cases, metal or wood decking is set as a form before the concrete floors are poured which is not a stable footing for a tripod.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with references to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a column attachment secured to a square column;
FIGS. 2-7 shows different perspectives of the an embodiment of the column attachment;
FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of the column attachment; and
FIGS. 9-10 shows an embodiment of the column attachment with an attached device in different positions.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1 , the platform 1 is secured to the abutment 6 by one or more tension members and the lower support element 10 . The one or more tension members can include a center tension member 4 and a periphery tension member 5 . The abutment 6 can have one or more strap accepting sections 7 . A strap 8 can be run through the strap accepting sections 7 and secured tightly to a column, post or other suitable object. The strap 8 can be tightened by a strap tensioning member 9 so as to firmly secure the abutment 6 to the column, post or other suitable object. The securing element 3 can be used to secure a device against the platform 1 .
Referring to FIG. 8 , the securing element 3 can have a gripping portion 31 , a securing portion 32 and a neck 33 . The securing portion 32 can be threaded and have a size and a thread that corresponds to standard threaded holes of devices used in surveying, construction or photography. The securing portion 32 can have a #8-32 thread. Different securing elements 3 can be supplied to correspond to different devices. The length of the securing portion 32 can be shorter than the accommodating space in the device. Thus the securing portion 32 can be secured to the device, have the device press against the platform 1 , and have the gripping portion 31 press against the underside of the platform 1 . This will stabilize the device on the platform 1 . The neck 33 is of a size that will allow it to slide along the slot 12 , while the securing portion 32 has an effective circumference that will prevent it from slipping through the slot 12 . The gripping portion 31 can be any number of designs. As shown, the gripping portion 31 is a cylinder with grooves to increase friction. In other embodiments a knob or other handles can be used as the gripping portion 31 .
The platform 1 defines a slot 12 that allows for adjusting the location of the device along the platform 1 . The slot 12 can be in communication with the platform through hole 13 . The platform through hole 13 can have a thread that corresponds to the securing portion 32 . In other embodiments, the through hole 13 need not be threaded. The through hole 13 allows the securing element 3 to be removed. In some embodiments, the platform 1 does not have a through hole 13 , and the securing element 3 is retained by and able to move along the slot 12 . The platform 1 can also define a curved slot 14 . The curved slot 14 allows the platform to move relative to the periphery tension member 5 so as to rotate the platform 1 . The platform can also define an aperture through which the center tension member 4 extends to engage the abutment 6 .
The lower support element 10 comprises a base 101 and one or more arms 102 extending from the base 101 . The lower support element 10 is secured to the abutment 6 by a lower tightening member 11 . The lower tightening member 11 is able to increase the pressure between the lower support element 10 and the abutment 6 . Thus the relative movement between the abutment 6 and the lower support element 10 is limited. Each arm 102 can have one or more braces 2 attached thereto. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the lower support element 10 comprises two arms 102 extending from a rounded base 101 , and a brace 2 is attached to each arm 102 . In other embodiments, there is only one arm 102 with one or more braces 2 attached thereto. The base 101 can have a shape that corresponds to a portion of the abutment 6 so as to maximize the contact surface area between the lower support element 10 and the abutment 6 . The amount of contact surface area will influence the rotational stability of the platform 1 . The amount of contact surface area and/or the friction thereof can be set as desired. In some embodiments, there are no arms extending from the base 101 .
The lower tightening member 11 can have a threaded portion 111 that corresponds to a threaded element located on the abutment 6 . The lower tightening member 11 also has a handle portion 112 . The handle portion 112 can be an adjustable clamping lever or a knob.
The platform 1 is connected to one or more braces 2 . As seen in FIG. 1 , the two braces 2 extend from the lower support element 10 to the platform 1 . In other embodiments, the one or more braces 2 can be connected to the base 101 .
Referring to FIGS. 2 to 6 , the abutment 6 comprises two projections 61 that extend from a center portion 62 . The two projections 61 can define an angle. The angle can be in the range from about 45 degrees to about 180 degrees. In some embodiments, the angle is about 90 degrees as shown in the drawings. The projections 61 can have a solid surface or define multiple apertures to decrease the weight. The center portion 62 has an upper portion 63 and lower portion 64 . The upper portion 63 defines two receiving holes that can accept portions of the center tension member 4 and the periphery tension member 5 .
In some embodiments, the receiving holes and the portions have corresponding threads, such that when the center tension member 4 and/or the periphery tension member 5 are tightened, the platform 1 is pressed against the upper portion 63 . In some embodiments, a nut is what supplies the corresponding thread. The nut may or may not be secured to the abutment 6 . When the center tension member 4 and/or the periphery tension member 5 is tightened sufficiently, the rotational stability of the platform 1 is increased. The upper portion 63 and the lower portion 64 have planar sections that are in contact with the platform 1 , the former, and the lower support element 10 , the latter. It is also understood that other types of frictional engagement arrangements can also be employed. In one embodiment there are corresponding grooves. In yet other embodiments, these corresponding groves will have indicia associated with them. In some embodiments the indicia indicate angular position of the platform 1 in relation to the abutment 6 .
The one or more strap accepting sections 7 are located on the abutment 6 . The strap accepting sections 7 can serve as a guide for a strap 8 . In some embodiments, there is a strap accepting section 7 on each of the projections 61 and on the center portion 62 . The size of the strap accepting sections 7 can be changed according to need. In some embodiments, there are multiple strap accepting sections 7 of varying sizes on one of the projections 61 , both of the projections 61 , and/or the center portion 62 . The strap accepting sections 7 can form a full enclosure, so that the strap is threaded through, or define a gap that will enable the strap 8 to be inserted therein (not shown). In some embodiments, the strap accepting section(s) 7 is merely an indentation in the abutment 6 (not shown).
The center tension member 4 and the periphery tension member 5 can comprise an adjustable clamping lever with a threaded member that engages the abutment 6 . In other embodiments, the center tension member 4 and the periphery tension member 5 can comprise a knob with a threaded member. When the user tightens the center tension member 4 and/or the periphery tension member 5 , it increases the pressure between the platform 1 and the upper portion 63 . Some embodiments lack the center tension member 4 and there is an attachment between the platform 1 and the abutment 6 that allows for rotational movement. Other embodiments lack the periphery tension member 5 .
The strap tensioning member 9 is used to tighten the strap 8 and secure the abutment 6 member to a column. In some embodiments, the strap tensioning member 9 is an endless loop ratchet. In other embodiments different types of tensioning devices can be used to secure the abutment 6 to the stable object such as a cambuckle or gunwale strap.
It is understood that the components can be comprise varying materials. These materials include, but are not limited to, steel, aluminum, other metals, plastics, composites, laminates, nylon, and combinations thereof.
During use a user will secure the abutment 6 to a column, post or other stable object. This can be done using the strap 8 . The strap 8 is situated in or on the strap accepting sections 7 wrapped around the column, post or other stable object, and tightened until there is sufficient tension to secure the abutment 6 to the a column, post or other stable object. The tightening of the strap 8 can be achieved by the use of the strap tensioning member 9 . If the object is a square column, the two projections 61 will abut surfaces of the square column, as shown in FIG. 1 . If the object is an I-beam, one of the projections 61 will abut a surface while the other may hang in space. If the object is round or an irregular shape, certain parts of the projections 61 will abut the surfaces. While the projections 61 are shown as defining a V-shape, it is understood that the projections 61 may define a U-shape, a semicircle, or other shapes. The user can set the platform 1 to a desired position by adjusting the center tension member 4 , the periphery tension member 5 and/or the lower tightening member 11 . In order to rotate, the tension members 4 , 5 , and/or the lower tightening member 11 are loosened. The platform 1 is rotated about the center tension member 4 , and the platform 1 is free to move about the periphery tension member 5 due to the curved slot 14 . The rotation of the platform 1 will be transferred down the brace(s) 2 to the lower support element 10 . Once the desired orientation is achieved, the user can tighten the center tension member 4 , the periphery tension member 5 and/or the lower tightening member 11 .
Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10 , another degree of adjustment is provided by the securing element 3 and the slot 12 . The securing element 3 is attached to the device. The user is able to slide the device along the length of the slot 12 . When the user has arrived at the desired location, the user will tighten the securing element 3 such that the platform 1 will be located between the base of the device and the gripping portion 31 . This arrangement will prevent movement of the device along the slot 12 as well as stabilize it in relation to the platform 1 .
Depending on the embodiment, certain steps of methods described may be removed, others may be added, and the sequence of steps may be altered. Those skilled in the art will now see that certain modifications can be made to the apparatus and methods herein disclosed with respect to the illustrated embodiments, without departing from the spirit of the instant invention. And while the invention has been described above with respect to several embodiments, any element and/or step described in reference to any particular embodiment is hereby disclosed to be associated with any other embodiment of the invention. It is understood that the invention is adapted to numerous rearrangements, modifications, and alterations, and all such arrangements, modifications, and alterations are intended to be within the scope of the invention. | A column attachment having an abutment, a platform, a tension member, and a securing element that are used to provide a stable support for a device. The tension member secures the platform to the abutment. The securing portion is able to slide along a slot defined in the platform. The securing portion is able to attach to devices, like total stations, and secure them to the platform. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the transmission of clock signal information as a part of the transmission signal from a transmission facility to a receiving facility and to the recovery of the clock signal at the receiving facility for use in processing the received signal and in particular to the transmission of the clock signal information and pulse signal information by amplitude modification of input pulse signals in accordance with clock signal information wherein the input pulse signals are of the non-return to zero type.
2. Prior Art
The use of pulse signals of the non-return to zero type for the transmission of information is well known. A non-return to zero pulse signal is one that has transitions which are coincident with clock signals. The various transmission systems using pulse signals require the clock signal used for various timing functions at the transmission facility to be present at a receiving facility to provide the proper time base needed for processing the received pulse signals. Various arrangements have been used to transmit clock signal information which is processed at the receiving facility to recover or regenerate the desired clock signal. Such prior arrangements include phase encoding techniques which require excessive bandwidth and frequency division modulation (FDM) arrangements which require a great deal of extra generation and demodulation circuitry. In addition, the problem of recovering clock information is magnified when high pulse rates are involved since phase distortion increases and the amount of shift in pulse transitions is significant with respect to the clock period.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is embodied in circuitry which avoids the disadvantages of prior art arrangements for transmitting clock signal information with the transmitted signal for recovery at a receiving facility. Circuitry embodying the invention receives a clock signal and input pulse signals produced in timed relationship with the clock signal and at a frequency that is one-half the frequency of the clock signal. The pulse signals and the clock signal are combined to modify the amplitude of the pulse signals for producing a signal for transmission that contains the pulse signal information and clock signal information. The circuitry includes circuit means adapted to receive the clock signal for providing a series of alternate "1" logic and "0" logic signals which are coincident with transitions in the pulse signals and, therefore, are present at a frequency equal to one-half of the frequency of the clock signal. An exclusive-or logic means is included which is adapted for receiving the input pulse signals and the series of logic signals at separate inputs. An adder circuit is also included which is adapted to receive the series of logic signals and the output of the exclusive-or logic means. The series of logic signals is provided to the adder at an amplitude equal to or greater than the output of the exclusive-or logic means. The output of the adder is a succession of signals at one-half the frequency of the clock signal with each signal having an amplitude that is different than the amplitude of the preceding signal. The possible amplitudes of the output signals include amplitudes of R, D, K and K+D, where R is an amplitude less than D, D is the amplitude of the output of the exclusive-or logic at the adder circuit and K is the amplitude of the series of logic signals at the adder circuit and is equal to or greater than D.
This invention also provides circuitry useable at a receiving facility for recovering clock information from the foregoing output signals from which the clock signal is obtained for use in reconstructing the input pulse signals and processing the recovered pulse signals. Circuitry for processing such amplitude modified pulse signals at a receiving facility includes a bandpass filter adapted for receiving the amplitude modified pulse signals; a limiter circuit for receiving the output of the bandpass filter for limiting the amplitude of the output of said bandpass filter and a frequency doubler for receiving the output of the limiting circuit to provide an output signal having a frequency equal to the clock signal. Such circuitry also includes a first comparator adapted for receiving the amplitude modified pulse signals for providing an output when the modified pulse signals present an amplitude in excess of K; a second comparator adapted for receiving the modified pulse signals for providing an output when the modified pulse signals present an amplitude less than D. A circuit portion is also included that is adapted for receiving the output of the first and second comparators and the output signal of the frequency doubler for providing an output in timed relationship with the output of said frequency doubler that is a reconstruction of the input pulses. The last mentioned circuit portion can be provided by two series connected flip-flop circuits, the first of which can be a synchronous latch type flip-flop which is reset by the output of the frequency doubler. The second flip-flop can be provided by a delay type flip-flop which is clocked by the output of the frequency doubler.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic for a circuit embodying the invention for use at a signal transmitting facility;
FIG. 2 is a showing of signal forms representative of signals provided at various points in the circuit of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic for a circuit embodying the invention for use at a signal receiving facility.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A clock signal at a given frequency is used in the generation of input pulse signals at a transmission facility. This clock signal must be available at the facility receiving the transmitted signals so they can be processed. Referring to FIG. 1 a schematic is shown of circuitry embodying this invention for use at a transmission facility which enables clock signal information to be used to modify the amplitude of the pulse signals in a manner such that the clock information can be recovered at the receiving facility to generate the clock signal for reconstructing the pulse signals and processing them. The circuitry includes an exclusive-or logic gate 10, an adder circuit 12 and a circuit means 14. The circuit means 14 receives the clock signal via a conductor 16 and serves to provide a series of alternate "1" and "0" logic signals at a frequency that is one-half the frequency of the clock signal plus a second series of logic signals which are the inverse of the first series of logic signals with the transitions in such logic signals being coincident with the input pulse signal transitions. The adder circuit 12 has two inputs. One input is connected to receive the output of the exclusive-or gate 10 via a conductor 18 with the other input connected to receive the first series of logic signals from the circuit means 14 via a conductor 20. Assuming the amplitude of the signals that the adder circuit 12 receives from the exclusive-or gate 10 is D, which can be any level greater than a level R, the circuit means 14 is arranged to provide its first series of logic signals to the adder circuit 12 at an amplitude K, where K is equal to or greater than D. The input pulse signals are applied via the conductor 22 to one input of the gate 10 while a conductor 24 connects the other input of gate 10 to the circuit means 14 to receive the second series of alternate "1" and "0" logic signals.
The functions of the circuit means 14 are provided by a J-K type flip-flop 26 and an amplifier 28. The C input of the flip-flop receives the clock signal via the conductor 16 and its Q output is connected to the exclusive-or gate 10 via the conductor 24. The Q output, which is the inverse of the Q output, is connected to the input of amplifier 28 which has its output connected to the adder circuit 12. The J and K inputs of the flip-flop are connected to receive a continuous logic "1" signal from a logic "1" source (not shown).
As indicated, the invention requires that the amplitude of the logic signals applied via the conductor 20 to the adder circuit 12 be equal to K where K is equal to or greater than D. With these conditions, the circuitry of FIG. 1 will operate to cause an output of pulse signals to be provided from the adder circuit 12 wherein the amplitude of a given pulse is different than the preceding pulse. Further, the possible amplitudes of the output signal are R, D, K and D+K.
Referring to FIG. 2, representative signals present at various points in the circuitry are shown. The signal at 30 is representative of pulse signals presented to the exclusive-or gate 10, while the signal at 32 represents the first series of "1" and "0" logic signals presented to the adder circuit 12 based on the output from the Q output of the flip-flop 26. The signal representation indicated at 34 is the composite signal presented at the output 36 of the adder circuit 12 in response to the signals applied to the adder circuit when signals 30 and 32 are presented in the circuitry of FIG. 1.
Since the exclusive-or gate 10 operates to provide a logic output of AB or BA when the inputs to the gate are A and B, the composite signal 34 provided by adding the two inputs to the adder circuit 12 can be determined from the signal representations at 30 and 32, if it is assumed the amplitude of the signal from the output of the exclusive-or is per the amplitude shown for the signal at 30. When the signal 32 is "high", the composite signal is the signal representation at 30 plus the signal representation at 32. When the signal 32 is "low", the composite signal is the inverse of the signal representation at 30 plus the signal representation at 32.
The composite signal 34 presented at the output 36 of the adder circuit which would be sent to a receiving facility has a change in amplitude presented on a regular basis at one-half the frequency of the clock signal to provide clock information at the receiving facility which can be used to regenerate the clock signal for use in reconstructing the input pulse signals and processing them after they are reconstructed from the composite signal 34 at the receiving facility.
The circuitry shown at FIG. 3 provides a means whereby the signal provided by the circuitry of FIG. 1 can be used to obtain the clock signal and to reconstruct the pulse signals provided to the circuitry of FIG. 1. The circuitry includes a first circuit portion 11 for regenerating the clock signal from the signal provided from the circuitry of FIG. 1 and a second circuit portion 13 which recovers the pulse signals provided to the circuitry of FIG. 1 by utilizing the signal provided from the circuitry of FIG. 1 plus the clock signal produced by the first circuit portion 11.
The first circuit portion 11 includes a bandpass filter 15 which receives the signal produced by the circuitry of FIG. 1, a slicer or clipper-limiter 17 connected to limit the amplitude of the output from the bandpass filter and a frequency multiplier 19 for doubling the frequency of the output received from the slicer 17. The output of the frequency multiplier is the clock signal, which is then available for reconstructing the pulse signals by the second circuit portion 13 and for processing the reconstructed pulse signals.
The second circuit portion 13 includes first and second comparators 21 and 23, respectively, each receiving the output signal produced by the circuit of FIG. 1. An OR circuit 25 serves to apply a logic "1" signal appearing at the output either of the comparator to a timing circuit provided by an R-S type flip-flop 27 and a D-type flip-flop 29. The output of the OR circuit 25 is applied to the set input of the flip-flop 27. The Q output of flip-flop 27 is connected to the D input of the flip-flop 29. The output of the second circuit portion appears at the Q output of flip-flop 29. The output of the frequency multiplier 19, at which the clock signal appears, is connected to the reset input of flip-flop 27 and the clock input of flip-flop 29 so operation of the timing circuit will be timed by the clock signal.
It should be noted that the signal provided by the circuit of FIG. 1 is applied to the positive input of comparator 21 and to the negative input of comparator 23. The negative input of comparator 21 is biased at a voltage that is in excess of K and less than D+K. The positive input of comparator 23 is biased at a voltage that is less than D. Referring to representative signal that is received, which is indicated at 34 at FIG. 2, it can be seen that comparator 21 presents a logic "1" at its output when the received signal is in excess of the bias supplied to comparator 21, while comparator 22 presents a logic "1" at its output when the received signal is below the bias supplied to comparator 22. It is preferred that the bias voltage for comparator 21 be set at the midpoint between K and D+K or at K+D/2 with the bias voltage for comparator 22 set at the midpoint between D and R or (D+R)/2 for reliable operation of the circuit since such bias voltages will eliminate the variations that can be expected from the nominal amplitude levels of D and K which are presented in a signal supplied to the comparators. Referring to the signal 34 of FIG. 2, which is representative of the input signal to the circuit of FIG. 3, it can be seen that each time the signal 34 is greater than K+D/2, a logic "1" will be presented to the OR gate 25 and that a logic "1" will also be presented to the OR gate each time the signal 34 is less than (D+R)/2 and greater than R. Such logic "1" signals are moved through the timing circuit provided by the flip-flops 27 and 29, as will be explained, to present the pulse signals as shown at 30 in FIG. 2.
Referring to the timing portion 13 of the circuit of FIG. 3, when logic "1" is presented at the set input of flip-flop 27 between clock transitions, the Q output presents a logic "1" which is applied to the "D" input of the flip-flop 29. This logic "1" appears at the Q output of flip-flop 29 upon occurrence of the next positive clock going transition and flip-flop 27 is reset causing the Q output to present a logic "0". Accordingly, the transitions in the output of the timing circuit will occur at the same time as transitions in the clock signal.
It can be appreciated that while a plurality of pulse signal channels which are timed by a clock signal may be provided at a transmission facility, only one channel of pulse signals need be supplied to the circuit of FIG. 1 with the resulting amplitude modified pulse signal being sent a receiving facility where it is applied to the circuit of FIG. 3 to cause the clock signal to be produced for use in processing the pulse signals recovered by the circuit of FIG. 3 as well as the other pulse signals that are sent from the transmission facility to the receiving facility.
It can be appreciated that modifications can be made to the circuitry of FIG. 1 so the output from the adder circuit 12 remains in a form wherein the "1's" of the pulse signals 34 are represented by an amplitude greater than K or less than D with "0's" represented by an amplitude less than K and greater than D. Referring to FIG. 1, it is possible, for example, to invert the pulse signals 34 before they are applied to the exclusive-or gate 10 by the use of an inverter 38 indicated by the dotted lines. When inverter 38 is used the amplifier 28 and the exclusive-or gate 10 can be connected to the same output of the flip-flop 26. This is shown in FIG. 1 wherein the connection made to the Q output of the flip-flop 26 is eliminated as indicated by the dotted line "X" at 40 with the amplifier 28 receiving the alternate "1" and "0" logic signals from the Q output of flip-flop 26 via the connection indicated by the dotted line at 42. Q could, of course, also be used as the common output of the flip-flop for gate 10 and the amplifier 28.
It is also possible to modify the circuitry of FIG. 1, as indicated above, but without using the inverter 38. The output signal from the adder 36 is then in a form wherein the "0's" of the pulse signals 34 applied to exclusive-or gate 10 are represented in transmitted signal when it has an amplitude greater than K or less than D with "1's" of the pulse signals 34 applied to exclusive-or gate 10 represented in the transmitted signal when it has an amplitude greater than D and less than K. | Circuitry is disclosed for transmitting clock signal information with a transmitted signal. The transmitted signal is obtained by applying non-return to zero input pulse signals, provided at one-half the frequency of the clock signal, with alternate "1" logic and "0" logic signals, which are coincident with the transitions in the pulse signals, to an exclusive-or logic circuit and combining the output of the exclusive-or logic circuit with the alternate "1" and "0" logic signals at an adder circuit. The adder circuit provides an output that is a succession of signals at one-half the frequency of the clock signal with each of the successive signals having an amplitude different than the amplitude of the preceding signal. The logic signals provided to the adder circuit have an amplitude equal to or greater than the output of the exclusive-or logic circuit. Circuitry is also disclosed for recovering the clock information from the signal provided from the adder and for reconstructing the input pulse signals. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for converting vector data representative of the outline of input characters such as alphabetic letters, Chinese characters, numberals and symbols, into corresponding dot data. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a technique useful for reducing the time required for preparing dot data representative of characters.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
For printing, displaying or otherwise reproducing or outputting input characters on an output medium such as a paper and a display screen, it is commonly practiced to prepare a batch of dot data consisting of bits indicative of the presence or absence of image dots to be formed at the positions of picture elements, which are the smallest subdivisions of an image to be outputted. If an output device such as a printer is adapted to store multiple sets of dot data representative of all characters that can be outputted on the output medium, the output device requires a memory having a large capacity. In view of this requirement, a set of vector data which defines the outline of each character available on the output device is usually stored in a memory, and the vector data of each input character are converted into the corresponding set of dot data for outputting the input character.
A data converting apparatus capable of converting vector data into dot data as described above is commonly arranged such that the output mode in which the characters are outputted can be changed or selected as desired. For instance, the characters can be printed or displayed in a selected one of different sizes (for example, 12-point or 20-point size), and/or in a selected one of different attitudes (for example, upright attitude and left-turned attitude as illustrated in FIG. 5). Further, the characters may have different type styles. For example, a character can be outputted in either the standard style in which the characters extend along their width-wise centerline, or in the italic style in which the characters are inclined with respect to the centerline, as indicated in FIG. 5. Thus, the characters are outputted in the specified mode in terms of one or more output conditions such as the character size, printing attitude and type style. Accordingly, the data converting apparatus should be adapted to be able to convert the vector data of each input character into corresponding dot data, so that the obtained dot data meet or satisfy the specified output mode, which may be a combination of two or more output conditions. For example, a set of dot data must be prepared so that the character is printed in the 10-point size, in the standard style and in the upright attitude.
Generally, a text to be outputted includes two or more occurrences of same characters. In this case, therefore, the conversion of the vector data into the dot data is effected two or more times for the same character which appears at two or more positions of the text. Since the data conversion requires a considerably long time, the repetition of the data converting operations for the same character results in unnecessarily increasing the overall time required to prepare a batch of dot data of the entire text. This waste of the data processing time may be avoided if the data converting apparatus is constructed to include: (a) V/D conversion means for converting vector data of an input character into dot data for reproducing or outputting the input character in a specified output mode on an output medium; (b) dot data memory means for storing the dot data prepared by the V/D conversion means; and (c) conversion control means operable prior to the data conversion by the V/D conversion means, for determining whether or not the dot data to be prepared by conversion from the vector data of the input character by the V/D conversion means are currently stored in the dot data memory, and activating the V/D conversion means to convert the vector data into the dot data if the dot data are not stored in the dot data memory, while omitting or inhibiting the conversion by the V/D conversion means if the dot data are stored in the memory.
In the known data converting apparatus indicated above, the dot data to be prepared by the V/D conversion means by conversion of the vector data of the input character permit the input character to be outputted in the specified output mode, namely, represent the kind of the input character, and reflect the specified output condition or conditions such as the character size, attitude and type style. The conversion of the vector data into the dot data is not effected where the dot data memory has already stored dot data identical with the dot data of the input character to be prepared by the V/D conversion means. In other words, the data conversion is effected only when the dot data for outputting the input character in the specified mode have not been stored in the dot data memory. Accordingly, the data conversion will not be repeated for preparing the dot data for outputting the same character in the same output mode, whereby the time for preparing the dot data for the input characters is considerably reduced.
However, an applicant's study on this type of data converting apparatus revealed a room for a further improvement in the apparatus. The applicant found it possible to omit the conversion of the vector data into the dot data even where dot data for outputting the same character as the input character in a mode different from the output mode of the input character are stored in the dot data memory, that is, even where the output mode of the input character is different from that of the dot data stored in the dot data memory for the same character.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a data converting apparatus for converting vector data of an input character into dot data, which permits further reduction in the time required to prepare a batch of dot data for an input text to be outputted.
The above object may be achieved according to the principle of the present invention, which provides a data converting apparatus, comprising: V/D conversion means for converting vector data representative of an outline of an input character into dot data for recording, displaying or otherwise outputting the input character in a specified output mode on an output medium such as a recording medium and a display screen; dot data memory means for storing the dot data prepared by the V/D conversion means; conversion control means operable prior to the data conversion by the V/D conversion means, and dot data changing means responsive to the conversion control means. The conversion control means determines whether one of a first and a second case is satisfied. The first case is satisfied where the dot data to be prepared by conversion from the vector data of the input character by the V/D conversion means are stored in the dot data memory means, while the second case is satisfied where basic dot data for outputting the input character in a different output mode different from the specified output mode are stored in the dot data memory means. The conversion control means inhibits the V/D conversion means from effecting the data conversion in the first and second cases. In the second case, the dot data changing means operates for changing the basic dot data according to a predetermined rule depending upon the specified and different output modes, so as to obtain the dot data for outputting the input character in said specified output mode.
In the data converting apparatus of the present invention constructed as described above, the conversion of the vector data of the input character to the dot data is omitted not only in the first case where the dot data for outputting the input character in the specified output mode are already stored in the dot data memory means, but also in the second case where basic dot data which represent the input character but cause the input character to be outputted in an output mode different from the output mode specified for the input character are stored in the dot data memory. In the second case, the basic dot data stored in the dot data memory means are changed to the dot data for outputting the input character in the specified mode. This change is effected according to a predetermined rule which is determined by the specified output mode of the input character and the different output mode associated with the basic dot data. Namely, the output mode of the basic dot data may be changed to the specified output mode by changing the basic dot data, while maintaining or substantially maintaining the outline or basic pattern of the character represented by the basic dot data, which outline or basic pattern is identical with that of the input character. This change of the basic dot data into the desired dot data is simpler than the conversion of the vector data into the dot data, and can be effected in a shorter time.
According to the present invention as described above, the time required to prepare a batch of dot data for outputting characters of a text in respective specified modes can be effectively reduced, since the conversion of the vector data of an input character to the dot data is omitted in the case where basic dot data which permit the input character in a mode other than the specified mode are already stored in the dot data memory, as well as in the case where the dot data which permit the input character in the specified mode are stored in the dot data memory.
The output mode of each input character is specified or determined by one or more output conditions such as the size, attitude and type style in which the character is printed, displayed or otherwise outputted. Even where the outline of the input character is the same as that of a character represented by basic dot data stored in the dot data memory, the output mode of the input character may be different from that of the character stored in the dot data memory. For instance, the basic dot data stored in the dot data memory may be formulated to output the input character in an attitude and/or type style different from the attitute and/or the type style of the stored character. This is the situation where the second case is satisfied, and the basic dot data are changed to the dot data that can be used to output the input dot data in the specified output mode.
For example, the input character may take either the nominal upright attitude or the 90°-turned attitude rotated by 90° clockwise or counterclockwise from the nominal upright position about the center of the character, as indicated in FIG. 5. If the input character has one of the upright and 90°-turned attitudes while a character stored in the dot data memory has the other attitude, the dot data for outputting the input character in the specified output mode can be obtained by merely changing the basic dot data representative of the stored character such that the attitude of the stored character is rotated by 90° in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction about the center of the stored character. This is one of the situations which satisfy the second case indicated above.
The second case may also be satisfied where the input character has a standard type style while a character represented by basic dot data stored in the dot data memory means has an inclined type style such as the italic style, for example. In this second case, the basic dot data for outputting the input character in the italic style are changed into the appropriate dot data for outputting the input character in the standard type style, such that the segments of the outline of the stored italic character above the height-wise centerline of the character are shifted rightward in the direction of width of the character while the segments below the centerline are shifted leftward, and such that the amount of shifting of the outline in the direction of width of the character increases with the distance from the center in the direction of height of the character.
The dot data memory may be a cache memory which has dot data memory locations assigned to store respective dot data bits indicative of the presence or absence of image dots to be formed at a corresponding one of positions of a matrix of picture elements which corresponds to a matrix of dots for defining each input character. In the second case indicated above, the memory locations of the dot data bits of the basic dot data are changed according to the predetermined rule, which is determined, for example, by the attitudes and/or type styles of the input character and the character represented by the basic dot data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and optional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a control system of a laser printer, which incorporates one embodiment of a data converting apparatus of the present invention;
FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are flow charts illustrating a data converting routine according to a control program stored in a read-only memory of the control system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a view showing eight different cases which are dealt with by the control program of the flow chart of FIG. 2;
FIGS. 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c) are views illustrating examples of dot data conversion implemented by the data converting apparatus; and
FIG. 5 is an illustration indicating three different output modes of character "A".
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring first to FIG. 1, the laser printer is equipped with a main control device 20 principally constituted by a computer, and a printing mechanism 22 constructed to print characters such as alphabetic letters, Chinese characters and symbols on an output medium in the form of a recording medium such as a sheet of paper. The main control device 20 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 24, a ROM (read-only memory) 26, a RAM (random-access memory) 28, an input interface 30, an output interface 32, and a bus 34 for interconnecting these elements.
The main control device 20 is connected to an external input device 36 through the input interface 30, and to the printing mechanism 22 through the output interface 32. The main control device 20 receives necessary data from the external input device 36.
The ROM 26 includes a program memory 40 which stores various control programs such as a program for executing a data converting routine illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 2. The ROM 26 further includes a VECTOR-FONT memory 42 which stores sets of code data indicative of respective characters to be printed, and sets of vector data corresponding to the respective sets of code data, so that the sets of vector data can be designated by the respective sets of code data when the code data are received from the external input device 36.
The laser printer is adapted to print characters selectively in different sizes, for example, 4.8-point, 10-point, 12-point or 20-point size. The character size is a condition which determines the mode in which the characters are printed.
The laser printer is capable of printing characters such that the attitude of the characters is selected within an angular range of 90° between 0° and 90° positions. Namely, the characters to be printed can be rotated in the counterclockwise direction by a desired angle up to 90°, about the center of each character, from the nominal 0° position corresponding to the normal upright attitude toward the 90°-rotated position corresponding to the left-turned attitude. For example, the upright attitude or the 0° position is selected when the direction of lines of characters to be printed on the recording medium is parallel to the laser scanning direction or printing direction, and the left-turned attitude or 90°-rotated position is selected when the direction of the lines of characters to be printed is perpendicular to the printing direction.
The present laser printer is also adapted to print a character in the standard type style or the italic type style. The type style is another condition which determines the output mode of the character.
Accordingly, the external input device 36 is adapted to provide the laser printer with the printing data which include: (a) code data representative of characters (herein-after referred to as "input characters" where appropriate) that form a given text to be printed; (b) print position data representative of printing positions at which the individual characters are printed on the recording medium; (c) size data representative of the sizes of the characters; (d) attitude data indicative of the angular position or attitude of the characters; and (e) type style data indicative of either the standard type style or the italic type style of the characters. The printing data received by the laser printer are stored in an input buffer 44 of the RAM 28.
The RAM 28 further includes a cache memory 46, a text memory 48 and a page memory 50.
The cache memory 46 has a dot data area for storing sets of dot data (basic dot data) representative of a plurality of characters, and a control data area for storing: code data representative of each input character; address data representative of an address of the dot data area at which the set of dot data for each character is stored; and size data, attitude data and type style data indicative representative or of the size, attitude and type style of each input character, which determine the output mode in which the character is printed. The dot data area consists of memory locations assigned to dot data bits corresponding to picture elements (smallest subdivisions of an image printable by the laser printer). When an image dot is formed at the position of a given picture element, a dot data bit "1" is stored in the corresponding memory location of the dot data area. When an image dot is not formed at that printing position, a dot data bit "0" is stored at the corresponding memory location.
The cache memory 46 is adapted such that the batch of data for the character whose printing data were received at the earliest time is replaced by the batch of data for the character whose printing data is currently received, where the storage capacity of the cache memory 46 is exceeded if the data for the last received character are stored in the cache memory 46. The content of the cache memory 46 is not erased when the laser printer is turned off.
The text memory 48 stores the print position data of each input character to be printed, and the address data representative of the address of the dot data area of the cache memory 46 at which the dot data representative of each character are stored.
The page memory 50 has memory locations assigned to dot data bits corresponding to the picture elements which cover one page of text to be printed. That is, the page memory 50 can store a batch of dot data corresponding to one page of the recording medium. As in the dot data area of the cache memory 46, a dot data bit "1" is stored at each memory location corresponding to the picture element at which an image dot is formed, and a dot data bit "0" is stored at each memory location corresponding to the picture element at which an image dot is not formed.
There will be described an operation of the laser printer which incorporates the data converting apparatus constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention.
When power is applied to the laser printer, the CPU 24 receives from the external input device 36 a batch of printing data of a text to be printed, which consists of code data, print position data, size data, attitude data and type style data for each of the characters of the text. The received batch of printing data are stored in the input buffer 44. When a printing start command is received by the CPU 24, a data converting routine illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 2 is executed.
The data converting routine will be briefly explained first.
Prior to converting vector data corresponding to code data of each input character to dot data for printing the input character in the specified output mode specified by the size, attitude and type style data, the CPU 24 determines which one of the following three cases is satisfied for the character:
1) First Case I
An operation to convert the vector data into the corresponding dot data can be omitted, since a set of dot data stored in the cache memory 46 can be used for printing the relevant input character in the specified mode determined by the size, attitude and type style data.
2) Second Case II
A set of dot data for the relevant character can be prepared by changing or modifying a set of dot data (basic dot data) stored in the cache memory 46, without directly converting the vector data of the relevant character into the dot data used for printing the character in the specified mode.
3) Third Case III
A set of dot data for printing the relevant character can be obtained only by directly converting the vector data of that character into the actually used dot data.
According to the result of the determination, the dot data for each character is prepared and stored in the cache memory 46.
Referring next to the flow chart of FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the data converting routine will be described in detail. Initially, no data are stored in the cache memory 46, namely, no characters (no data associated with any input characters) are stored in the cache memory 46.
The control flow first goes to step S1 to determine whether or not the current content of the cache memory 46 includes data representative of the input character under examination (hereinafter referred to as "current character" or "relevant character", where appropriate). More specifically, step S1 is executed to determine whether or not any code data representative of the current character are stored in the control data area of the cache memory 46. Since no data for any character are initially stored in the cache memory 46, the control flow then goes to step S2 in which a set of vector data corresponding to the code data of the current character are retrieved from the VECTOR-FONT memory 42. Step S2 is followed by step S3 in which the retrieved vector data are converted into a set of dot data used for printing the character in the specified mode, according to the size data, attitude data and type style data of the current character which are stored in the input buffer 28.
The control flow then goes to step S4 to store the prepared dot data representative of the relevant character in the dot data area of the cache memory 46, and the print position data, size data, attitude data and type style data of the character in the control data area. Then, step S5 is implemented to store in the text memory 48 the print position data of the relevant character, and the address data representative of the address of the cache memory 46 at which the dot data representative of the relevant character are stored. The control flow then goes back to step S1.
Then, there will be described data converting operations where sets of data for different characters have been stored in the cache memory 46. When the data converting routine of FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) is executed in this condition, the situation satisfies or meets one of the following eight cases specified in the table of FIG. 3:
a) Case 1
The cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data, size data, attitude data and type style data are identical with those of the current character under examination. This Case 1 is the First Case I described above.
b) Case 2a
The cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data, size data and attitude data are identical with those of the current character and whose type style data are different from those of the current character. Namely, the current character is different from the stored character in the type style. This Case 2a belongs to the Second Case II described above.
c) Case 2b
The cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data, size data and type style data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude data are different from those of the current character. Further, the current character is upright while the stored character is left-turned, or the current character is left-turned while the stored character is upright. This Case 2b also belongs to the Second Case II.
d) Case 2c
The cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data and size data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude data and type style data are different from those of the current character. Further, the current character is upright while the stored character is left-turned, or the current character is left-turned while the stored character is upright. This Case 2c also belongs to the Second Case II.
e) Case 3a
The cache memory 46 has not stored code data representative of the current character. Namely, the code data of the current character are not present in the cache memory 46. This Case 3a belongs to the Third Case III described above.
f) Case 3b
The cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data represent the current character but whose size data are different from those of the current character. Namely, the size of the current character is different from that of the stored character. This Case 3b also belongs to the Third Case III.
g) Case 3c
The cache memory 46 has stored a character whose code data and size data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude data are different from those of the current character. Further, the current character is neither upright nor left-turned. This Case 3c also belongs to the Third Case III.
h) Case 3d
The cache memory 46 has stored a character whose code data and size data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude data are different from those of the current data. Further, the current character is upright or left-turned, while the stored character is neither upright nor left-turned. This Case 3d also belongs to the Third Case III.
Each of the above eight different cases 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d will be described in detail.
The Case 1 will be described first. In this case, the cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data, size data, attitude data and type style data are all identical with those of the current character.
In the Case 1, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S1, since a character (at least one character) whose code data represents the current character is present in the cache memory 46. As a result, step S6 is implemented to determine whether or not the size data of any stored character whose code data are identical with those of the current character are identical with those of the current character. An affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S6, and the control flow goes to step S7 to determine whether or not the attitude data of any stored character whose code and size data are identical with those of the current character are identical with those of the current character. An affirmative decision (YES) is obtained also in this step S7, and step S8 is executed to determine whether or not the type style data of any stored character whose code, size and attitude data are identical with those of the current character are identical with those of the current character. Since the cache memory 46 has stored the character whose code, size, attitude and type style data are all identical with those of the current character in this Case 1, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S8, and the control flow goes to step S5 to store in the text memory 48, the print position data of the current character, and the address data representative of the address of the cache memory 46 in which are stored the dot data of the character whose code, size, attitude and type style data are identical with those of the current character. In this Case 1, the control device 20 does not effect an operation to convert the vector data of the current character into the dot data, since the dot data are present in the cache memory 46.
Then, there will be described the Case 2a, in which the cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data, size data and attitude data are identical with those of the current case and whose type style data are different from those of the current character.
In the Case 2a, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in steps S1, S6 and S7, but a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S8. In this case, the current character under examination has the standard style while the style of all stored characters whose code, size and attitude data are identical with those of the current character is the italic style, or the current character has the italic style while all of those stored characters have the standard style.
When the current character has the standard style while none of the stored characters have the standard style, the dot data (basic dot data) of the stored italic style character whose code, size and attitude data are identical with those of the current character are retrieved from the cache memory 46 in step S9 followed by step S8. Then, in step S10, the retrieved dot data of the italic style character are changed into dot data representative of the relevant character having the standard style. More specifically, the memory locations of the dot data area of the cache memory 46 in which the dot data of the italic character are stored are supposed to be arranged in a matrix of the memory locations which corresponds to a matrix of picture elements that defines each character with image dots formed at the selected picture element positions. The values ("1" or "0") of the dot data bits stored in the memory locations (hereinafter referred to as "middle row of the memory locations") corresponding to the height-wise centerline of the italic character remain unchanged, and the values of the dot data bits stored in the memory locations above the middle row of the memory locations are changed such that the dot data bits "1" are shifted to the memory locations to the left of the current memory locations, while the values of the dot data bits stored in the memory locations below the middle row are changed such that the dot data bits "1" are shifted to the memory locations to the right of the current memory locations. The number of the memory locations over which the dot data bits "1" are shifted to the left or right increases with the distance of the memory locations of the dot data bits "1" from the height-wise centerline of the italic character.
Where the current character has the italic style while none of the stored characters have the italic style, the dot data (basic dot data) of the stored standard style character whose code, size and attitude data are identical with those of the current character are retrieved from the cache memory 46 in step S9 followed by step S8. Then, in step S10, the retrieved dot data of the standard character are changed into corresponding dot data representative of the relevant character having the italic style. More specifically, the values of the dot data bits stored in the middle row of the memory locations remain unchanged, and the values of the dot data bits stored in the memory locations above the middle row are changed such that the dot data bits "1" are shifted to the memory locations to the right of the current memory locations, while the values of the dot data bits stored in the memory locations below the middle row are changed such that the dot data bits "1" are shifted to the memory locations to the left of the current memory locations. The number of the memory locations over which the dot data bits "1" are shifted to the left or right increases with the distance of the memory locations of the dot data bits "1" from the height-wise centerline of the italic character.
In either of the two situations in the Case 2a, step S10 is followed by step S4 in which the dot data obtained as a result of the dot data change in step S10 are stored in the cache memory 46, as the dot data representative of the current character.
By reference to FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), an example of changing dot data representative of standard style character "L" into dot data representative of italic style character "L" will be described in detail.
In this example, each character is defined by a 5×5 matrix of dots or picture elements consisting of five columns and five rows, which corresponds to a 5×5 matrix of memory locations of the dot data area of the cache memory 46. The standard and italic characters "L" are represented by the dot data bits stored in the dot data area of the cache memory 46, as illustrated in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), respectively. In these figures, identification numbers of the memory locations which are enclosed in circles represent the memory locations which store the dot data bits "1" indicative of the presence of image dots formed at the appropriate picture elements. The identification numbers not circled represent the memory locations which store the dot data bits "0" indicative of the absence of image dots at the appropriate picture elements. The identification numbers identifying the 25 memory locations increase in the right direction along the rows of the matrix, and in the downward direction along the columns of the matrix.
For changing the dot data of the standard style character "L" into the corresponding dot data of the italic style character "L", the memory locations storing the dot data bits "1" are changed as follows. The values of the dot data bits stored in the third or middle row of the memory locations, i.e., in the memory locations Nos. 11 through 15 remain unchanged. The dot data bits "1" stored in the memory locations above the middle row of the matrix, i.e., in the memory locations Nos. 2 and 7 are shifted to the respective memory locations whose numbers are larger by one (1) than those of the memory locations Nos. 2 and 7, that is, shifted to the memory locations Nos. 3 and 8. At the same time, the dot data bits "1" stored in the memory locations below the middle row, i.e., in the memory locations Nos. 17 and 22-24 are shifted to the memory locations whose numbers are smaller by one (1) than those of the memory locations Nos. 16, 22-24, that is, shifted to the memory locations Nos. 16, 21, 22 and 23, respectively.
As a result, the dot data of the standard style character "L" including the bits "1" stored at the memory locations Nos. 2, 7, 12, 17 and 22-24 as indicated in FIG. 4(a) are changed to the dot data of the italic style character "L" including the bits "1" stored at the memory locations Nos. 3, 8, 12, 16 and 21-23 as indicated in FIG. 4(b).
In the above example where the 5×5 matrix of picture elements or memory locations is used for easy understanding, the dot data bits "1" stored at the memory locations above and below the middle row of the matrix are shifted to the right or left by the same distance corresponding to one memory location, irrespective of the distance from the middle row to the relevant rows. However, characters are usually defined by a matrix having more numbers of rows and columns, and the shifting distance of the bits "1" along the rows may vary with the distance of the relevant memory locations as measured from the middle row (height-wise centerline of the character) in the direction parallel to the columns.
In the Case 2b, the cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data, size data and type style data are identical with those of the current character under examination and whose attitude data are different from those of the current character. In this case, the current character is upright while the stored character is left-turned (90°-turned counterclockwise), or alternatively, the current character is left-turned while the stored character is upright.
In the Case 2b, therefore, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in steps S1 and S6, and a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S7, whereby the control flow goes to step S11 to determine whether or not the current character is upright or left-turned (i.e., does not have an intermediate attitude between the upright and left-turned positions). In the present case, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S11, and the control flow goes to step S12 to determine whether or not the stored character whose code and size data are identical with those of the current character is left-turned (where the current character is upright) or upright (where the current character is left-turned). An affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S12.
Then, the control flow goes to step S13 to determine whether or not any stored character whose code and size data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude data are different from those of the current character has the same type style as that of the current character. An affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S13, which is followed by step S14. Where the current character is upright, the dot data (basic dot data) of the character whose code, size and type style data are identical with those of the current character and which is left-turned are retrieved from the cache memory 46, in step S14. In the next step S15, the retrieved dot data of the left-turned character are changed into the dot data representative of the current upright character. Namely, the memory locations storing the dot data bits "1" representative of the left-turned character are changed such that the bits "1" are shifted to the respective memory locations which are reached by rotating clockwise the matrix of the memory locations of the dot data of the left-turned character, about the center of the matrix.
Where the current character under examination is left-turned and the stored character is upright, step S14 is implemented to retrieve the dot data (basic dot data) of the stored upright character whose code, size and type style data are identical with those of the current character. Step S14 is followed by step S15 in which the retrieved dot data of the upright character are changed into the dot data representative of the current left-turned character. That is, the memory locations storing the dot data bits "1" representative of the upright character are changed such that the bits "1" are shifted to the respective memory locations which are reached by rotating counterclockwise by 90° the matrix of the memory locations of the dot data of the upright character, about the center of the matrix.
An example of changing the dot data of upright character "L" into the dot data of left-turned character "L" will be described, by reference to FIGS. 4(a) and 4(c).
For changing the dot data of the upright character "L" into the dot data of the left-turned character "L", the dot data bits "1" and "0" stored at the 25 memory locations of the cache memory 46 are shifted to respective memory locations which are reached when the matrix of the memory locations of the dot data of the upright character is rotated counterclockwise by 90°, about the center memory location No. 13. As a result, the dot data including the bits "1" stored at the memory locations Nos. 2, 7, 12, 17 and 22-24 as indicated in FIG. 4(a) are changed to the dot data which include the bits "1" stored at the memory locations Nos. 10 and 15-20 as indicated in FIG. 4(c). Thus, the dot data representative of the left-turned character "L" can be obtained by changing the dot data representative of the upright character "L".
There will next be explained the Case 2c where the cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code and size data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude and type style data are different from those of the current character, and the current character is upright while the stored character is left-turned, or the current character is left-turned while the stored character is upright.
In the Case 2c, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in steps S1 and S6, and a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S7. Further, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in steps S11 and S12, and a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S13. Where the current character is upright, the dot data (basic dot data) of the left-turned character whose type style is different from that of the current character are retrieved from the cache memory 46 in step S16 following step S13. In the next step S17, the retrieved dot data of the left-turned character are changed into the dot data representative of the upright character, as described above with respect to the Case 2b. Step S17 is followed by step S18 in which the dot data changed in step S17 are further changed to the dot data representative of the character having the type style of the current character, as described above with respect to the Case 2a. Thus, the dot data representative of the current character are prepared. Where the current character is left-turned, the dot data of the upright character whose type style is different from that of the current character are retrieved from the cache memory 46 in step S16. In the next step S17, the retrieved dot data of the upright character are changed into the dot data representative of the left-turned character. In the next step S18, the dot data changed in step S17 are further changed to the dot data representative of the character having the type style of the current character. Thus, the dot data representative of the current character are prepared.
In the Case 3a where the cache memory 46 has not stord any character whose code data are identical with those of the current character, a negative decision (NO, is obtained in step S1, and the control flow goes to steps S2 and S3 to convert the vector data of the current character into corresponding dot data.
In the Case 3b where the cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code data are identical with those of the current character and whose size data are different from those of the current character, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step s1, and a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S6, whereby steps S2 and S3 are implemented to prepare the dot data of the current character, by converting the vector data to the dot data, as in the Case 3a.
In the Case 3c, the cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code and size data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude data are different from those of the current character, while the current character is neither upright nor left-turned. In this case, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in steps S1 and S6, while a negative decision (NO) is obtained in steps S7 and S11, whereby steps S2 and S3 are implemented to prepare the dot data of the current character, by converting its vector data to the dot data, as in the Cases 3a and 3b.
In the Case 3d, the cache memory 46 has already stored a character whose code and size data are identical with those of the current character and whose attitude data are different from those of the current character, and the current character is upright or left-turned while the stored character is neither upright nor left-turned. In this case, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in steps S1 and S6, and a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S7. Further, an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S11, and a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S12, whereby steps S2 and S3 are executed to prepare the dot data of the current character by converting its vector data to the dot data, as in the Cases 3a, 3b and 3c.
In the manner as described above, a batch of dot data representative of one page of text to be printed on a recording medium are prepared, on a character by character basis, and the print position data and the address data indicative of the addresses of the cache memory 46 are stored in the text memory 48 (step S5), according to the contents of the cache memory 46. The batch of dot data representative of the one page of text are stored in the page memory 50, based on the contents of the text memory 48. Then, the laser print head of the printer is operated to print the text, one line after another, according to the dot data stored in the page memory 50.
It will be understood from the foregoing description of the present embodiment that a batch of dot data for a text can be prepared in a reduced length of time, since the conversion of the vector data of a character into the dot data is omitted not only in the case where the content of the cache memory 46 includes the dot data for the relevant input character to be printed in the same size, same type style and same attitude as specified by the size, type style and attitude data of the relevant character, but also in the cases where the content of the cache memory 46 includes dot data (basic dot data) which permit the relevant character to be printed in the size as specified by the size data, but in the type style and attitudes different from those specified by the type style and attitude data of the relevant character. That is, the size, attitude and type style are considered to be the output conditions which determine the output mode in which each character is reproduced or outputted (i.e., printed). In the above-described three Cases 2a, 2b and 2c, at least one of the two output conditions, namely, attitude and type style is different between the character under examination to prepare its dot data, and a character already stored in the cache memory 46.
It will also be understood from the above description that V/D conversion means for converting vector data of an input character into dot data is constituted by the VECTOR-FONT memory 42, a portion of the computer of the main control device 20 assigned to read the size data, attitude data and type style data, and a portion of the computer assigned to execute steps S2 and S3 of the flow charts of FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b). Further, dot data memory means for storing the dot data is constituted by the cache memory 46, and a portion of the computer assigned to execute step S4 of the flow chart, and conversion control means is constituted by a portion of the computer assigned to execute steps S1, S6-S8 and S11-S13 of the flow chart. The conversion control means is adapted to determine which one of the above-indicated First, Second and Third Cases I (Case 1), II (Cases 2a, 2b, 2c) and III (Cases 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d) is currently satisfied or exists, and control the V/D conversion means depending upon the currently satisfied case. Further, dot data changing means for changing basic dot data stored in the dot data memory means is constituted by a portion of the computer assigned to execute steps S9, S10 and S14-S18.
In the present embodiment, the basic dot data which are stored in the cache memory 46 and which represent an output character whose output condition or conditions is/are different from that/those of the current character under examination are changed into the output dot data that can be used for printing the character in the specified mode (in the specified attitude and type style). The output dot data are stored in the cache memory 46. According to this arrangement wherein a plurality of sets of dot data representative of the same characters having different type styles and/or attitudes are stored in the cache memory 46, not only the frequency of data processing operations required to convert vector data into dot data, but also the frequency of data processing operations required to change the basic dot data into the output dot data are reduced. However, the sets of output dot data obtained as a result of changing the basic dot data should not necessarily be stored as the basic dot data in the cache memory 46. For instance, if the standard and italic type styles are available for each character, it is sufficient that the cache memory 46 is adapted to store only the dot data representative of each character having either the standard type style or the italic type style. This arrangement results in increasing the frequency of data processing operations required to change the basic dot data, but makes it possible to increase the number of different characters whose dot data are stored in the cache memory 46 having a given capacity. In other words, the required capacity of the cache memory 46 can be reduced, and the main control device 20 may be available at a reduced cost.
While the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied with various changes, modifications and improvements, which may occur to those skilled in the art. | An apparatus including a converting device for converting vector data of an input character into dot data for outputting the input character in a specified mode, a memory for storing the dot data, and a controller operable prior to the data conversion, for determining whether one of a first and a second case is satisfied. The first case is satisfied where the dot data to be prepared from the vector data of the input character are stored in the memory, and the second case is satisfied where basic dot data for outputting the input character in a mode different from the specified mode are stored in said dot data memory means. The converting device omits the data conversion in the first and second cases. A dot data changing device operable in the second case is provided to change the basic dot data according to a predetermined rule depending upon the specified and different modes, so as to obtain the dot data for outputting the input character in the specified mode. | 8 |
The present invention relates to an anti-locking hydraulic brake system of the type comprising a master cylinder, at least one wheel brake and an accumulator. The wheel brake communicates with the master cylinder through a brake conduit with an inlet valve inserted therein, and with an intermediate reservoir through a return conduit inserted therein. A pump delivers the pressure fluid from the intermediate reservoir into the brake circuit.
A brake system of this type is disclosed in German patent document DOS 36 12 185. That system enables the pressure in the wheel brakes to be controlled in response to the rotating pattern of the wheel. For that purpose, inlet and outlet valves are actuated. For building up pressure, the inlet valve is opened and the outlet valve closed, while for decreasing the pressure, the outlet valve is opened and the inlet valve is blocked. In the latter described condition, pressure fluid flows from the wheel brakes into the intermediate accumulator from where it is returned, through a pump, into the brake conduit and, hence, to the master brake cylinder. During a brake pressure control, pressure fluid is thus permanently discharged from and supplied to the master brake cylinder which exhibits a heavy pulsation of the pedal. According to the noted patent document, it is suggested, therefore, to insert throttles into the pressure conduits of the pump, which are intended to attenuate the pedal pulsation.
However, once a brake system of this type is employed to compensate excessive driving torque through build-up of a brake torque (traction slip control TSC) such throttles may impede a rapid pressure build-up. Moreover, in brake systems of the closed type as described in the noted patent document, a problem is encountered in that torques are applied to the pump when it is operative without taking pressure fluid in. This condition occurs if there is no pressure decrease phase for an extended period of time, with a resulting vacuum being formed in the pump casing causing ingress of air into the brake system. This problem arises, in particular, in cases where pumps which otherwise automatically take in pressure fluid are not employed as are required by TSC-systems.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to damp the pressure pulsation of the pedal and, at the same time, to ensure operation of the brake system for traction slip control operation. Moreover, a bubble-free condition of the pressure fluid should be ensured.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention wherein a throttle is provided in the intake line of the pump, and wherein the same effect is attained as by a corresponding throttle in the pressure conduit. By reducing the intake cross-section, the danger of an ingress of air into the brake system is eliminated. Once a significantly large amount of pressure fluid is in the intermediate accumulator, the blocking valve is opened to permit a rapid formation of a pressure fluid reserve volume in the master brake cylinder.
The brake system is rendered suitable for TSC-operation with the aid of a switch-over valve connecting the master cylinder to the intake line of the pump, that is, between the said pump and the throttle valve. Accordingly, the throttle is not effective during a TSC-process operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
One embodiment for explaining the underlying principle of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein the single figure illustrates a brake system in accordance with the principle of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The brake system comprises a master brake cylinder 1, such as a tandem master cylinder actuated by means of a pedal. Connected to the master brake cylinder 1 is a pressure fluid reservoir 3 in pressure fluid communication with the master brake cylinder when the pedal is not actuated. A brake conduit 4 leads from the master brake cylinder 1 to the wheel brake 5. An inlet valve 6 is provided in the brake conduit which is electromagnetically operated and is open in the basic position thereof. The wheel brake 5, moreover, is in communication with the intermediate accumulators 9 through a return conduit 7. Inserted into the return conduit 7 is an outlet valve 8 which is electromagnetically operated and blocked in its basic position.
In addition, the brake system includes an automatic intake pump 10 which, with the intake conduit 11 thereof, is in communication with the intermediate reservoir 9. Inserted into the intake line 11 is an intake valve (check valve) opening toward the pump. The pump, through a pressure conduit 13, delivers into the brake conduit 4 between the master cylinder and the inlet valve 6. Located in the pressure conduit 13 is a pressure valve (check valve) 14 blocking over the pump.
The intermediate container 9 comprises a casing 20 including a partition 21 attached by means of a roller diaphragm 22 to the casing 20 and subdividing the same into two compartments, that is, the accumulator chamber 23 and the atmospheric chamber 24. Both the return conduit 7 and the intake conduit 11 terminate in the accumulator chamber 23 forcing the return volume by way of the intermediate reservoir. The atmospheric chamber 24 is in permanent communication with the ambient air.
A spring 25 is located in the atmospheric chamber 24 which is supported on the partition 22 and on the lid of the casing 20, maintaining the partition 22 against a stop 26 defining the minimum volume of the accumulator chamber 23. A throttle 27 is inserted into the intake conduit 11, with a blockable bypass conduit being provided in parallel to the throttle 27. The conduit 28 is controlled by the blocking valve 29 actuated by the partition 21. The valve body 30 of the valve 29 is sealingly seated on a central bore in the bottom of the casing 20. In addition, the valve body 30 exhibits a plunger 32 including a head protruding into a cup connected to the partition 21. The bottom of the cup and the head are spaced from one another by a distance "a". Once the partition 21 moves against the force of the spring 25 in enlarging the accumulator chamber 23, the bottom of the cup, after a distance a being covered, seizes the head of the plunger 32, lifting the valve body 30 from its seat, thereby establishing an unthrottled communication between the accumulator chamber 23 and the intake side of the pump 10. A valve spring 31 is supported both on the partition 21 and on the valve body 30, securely keeping the valve body 30 on its sealing seat as long as it is not entrained by the partition.
Once the brake system is also used for controlling the brake slip, a switchover valve (TSC-valve) 40 is provided which is located in the brake conduit 4. Once the valve 40 is reswitched, the brake conduit 4 is blocked and the master brake cylinder 1 is connected to a connecting line 41 leading to the intake conduit 11. The connecting line 41 terminates between the throttle 27 and the pressure valve 12 in the intake line 11. The brake conduit sections above and below the reswitch valve 40 are interconnected through a release valve 42 opening toward the master brake cylinder 1. The traction slip control valve is electromagnetically actuated and, in the basic position thereof, keeps the brake conduit 4 open. The release valve is arranged so as to enable pressure to be built up in the pressure conduit, which is adequate to decelerate the driven wheel sufficiently. The brake system as described operates as follows: In the basic position, all valves are in the illustrated positions. The pump is switched off. Upon actuation of the pedal 2, pressure fluid is displaced from the master brake cylinder 1, through the brake conduit 4, to the wheel brake, to cause a brake pressure to be built up which results in a wheel deceleration and, hence, in a decleration of the automotive vehicle. The rotating pattern of the wheel is permanently monitored by a sensor (not shown) the signals of which are evaluated by an electronic analyzer (not shown). The unit detects whether the wheel is excessively decelerated or tends to lock, in which case the system switches into the anti-locking mode (ALC-mode), which means that the drive of the pump 10 is switched on and valves 6 and 8 are actuated. The inlet valve 6 blocks the brake conduit, and the outlet valve 8 opens the return conduit causing pressure fluid to flow from the wheel brake into the intermediate reservoir 9 to result in a pressure decrease in the wheel brake.
Normally, it takes a finite period of time before the pump has reached its full discharge capacity. During that time, the intermediate reservoir 9 is filled, thereby causing the partition 21 to displace by distance a. The valve 29 is opened so that the pump 10, through the bypass conduit 28 unimpededly takes in and delivers pressure fluid into the brake conduit 4. This means that a sufficient amount of fluid pressure always is in the brake conduit system so that upon interruption of the ALC-mode, an adequate fluid pressure volume is available to generate, by actuation of the pedal, a corresponding pressure in the wheel brake.
After a certain period of time, the pump reaches its full discharge capacity so that the intermediate reservoir does not attain its full filling level and the pump takes in pressure fluid through the throttle 27, which will substantially reduce the above-mentioned pedal pulsation. The inlet and outlet valves 6, 8 are actuated by the electronic analyzer in accordance with a scheduled algorithm, thereby adjusting an optimum pressure value in the wheel brake enabling the transmission of maximum brake forces being tier and roadway under high lateral guiding forces. Upon completion of a deceleration process, through a short-time actuation of the valve 8, the return conduit 7 and the intermediate reservoir 9 is rendered non-pressurized.
The described brake system in accordance with the present invention also builds up a brake pressure independently of a pedal actuation. This is required for compensating an excessive driving torque which would result in racing of the driving wheels by a corresponding brake torque. Upon occurrence of such a condition, which can be detected by known wheel sensors, the system will switch to the TSC-mode, which means that in addition to exciting of the pump drive and actuating of the inlet and outlet valves, a switchover of valve 40 will take place, thereby causing the brake conduit 4 to be blocked and the master brake cylinder 1 to be connected to the intake line 11. The pump 10 will then discharge pressure fluid from the reservoir 3 which, with pedal 2 non-actuated, is in communication with the master brake cylinder and deliver such pressure fluid to the wheel brake. This is a particularly quick process as the throttle 27 is is not provided in the flow path. Through alternate actuation of the valves 6 and 8, it is possible, as it is in the ALC-mode, to adjust an optimum slip valve permitting the transmission of maximum driving forces at high lateral guiding forces. | An ALC-system of the closed type is provided, with a throttle (27) switched in response to the filling level of the intermediate reservoir (9) inserted into the intake conduit between the intermediate reservoir (9) and a pump (10). This ensures damping of the pressure pulsation of the pedal and further ensures operation of the brake system for traction slip control operation. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] My invention relates generally to construction clips and methods for securing wall or ceiling panels such as sheet rock or wall board during construction. More particularly, the invention relates to metallic construction clips and methods for constructing ceilings in which a support is provided by the clips for edges of abutting panels. Known prior art is classified in U.S. Pat. No. Class 52, Subclasses 285.3, 489, 514, 712, 714, 715, 770, 771, and 777.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Wall board, sheet rock and gypsum drywall panels commonly used in construction are typically oriented with construction clips or stops and then secured with fasteners such as screws or nails. A wide variety of clips of various configurations and sizes are commercially available for such applications. Known clips are fabricated from metal, preferably steel, and plastic.
[0005] During ceiling construction, various clips or stops (i.e., “Gyp-clips”) are used to support drywall or wood paneling at corners and to replace traditional wood blocking at top plates, end walls, and corners. Many known clips attach at the edges of abutting wallboards, for example, to fasten and align the various pieces. Many clips attach directly to the framework such as studs, joists, ceiling headers, or top plates. The purpose of such clips is to facilitate the rapid and accurate assembly of walls and ceilings. Modern construction clips of this nature eliminate “U-Boxes”, partition tees, and backup lumber at ceiling joists, and make two-stud corners possible, replacing common three and four-stud corners. At top plates, drywall fasteners reduce call backs for ceiling and partition separating from the truss uplift. Manufacturers offer fasteners with different installation techniques, characteristics, and materials.
[0006] Drywall fasteners include both “clips” and “stops.” A drywall stop performs a backing function for abutting panels, but stops are not “hard fastened” to both panels. Stops traditionally produce “free floating” corners. In such an arrangement, edges of the horizontally oriented ceiling panel, for example, will rest upon vertical edges of horizontal panels, without being separately screwed or nailed to any adjacent structure. Clips, on the other hand, are usually mechanically secured to both the wallboard panels and the adjacent framework. Edges of ceiling panels are not left “free floating.” Floating corners are best avoided to maintain structural strength, especially in regions subject to earth quakes or hurricanes.
[0007] Two-stud corners not only help plumbers and electricians to snake wires and pipes, they can also contribute to the proper insulation of the structure. Properly configured clips are designed to minimize interference with insulation, so their use reduces thermal energy losses. Clips should not mechanically interfere with uncut insulation behind the studding or top plate regions, and the risk of bare cavities and cold corners must be reduced.
[0008] At least one prior art metal clip is typically fitted onto drywall edges by hand prior to drywall installation. The preinstalled clips aid positioning and manipulation of drywall panels as they are installed over wood or steel framing studs. Because drywall clips are installed to the drywall beforehand, they are said to complicate and change the drywallers' work routine, and therefore they have not been popular, except for drywall repair applications. Clips and plastic stops can be used in conjunction with steel studs, unlike the sheet metal and metal wire drywall stops.
[0009] Stops, like wood blocking, are fastened to structural members before drywall installation. Drywall stops are available in galvanized or sheet metal forms. Plastic and metal wire stops offer several advantages over some sheet metal stops. Noncorrosive plastic stops are usually stapled or nailed to structural wood members like the top plate during ceiling installation. Sharp talons of some metal stops grip the wood and forcibly penetrate it, eliminating the need for a separate screwing step. At two-stud corners, metal and plastic drywall stops are typically installed sixteen inches on center (o.c.) at the top and bottom of the wall. Then the first sheet of drywall is hung against the stops. Plastic stops allow the corners to be hard fastened but some manufacturers recommend leaving the corners floating to accommodate thermally induced expansion and contraction. The second sheet is installed against the first. At top plates, the stops are installed sixteen inches (o.c.) and at all corners and intersections. The drywall is installed with the ceiling panels first, as usual. The metal wire stops are usually installed by hand. However, known stops have several problems. For example, when a stud has a rounded corner, it is difficult to properly install and align the fastener.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,293 issued May 6, 1975 discloses a metallic clip for the construction of wall panels. Inner and outer flanges extending perpendicularly from the body form a receptive channel that embraces the edge of a first panel. The clip has a portion secured to a corner stud. Proper orientation and alignment of a second, perpendicular wall panel secured to a stud is encouraged by the clip.
[0011] Many prior art construction clip designs include parallel, spaced apart portions between which edges of panels are grasped. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,351,525 issued Jun. 13, 1944 discloses a clip with which adjoining horizontal and vertical wallboards can be secured that has receptive channels between which panel edges are sandwiched.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 2,831,222 issued Apr. 22, 1958 discloses a metal fastener clip whose body forms a tongue-and-groove joint into which a wallboard edge is fastened.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,293 issued May 6, 1975 has integral, spaced apart flanges between which a panel edge is grasped.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,095 issued Sep. 9, 1980 discloses a wall constructed from edge-abutting wallboard panels secured with concealed fasteners that are screwed to adjacent framing elements. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,725,619 and 6,209,277 form similar channel portions for grasping panel edges.
[0015] Many clips have impaling prongs or projections that forcibly engage and at least penetrate panels or studs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,975 issued Dec. 5, 1978 shows a system employing clips for securing sheet rock or gypsum board to the framework. The clips have pointed, piercing elements that forcibly engage panel edges.
[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,471 issued Aug. 26, 1975 discloses a wallboard bracket with similar projecting prongs for securing the bracket to a support, and a tab bendable to engage the side surface of the wallboard.
[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,596 issued Jan. 4, 1977 discloses a T-shaped clip for securing wall panels to adjacent frame members that comprises a rigid, pointed tang forced between adjacent frame members, and a spaced-apart, toothed edge that forcibly engages abutting panel edges.
[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,579 issued Aug. 28, 1984 discloses panel fastener clips for the construction of various panel structures having side-abutting panels, such as wallboards, that include integral penetrating tabs.
[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,405 issued Oct. 5, 1993 discloses a drywall clip for ceiling construction comprising a piercing end that is driven perpendicularly into a ceiling joist, a supporting tongue, and a striking end.
[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,651 issued Jul. 4, 1989 discloses a fastening clip having a perpendicular shank terminating in an end that pierces the edge of a wooden panel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,272 issued Feb. 12, 1985 discloses a fastener for securing panels comprising a planar base with an impaling flange that extends perpendicularly outwardly and penetrates wallboard panel edges.
[0021] U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,007 issued May 15, 1984 shows a wallboard fastener comprising a flat base, an elongated tongue, and a pair of impaling flanges extending from opposite sides of the tongue that forcibly engage panels during construction.
[0022] U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,373 issued Feb. 12, 1991 discloses a clip for supporting ceiling panels in a suspended ceiling that includes a pair of rearwardly extending prongs for insertion into an edge of frame elements, and an integral bared portion that forcibly penetrates wallboard edges.
[0023] U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,808 issued May 23, 1989 discloses a construction clip for securing wallboard panels to framing members that has integral impaling points that forcibly engage wallboard edges.
[0024] A prior art, metallic drywall stop formerly made by the Simpson Strong Tie Company Inc. has a horizontal portion that engages the top plate in ceiling construction, and an integral, downwardly projecting middle that abuts the top plate sides. A channel separates halves of the upper portion, and in cross section, the device is generally T-shaped. However, there are reinforcement grooves disposed atop the device, that overly, at least in part, the top plate. This can interfere with insulation. Further, the clip is not designed to receive a screw to aid in fastening the ceiling panels; instead, the device encourages the use of floating corners.
[0025] Another stop, formerly marketed by United Steel Products of Minnesota under the trademark “KANT-SAG,” has been in widespread use since the 1980 's. This metallic design includes a solid metallic top terminating in a central tab, and an integral, downwardly extending middle. A pair of sharp prongs projecting from the middle forcibly engage the wood. During initial dry walling stages, these clips can fall out if inadvertently bumped. Further, with the passage of several years, these clips can be slowly forced out of the wood, weakening the structure. Another disadvantage is that the single, upper tab presents minimal surface area to the top plate, so clip alignment and thus panel “squareness” can be difficult. It is difficult to force the latter clip into flush abutment around the corner region, a factor that is enhanced by the fact that two-by-four's used in common construction are non-standard, and have rounded edges that do not present a ninety-degree corner. Finally, like other clips discussed above, the “KANT-SAG”design cannot receive a screw to fasten horizontally positioned ceiling panels. Instead, floating corners are used.
[0026] The TECO-brand back-up clip has also been popular since the 1980 's. It has a pair of short forwardly projecting tabs and a pair of rearwardly projecting tabs. These tabs are too short and they are inappropriately positioned to center and align the clips properly. Further, there is no screw-receptive surface for ceiling panels, and floating corner construction must be employed with such clips.
[0027] There are several disadvantages associated with prior art, metallic ceiling clip designs discussed above. For example, exposed, sharp edges can cause injury to the installers. In some case, portions of conventional clips bend and stick out from the wall, snagging the taping machines. Therefore it should be a design goal for modem clips to remain totally hidden after installation. In many cases, the clip tab is too short for ceiling work; such clips are unsuitable for single top plate ceilings and large truss camber applications.
[0028] Another disadvantage with known designs is that the clips cannot be stacked. Jumbled, irregular packaging means that the clips must be manually removed one at a time from a container, delaying the installer. A modem design criterion requires that suitable construction clips stack neatly and compactly, allowing the drywall hanger to work out of an apron during installation, saving time, reducing costs, and minimizing frustration.
[0029] A plastic clip that is currently used to some extent in the construction industry is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,964, issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled “Wall Panel Support And Securement Combination.” The invention is described as a nailer device for securing abutting edges of construction panels to a support timber or top plate. An upper, horizontal planar member overlies a portion the top plate. An integral, vertical planar member projects from the horizontal member in the same configuration as the TECO or KANT-SAG clips discussed above. There are contiguous, gapless, elongated corner recesses defined on both sides of the junction between the vertical and horizontal portions. Abutting edges of panels are disposed within the recesses. According to the reference, the clip is fastened to the top plate with nails that penetrate the vertical portion that abuts the top plate side. While the horizontal portion is adapted to receive screws for fastening ceiling panels, the vertical portion must be nailed. Most installers prefer to use relatively high power automatic screw guns during drywall installation. High torque drywall screws often deform plastic clips, and the screw heads can pull through the plastic material. It is easier for installers to carry a minimum of tools, such as their screw guns and the requirement for nailing is burdensome. Further, plastic clips such as the latter require significant reinforcement ribs, and these can physically interfere with insulation bats.
[0030] There are also analogous clips in this art that are used for repairs rather than for original construction. Some clips enable wall boards to be assembled notwithstanding the lack of aligned or abutting wall frame studs. My prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,782,642 and 4,995,605 describe systems for repairing holes in wallboard in regions that do not border frame studs. Adjoining wall panels are secured together with a plurality of spaced-apart, metallic clips that provide an edgewise mechanical bond between adjacent panel edges. Installed clips provide a secure mechanical union between the original panel and the repair piece. Each clip has pair of spaced apart, prong-like spring tabs formed on opposite sides to grasp panel edges. Each spring tab includes an integral, upwardly extending vertical portion disposed substantially perpendicularly to the body and an integral, outwardly curved substantially horizontal flange portion. The horizontal flange portion is separated from its vertical companion by a weakened, scored tear edge which permits manual removal of the flange by appropriate bending after clip installation.
[0031] What is needed for ceiling construction is a metal clip that firmly and squarely engages the top plate during ceiling construction, notwithstanding irregularities in the dimensions of two-by-four's and other frame parts. An ideal clip must firmly seat drywall screws without degradation or breakage. It must be capable of quick installation, while maintaining squareness and proper alignment. After installation, it must not degrade or pull out from the wood over time.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0032] This invention provides an improved, metallic ceiling clip and related methods for assembling wall panels, primarily for ceiling construction.
[0033] The clip preferred clip has a main body portion and a downwardly depending tab, establishing a generally T-shaped profile, both of which are perforated to blindly receive screws. A pair of spaced apart and parallel fingers project forwardly, coplanar with the horizontal clip midsection. The length of these fingers is approximately the same as the clip width. During construction, clips are initially placed upon the framework top plate, with the fingers sliding over the top plate's upper surface, beneath the insulation layer, to temporarily retain clips in position for subsequent screwing. The geometry of the clip compensates for irregularities in the dimensions of the top plate. A physical gap exists between the fingers. To prevent damage and avoid snags, ends of the fingers, and all corners of the clip body are gently radiused.
[0034] A pair of elongated, parallel reinforcement grooves separate rear side portions of the clip body from a central, perforated portion. The numerous orifices in the central portion enable drywall screws to threadably mount or penetrate the clip. The reinforcement grooves are oriented such that they are convex at the top of the clip, so that the bottom of the clip can flushly mate with the horizontally oriented ceiling sheet that physically contacts it in accordance with the construction method.
[0035] The rigid, integral tab projects substantially perpendicularly downwardly from the clip midsection. In the best mode the tab is angled approximately eighty-seven degrees from the body, rather than being perfectly square. As a result, when the clips are screwed into place against the top plate side, either before or after ceiling sheet installation, clip flexing results in a flush, preferably square abutment with the top plate, notwithstanding the latter's possible structural irregularities.
[0036] The tab is perforated so fasteners can easily penetrate it. All end corners are radiused and unpointed, and there are no sharp or jagged edges that can interfere with installation or degrade insulation. Furthermore, the preferred configuration makes the clips stackable to minimize shipping and storage volume.
[0037] The preferred ceiling construction method begins by initially placing one or more clips atop the top plate, with the forwardly projecting fingers snugly received beneath the insulation layer. A drywall screw is installed, penetrating the perforated tab to firmly secure the clip to the top plate side. Multiple spaced-apart clips can be installed at selected intervals, usually from sixteen to twenty four inches. When horizontally placed, the ceiling drywall sheet will contact multiple clips. At spaced apart intervals the ceiling sheet can be fastened to the horizontal portions of the multiple clips. Although these clips will be obscured from view by placement of the ceiling sheet, rapid installation is insured by the fact that blind screwing is possible through the clip design. The drywall screws forcibly penetrate the ceiling sheet and further anchor the clips.
[0038] After the ceiling panel is secured at spaced apart intervals to several clips, the sidewall sheet may be moved into a substantially vertical position, perpendicular to the ceiling panel. The vertical wall sheet may then be screwed to the top plate or to various vertical frame members. When properly installed, the clip tab is covered, and no clips remain visible. In other words, with the wall and ceiling sheets properly positioned and securely fastened, the clips will be covered, and no jagged edges or sharp points will be exposed. Conventional drywall finishing steps can then follow, and no portions of the clips must sanded, broken away, or otherwise treated.
[0039] Thus, a basic object of my invention is to provide an improved ceiling panel construction clip and an improved method for constructing ceilings.
[0040] Another basic object is to provide a method and a clip fastener apparatus of the nature described for hard fastening horizontal ceiling panels and abutting wall panels.
[0041] It is also an important object to provide an anti racking system for ceiling and wall construction.
[0042] Another basic object is to provide an improved ceiling clip and method for quickly joining wall and ceiling elements to simplify and speed-up construction.
[0043] A related object is to provide a highly dexterous ceiling clip that can be quickly installed in numerous varieties of construction configurations.
[0044] A related object is to provide a construction clip of the character described whose unique construction adapts it for flush fitting against irregularly shaped top plates or two-by-fours 's used in construction.
[0045] Another fundamental object is to provide a clip of the character described that fits all wall board sizes, i.e., one-half inch wallboard for residential construction, and five-eights inch wallboard code-specified for commercial construction.
[0046] Yet another object is to provide a ceiling construction clip design that eliminates the need for conventional back-up lumber.
[0047] Another important object is to securely hard fasten the corner region of abutting, orthogonal panels during construction, to create a unitized structural corner.
[0048] Thus avoiding floating corners is an important object of my invention.
[0049] Another important object is to provide a metallic ceiling construction clip that conforms to modern building and construction codes and that satisfies state and Federal regulations.
[0050] A further object of my invention is to provide a ceiling construction clip of the character described that temporarily supports the orientation of wallboard as panels are manipulated into position and subsequently oriented prior to screwing during ceiling construction.
[0051] A further object of the present invention is to provide a small and compact clip of unitary construction which is easy, safe, and economical to use.
[0052] A related object is to provide a ceiling construction clip that may be either affixed to the top plate first or ceiling panels first.
[0053] Another basic object is to provide a clip of the character described which is stackable. It is an important feature of my invention that a plurality of clips may be stacked together to minimize volume, which is an important consideration in shipping.
[0054] Another object is to provide a method for fastening ceiling panels which avoids the use of prongs or piercing points that might interfere with or deform insulation.
[0055] A related object to provide a clip that, after installation, has no exposed metal parts. It is a feature of my new clip design that no portions of the clip are exposed after installation, so it is easier for the drywall finisher to complete the job. For example, since there are no exposed metal surfaces, there will be no snagging on the taping machine during finishing.
[0056] A related object is to provide a ceiling construction clip of the character described whose structure avoids sharp prongs or edges, to minimize the chance that installers will be cut or injured.
[0057] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, along with features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear or become apparent in the course of the following descriptive sections.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0058] In the following drawings, which form a part of the specification and which are to be construed in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals have been employed throughout wherever possible to indicate like parts in the various views:
[0059] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, isometric assembly view illustrating my new ceiling clip and the associated installation method, with portions thereof broken away or shown in section for clarity;
[0060] FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, isometric assembly view similar to FIG. 1 , with portions thereof broken away or shown in section for clarity or omitted for brevity;
[0061] FIG. 3 is an upper rear isometric view of the preferred clip;
[0062] FIG. 4 is a bottom rear isometric view of the preferred clip;
[0063] FIG. 5 is a frontal top isometric view of the preferred clip;
[0064] FIG. 6 is an frontal bottom isometric view of the preferred clip;
[0065] FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the preferred clip;
[0066] FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the preferred clip;
[0067] FIG. 9 is a rear elevational view of the preferred clip;
[0068] FIG. 10 is an enlarged, front elevational view of the preferred clip;
[0069] FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the preferred clip, the opposite side comprising a mirror image; and,
[0070] FIG. 12 is an isometric view of a plurality of clips constructed in accordance with the best mode of the invention, showing how they stack for shipping and storage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0071] With reference now directed to the appended drawings, my new ceiling construction clip has been generally designated by the reference numeral 20 . Clip 20 is primarily designed for use in conjunction with ceiling construction, but it can be used to hard fasten any junction of orthogonal panels. The primary and preferred purpose of clip 20 is to hard fasten vertical wall panels with horizontal ceiling panels adjacent construction framework (i.e., the ceiling top plate).
[0072] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an installation example. In the illustrated application, clip 20 is shown installed upon a horizontally extending double top plate 22 , being secured by a conventional faster comprising a drywall screw 23 that penetrates suitable perforations formed in the clip 20 . Top plate 22 horizontally overlies a plurality of conventional, vertically oriented framing studs 24 that are typically spaced apart at sixteen or twenty-four inch intervals. The exposed sides 22 A of the top plate 22 are flushly parallel with the flat, coextensive side surfaces 24 A of the various frame studs 24 . The uppermost flat, horizontal surface of the top plate 22 has been designated by the reference numeral 25 . During construction, there will usually be a sheet of insulation (not shown) disposed over surface 25 . It should be appreciated that outside edges 22 E ( FIGS. 1,2 ) of the top plate, and construction two-by-fours in general, are neither perfectly square nor uniformly dimensioned.
[0073] A drywall sheet 28 disposed horizontally to form the ceiling abuts clip 20 at its underside, being fastened with suitable fasteners, such as a conventional drywall screw 30 that engages and seats within suitable perforations in the clip 20 . It should be recognized that the clip and the described method may be utilized in conjunction with planar sheets comprising gypsum board, sheet rock, masonite, insulation board, plywood or the like. The flat upper surface 29 of sheet 28 contacts the underside of clip 20 , and is generally parallel and coplanar with the upper surface 25 of the top plate 22 .
[0074] A vertically oriented drywall sheet 32 forming a sidewall flatly lies upon the exposed sides 22 A of the top plate 22 and the side surfaces 24 A of the studs 24 . Sidewall sheet 32 perpendicularly intersects the underside of ceiling sheet 28 and abuts and overlies a portion of clip 20 , concealing drywall screws 23 after proper installation in accordance with the invention. Fasteners, such as drywall screws 34 , conventionally secure sheet 32 at periodic, regularly spaced apart intervals. Through the installation and use of clip 20 , that is constructed and installed as hereinafter described, the proper orientation and alignment of sheet rock panels such as sheets 28 and 32 is facilitated. Moreover, it can be seen that after installation, no part of the clip 20 can be seen, as sheets 28 and 32 completely cover each and every clip. This means that no exposed rough metal pieces or portions are in the way to snag, for example, during the subsequent sheet rock finishing process. Further, when screws 23 are forcibly installed, flexing of the clip from its normal eighty-seven degree configuration (as explained below) enables the clip to conform to irregular corners 22 E and to establish and preserve a substantially square, hard fastened construction.
[0075] With primary reference directed now to FIGS. 3-11 , clip 20 comprises a rigid, preferably stamped metallic body having a generally T-shaped side profile (i.e., as seen in FIG. 11 ). Clip 20 comprises a front 40 , a rear 42 (i.e., FIGS. 5, 6 ), and a pair of spaced-apart sides 44 and 45 (i.e., FIGS. 7, 8 ). The upper region of a preferred clip 20 is best seen in FIGS. 3, 5 , and 7 . The underside of the clip 20 is best seen in FIGS. 4, 6 , and 8 . The steel clip 20 is preferably stamped in multiple stages during the manufacturing process, and the preferred thickness is 0.036 inches.
[0076] A rear body portion, generally designated by the reference numeral 27 (i.e. FIGS. 5-8 ), has a length 55 (i.e., FIGS. 7, 8 ) extending generally from the clip rear 42 to the clip middle 61 , A junction 63 formed between downwardly projecting tab 70 and the rear body portion 27 is seen in FIG. 11 . A central perforated region 58 of the clip rear body portion 27 is bordered by elongated, parallel reinforcement grooves 60 , 62 . Preferably central region 58 is perforated, comprising numerous orifices 59 ( FIGS. 3, 4 ) so that fasteners 30 ( FIGS. 1, 2 ) can easily penetrate it. The positioning of central region 58 facilitates blind penetration so screw assembly is eased.
[0077] A pair of integral, spaced apart and parallel fingers 50 and 52 project forwardly from the clip. The length of the fingers is generally designated by the reference numeral 67 ( FIG. 7 ). Fingers 50 , 52 are integral and coplanar with central rear body portion 27 and its rear side portions 54 , 56 respectively. These non-perforated sides 54 , 56 form contiguous sides of the rear body portion 27 adjacent the reinforcement grooves 60 , 62 and preferably they are nonperforated. Referencing FIG. 1 , when a clip 20 is first installed, fingers 50 and 52 glide upon the top plate surface 25 , nondestructively extending beneath any insulation layer 49 , and temporarily retaining the clip on the top plate 22 . The reduced finger profile, and the lack of projecting reinforcements, minimizes interference. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 6 , the ends 51 of the fingers 50 , 52 are radiused or curved, since clip 20 does not require the forcible penetration of any panels or frame structure. Rear side portions 54 , 56 also have radiused end corners 57 (i.e., FIGS. 3, 6 ). These rounded or radiused ends and corners prevent injuries to installers, and since there are no pointed corners or ends, the clips 20 will not degrade or tear the insulation 49 ( FIG. 1 ) or provide a snagging point that interferes with subsequent drywall finishing.
[0078] The parallel pair of elongated, parallel, reinforcement grooves 60 , 62 separate side portions 54 , 56 of the rear central region 58 of the clip body from the central perforated region 58 . Rear central region 58 is perforated, comprising numerous orifices 59 ( FIGS. 3, 4 ) so that fasteners 30 ( FIGS. 1, 2 ) can easily penetrate it. Because of the configuration adopted, blind fastening is enabled. For example, when a panel 28 is lifted into place (as in FIG. 1 ) the clip 20 will be visibly obscured, but an approximate alignment by the installer will insure correct penetration of the clip and proper seating by the screw 30 . Referencing particularly FIGS. 5 and 9 , the reinforcement grooves 60 , 62 are convex at the top 21 ( FIG. 5 ) of the clip 20 ; in other words, the grooves project upwardly, such that the concave bottom projects downwardly relative to the clip body. This preferred groove orientation insures that the bottom 26 ( FIG. 6 ) of the clip 20 rests substantially flatly on the top surface 29 (i.e., FIG. 1 ) of the horizontally oriented ceiling sheet 28 that the clip physically contacts when installed.
[0079] Central rear body region 58 is integral with rigid, perforated tab 70 that projects substantially perpendicular downwardly from the clip 20 at the clip middle, which has been generally designated by the reference numeral 61 (i.e., FIGS. 7, 8 ). There are radiused stress relief notches 81 ( FIG. 3 , 7 , 8 ) that occupy middle 61 along the junction between the tab and the body rear portion. The illustrated construction enables the to flex slightly in response to screw pressure, enabling a square fitting.
[0080] A gap 53 ( FIG. 6 ) exists between fingers 50 and 52 in that region that would otherwise be substantially occupied by the smaller tab 70 prior to its bending during the preferred manufacturing stamping process. The gap width is designated by the reference numeral 69 ( FIGS. 6, 8 ). The perforated tab 70 has a plurality of orifices 71 similar to orifices 59 already discussed that enable the ready application of fasteners, such as sheetrock screws 23 ( FIG. 2 ). The tab width is indicated by reference numeral 72 in FIG. 7 . The tab length 73 is seen in FIGS. 9 and 10 .
[0081] There is a centered indexing hole 74 at the clip middle 61 between the rear central region 58 and tab 70 that is utilized by the tooling during manufacture.
[0082] As best seen in FIG. 11 , in the best mode tab 70 forms an angle of less than ninety degrees with respect to the grooves 60 , 62 and the rear central region 58 . This angle is preferably between eighty and eighty-nine degrees, and most preferably is eighty seven degrees. Because of this angular construction, the clip can deform slightly when; pressed up against a top plate in response to screwing so it flushly abuts the structure, notwithstanding irregularities in the dimensions or shape of the framework. Further, it is preferred that the end corners 76 of tab 70 are radiused and unpointed. Referencing FIG. 12 , the aforementioned construction makes it possible to form stacks 87 . In other words, numerous clips 20 can be nested on top of one another to form a stack 87 , thereby minimizing volume for shipping and packaging.
[0083] Installation:
[0084] Initially a clip 20 is placed as in FIG. 1 , with the forwardly projecting fingers 50 , 52 overlying the top plate 22 . Rear spears slide under insulation wrap and support clip before screw or nail is installed.
[0085] A drywall screw 23 is then screwed through the perforated bottom tab 70 into the top plate 22 securing the clip 20 . Multiple clips 20 may be spaced apart at distances of from sixteen to twenty four inches.
[0086] The drywall sheet 28 that forms the ceiling is secured to the intermediate portion 58 of the clip 20 by blindly screwing through the perforations 59 . Screws 30 ( FIG. 1 ) secure the ceiling sheet 28 .
[0087] Afterwards, the drywall sidewall sheet 32 is secured or screwed to the top plate 22 with numerous screws 34 ( FIG. 1 ). When sheet 32 is positioned and secured, all clips 20 will be covered, and no portions of metal will be exposed. This means that drywall finishing can progress easily without sanding or grinding exposed clip ends or edges, and there will be no exposed points or jagged edges to interfere with the drywall finishing tools.
[0088] From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to obtain all the ends and objects herein set forth, together with other advantages which are inherent to the structure.
[0089] It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
[0090] As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. | A rigid, metallic clip and a method for providing hard fastened, anti-racking ceiling and wall construction. A flat, perforated body portion bordering an integral, perforated tab extends downwardly from a junction at the midpoint. A pair of spaced apart and parallel fingers projecting forwardly engage the top plate, snugly resting beneath insulation to temporarily retain clips for screwing. A pair of elongated, reinforcing grooves extending from the clip rear to the junction are convex, so the bottom of the clip flushly mates with the ceiling sheet. The rigid, integral tab projects downwardly at a preferred angle of eighty-seven degrees. Clips positioned on the top plate are fastened by screws that penetrate the tab. The horizontal ceiling sheet can then be screwed to adjoining clips. A sidewall sheet disposed substantially vertically is then screwed to framing. The sheets cover the clip body, and no jagged edges or sharp points remain visible. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to warp knitted fabrics and methods of producing such fabrics and, more particularly, to a warp knitted fabric whose technical back has both a satin-like surface and a walewise ribbed effect.
Traditionally and technically speaking, satin fabrics are produced by weaving warp and filling yarns in any of a variety of satin-weave patterns wherein the warp yarns extend in elongated floats at one fabric face to predominate its surface. Thus, a satin weave provides a glossier appearance than other types of weaves and, accordingly, yarns of relatively bright luster are commonly utilized in satin weaves to enhance this effect.
It is also possible to produce a satin-effect fabric by warp knitting a set of lustrous warp yarns in a stitch pattern producing extending underlaps of the yarn at the technical back of the fabric. Thus, as will be understood, the extended underlaps of lustrous yarns cause them to predominate the technical back of the fabric thereby producing a surface appearance simulative of satin weave. As desired, another set of warp yarns may be knitted in a jersey, chain, or other plain stitch pattern at the technical face of the fabric as a substrate or ground to provide structural integrity to the fabric.
In the past, variations on the basic construction of a warp knitted satin-effect fabric have been proposed for diverse purposes such as attempting to minimize the tendency of the extended underlaps to pick or snag (U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,738 is representative) and to provide a special effect such as brushability or nappability to the opposite technical face of the fabric (U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,383 is exemplary), but in virtually all cases, the desire has typically been to leave unaltered the basic satin appearance and effect at the technical back of the fabric.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In contrast to the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a warp knitted satin-effect fabric whose technical back has the unique combination of both a satin-like surface appearance and a walewise ribbed effect.
Briefly summarized, the foregoing objective is accomplished in the present invention by inlaying in the structure of the fabric a set of elastic yarns at walewise spacings from one another to create the appearance of walewise ribs in the satin-effect surface of the technical back. More particularly, the textile fabric of the present invention is basically of a warp knitted construction comprising multiple yarns interknitted with one another in stitches arranged in longitudinally extending fabric wales and transversely extending fabric courses, including a set of yarns warp knitted in coursewise spaced stitches with extended underlaps therebetween at the technical back of the fabric to form a satin-like surface effect and a set of elastic yarns inlaid with the stitches of the satin-effect yarns at the technical face of the fabric. The elastic yarns extend in a coursewise reciprocating inlay pattern, with the elastic yarns preferably being arranged in pairs inlaid side-by-side in adjacent fabric stitches in identical inlay patterns. According to the present invention, each pair of elastic yarns is spaced coursewise from each adjacent pair by an intervening fabric stitch unoccupied by any elastic yarn. In this manner, the absence of elastic yarns in the intervening stitches creates the appearance of walewise ribs in the satin-effect surface of the technical back extending along the coursewise spacings between the elastic yarns.
In the preferred embodiment, the reciprocating inlay pattern of the elastic yarns preferably extends across at least two fabric wales. For example, the elastic yarns may be warp knitted in a 0-0,2-2 stitch pattern. The satin-effect yarns may be knitted in substantially any traditional satin-effect stitch pattern wherein the stitches of each satin-effect yarn are spaced from one another by at least one intervening wale to form the extended underlaps as desired. By way of example, in the preferred embodiment herein described, the satin-effect yarns are warp knitted in a 2-3,1-0 stitch pattern, but persons skilled in the art will recognize and understand that other extended underlap patterns may also be used, e.g., 3-4,1-0 or 4-5,1-0 stitch patterns. It is also preferred that a set of ground yarns be warp knitted between the satin effect yarns and the elastic yarns to provide dimensional and structural integrity to the fabric. For example, ground yarns warp knitted in a 1-0,1-2 stitch pattern would be suitable for this effect. To best achieve the desired satin-like effect at the technical back of the fabric, the satin-effect yarns should preferably have a relatively bright surface luster, while the ground and elastic yarns will typically have a relatively dull surface luster.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing individually the stitch patterns for the satin-effect, ground, and elastic yarns carried out by a warp knitting machine in knitting one preferred embodiment of the present fabric according to the method of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As explained more fully herein, the fabric of the present invention is formed on a warp knitting machine which may be of any conventional type of an at least three-bar construction having three or more yarn guide bars and a needle bar, e.g., a conventional tricot warp knitting machine. The construction and operation of such machines are well-known in the knitting art and need not herein be specifically described and illustrated. In the following description, the yarn guide bars of the knitting machine are identified as "top", "middle" and "bottom" guide bars for reference purposes only and not by way of limitation. As those persons skilled in the art will understand, such terms equally identify knitting machines whose guide bars may be referred to as "front", "middle" and "back" guide bars, which machines of course are not to be excluded from the scope and substance of the present invention. As further used herein, the "bar construction" of a warp knitting machine refers to the number of yarn guide bars of the machine, while the "bar construction" of a warp knitted fabric refers to the number of different sets of warp yarns included in the fabric, all as is conventional terminology in the art.
As in conventional, the needle bar of the warp knitting machine carries a series of aligned knitting needles, while each guide bar of the machine carries a series of guide eyes, the needle and guide bars of the machine preferably having the same gauge, i.e., the same number of needles and guide eyes per inch. According to the embodiment of the present fabric illustrated in FIG. 1, the top (or front) yarn guide bar of the machine is threaded on every guide eye with a first set of yarns 10 delivered from a warp beam (not shown), the yarns being suitable for achieving a satin-like surface effect in the knitted fabric, as herein described. The middle guide bar is likewise threaded on every guide eye with a second set of yarns 12 delivered from another warp beam (also not shown), suitable for formation of a ground structure for the fabric, while the bottom (or back) guide bar is threaded with a set of elastic yarns 14 from a third warp beam (also not shown) in a so-called two-in, one-out pattern, i.e., every third guide eye being empty while all other guide eyes receive an elastic yarn. As more fully explained hereinafter, the threading arrangement of the three guide bars is set up in conjunction with the stitch pattern of the three sets of yarns to achieve the desired combination of satin and ribbed effects.
Preferably, all of the ground and satin-effect yarns are multifilament synthetic yarns, e.g., polyester, and are of substantially comparable denier and filament makeup, e.g., a 20 denier, 7 filament polyester yarn, while the elastic yarns are substantially larger in denier and, as is typically, are monofilament, e.g., a 105 denier monofilament LYCRA® brand elastic yarn. It is further preferred that the satin-effect yarns have a relative bright surface luster to enhance the eventual satin-like surface appearance of the fabric as herein described, while the ground and elastic yarns may have a relatively dull surface luster. Of course, those persons skilled in the art will recognize that various other types of yarns may also be employed as necessary or desirable according to the fabric weight, feel, and other characteristics sought to be achieved.
Referring now to the accompanying drawing, one particular embodiment of the present warp knitted fabric of a three-bar construction knitted according to the present invention on a three-bar warp knitting machine, is illustrated. In the accompanying drawings, the stitch construction of the satin-effect, ground, and elastic yarns 10,12,14, as carried out by the respective lateral traversing movements of the guide bars of the knitting machine according to one possible embodiment of the present fabric and method, are respectively illustrated individually in a traditional dot or point diagram format, wherein the individual points 15 represent the needles of the needle bar of the knitting machine in the formation of several successive fabrics courses C across several successive fabric wales W. According to this embodiment, the top (front) guide bar of the machine manipulates the satin-effect yarns 10 to traverse laterally back and forth relative to the needles 15 of the needle bar of the machine to stitch the satin-effect yarns 10 in a repeating 2-3,1-0 stitch pattern, as indicated at III of FIG. 1, as the satin-effect yarns 10 are fed progressively from their respective warp beam. Simultaneously, the middle guide bar of the knitting machine manipulates the ground yarns 12 as they are fed from their respective warp beam to traverse relative to the needles 15 to stitch the ground yarns 12 in a repeating 1-0,1-2 stitch pattern, as indicated at II of FIG. 1. At the same time, the bottom (back) guide bar of the machine manipulates the elastic yarns 14 as they are fed from their respective warp beam to traverse relative to the needles 15 to inlay the elastic yarns 14 in a repeating 0-0,2-2 inlay pattern on spaced pairs of the needles (but not the intervening needles) in the same two-in, one-out alternation as the threading of the elastic yarns on the bottom guide bar, as indicated at I of FIG. 1.
As will thus be understood, the ground yarns 12 are interknitted with one another in the described stitch construction with each ground yarn 10 being formed in needle loops 12 n alternating every course C between a pair of adjacent vertical fabric wales W and in connecting underlaps 12 u extending diagonally between the successive needle loops 12 n . The satin-effect yarns 10 are interknitted with one another and with the ground yarns 12 with each satin-effect yarn 10 being formed in needle loops 10 n alternating every course between wales W spaced apart by one intervening wale, the needle loops 10 n being interknitted in plated relationship with the needle loops 12 n of the ground yarn 12 in the respective wales, and in elongated underlaps 10 u extending diagonally between the successive needle loops 10 n in a substantially coursewise direction. Each of the elastic yarns 14 is inlaid in a coursewise reciprocating fashion across a respective pair of wales W to be captured within the plated needle loops 10 n , 12 n of the satin-effect and ground yarns 10,12, but elastic yarn is absent from every third wale W due to the threading of the elastic yarns and their inlay pattern.
As will thus be understood, the ground yarns 12 form a base or substrate to the fabric essentially between the satin-effect and elastic yarns 10,14, to appear with the elastic yarns 14 essentially only at the technical face of the fabric. The satin-effect yarns 10 appear outwardly of the ground and elastic yarns 12,14 at the technical back of the fabric with the extended underlaps 10 u of the satin-effect yarns 10 substantially obscuring the underlaps 12 u of the ground yarn 12 and the inlaid elastic yarns 14 at the fabric's technical back to present a satin-like surface. However, the omission of elastic yarns 14 from every third wale W causes the extended coursewise underlaps 10 u of the satin-effect yarns 10 to assume the configuration and appearance of outwardly projecting walewise ribs in the pairs of wales W occupied by the elastic yarns 14, but the satin-effect, i.e., the sheen and luster, achieved by the satin-effect yarns 10 is not impaired because the elastic yarns 14 (as well as the ground yarns 12) reside behind the satin-effect yarns 10 at the technical face of the fabric.
Of course, those persons skilled in the art will readily recognize and understand that many variations of the basic ribbed satin-effect described above may be achieved by varying not only the yarns themselves but also varying their stitch and inlay patterns. For example, other various satin-effect stitch patterns may be utilized for warp knitting the satin-effect yarns 10. For example, the yarns may alternatively be stitched in a 3-4,1-0 or 4-5, 1-0 pattern to achieve more extended satin-effect underlaps 10 u of the satin-effect yarns 10. The threading pattern of the elastic yarns 14 on the bottom guide bar and/or the inlay pattern of the elastic yarns may be altered to achieve greater or lesser frequency in the walewise spacing and/or a greater walewise dimension in the rib effect achieved by the elastic yarns 14. These and other variations of the specific embodiment described herein are considered to be within the conceptual scope and substance of the present invention.
It will therefore be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of 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 embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof. | A three-bar warp knitted fabric whose technical back has both a satin-like surface and a walewise ribbed effect is produced on a three-bar warp knitting machine by knitting ground yarns on the machine's middle bar to provide structural and dimensional integrity to the fabric, knitting satin-effect yarns on the machine's top bar in extended underlaps to produce a satin-like technical back of the fabric, and inlaying elastic yarns from the machine's bottom bar in a two-in, one-out alternating pattern to create the appearance of walewise ribs in the satin-like technical back surface. | 3 |
CROSS-REFERENCE
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/881,593, filed Sep. 24, 2013, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A number of arrangements are available for protecting medical monitoring devices and probes from contamination during use. For example, disposable sheaths are available for thermometers and protective covers are available for stethoscope heads.
[0003] A shield for an ECG monitoring device can inhibit the transfer of microbes and bodily fluids across the shield while allowing the ECG device to sense separate electrical potentials on the skin of a subject or multiple subjects.
SUMMARY
[0004] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a microbial shield for inhibiting transfer of microbes and bodily fluids from a first side to a second side of the shield, while allowing an ECG device adjacent the first side of the microbial shield to sense separate electrical potentials on a skin surface that is adjacent to the second side of the microbial shield.
[0005] The microbial shield can comprise a flexible sheet with a first electrically conductive portion and a second electrically conductive portion, the first and second electrically conductive portions separated from one another by an electrically insulating portion to allow functioning of the ECG device.
[0006] In an aspect of the present disclosure, an ECG monitoring system comprises a handheld ECG sensing device which comprises two or more ECG electrodes or sensors, and a disposable shield in communication with the two or more ECG electrodes.
[0007] The disposable shield comprises a first electrically conductive portion, a second electrically conductive portion, and an insulating portion separating the first and the second electrically conducting portions, and wherein the ECG sensing device senses separate electrical potentials on a first and a second skin segment of a subject when the first electrically conductive portion and the second electrically conductive portion are contacted by the first and the second skin segments of a subject.
[0008] The disposable shield can comprise an envelope.
[0009] A skin segment of the subject can for example comprise a skin segment of a chest of the subject or a skin segment of a limb of a subject. The handheld ECG sensing device can comprise a smartphone or other mobile computing device.
[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure describes a method for managing contamination of a sensing device comprising providing a handheld ECG sensing device comprising two or more ECG electrodes or sensors, providing a shield between a skin surface of a subject and the ECG sensing device, wherein the ECG sensing device senses separate electrical potentials on a first and a second skin segment of a subject without the first and the second skin segments of the subject contacting the ECG sensing device, sensing an ECG from the subject, and disposing of the shield. The disposable shield can comprise an envelope. A skin segment of the subject can for example comprise a skin segment of a chest of the subject or a skin segment of a limb of a subject. The handheld ECG sensing device can comprise a smartphone or other mobile computing device. The shield can comprise a first and a second electrically conductive portion and an insulating portion separating said first and said second electrically conducting portions.
[0011] The handheld ECG sensing device can comprise a display, which can display the sensed ECG from the subject on the ECG sensing device.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
[0012] All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The novel features described herein are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present disclosure will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative examples, and the accompanying drawings.
[0014] Like reference numerals in the figures represent and refer to the same or similar element or function. Implementations of the disclosure may be better understood when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed pictorial illustrations, schematics, graphs, and drawings. The figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated, to scale, or in schematic in the interest of clarity and conciseness. In the drawings:
[0015] FIG. 1 shows the steps of a method for managing contamination of a sensing device
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a microbe shield with a handheld ECG sensing device.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows another aspect of a microbe shield.
[0018] FIG. 4 shows an edge view of a microbe shield.
[0019] FIG. 5A shows a top view of a microbe shield.
[0020] FIG. 5B shows a bottom view of a microbe shield.
[0021] FIG. 6 shows a user inserting a smart phone into a microbe shield envelope.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] It is to be understood that the disclosed subject matter is not limited in its application to the details of construction, experiments, exemplary data, and/or the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description, or illustrated in the drawings. The presently disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting in any way.
[0023] In the following detailed description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the subject matter within the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the instant disclosure.
[0024] Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by anyone of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).
[0025] In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the inventive concept. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.
[0026] A microbial shield is described herein that is configured to be used with a portable or handheld ECG device such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,301,232 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,509,882, the contents of each are incorporated herein by reference. The U.S. Pat. No. 8,301,232 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,509,882 patents disclose a portable or handheld ECG device that can communicate with a smartphone or other mobile computing device. In one variation, a smartphone protective case incorporates an ECG sensing device.
[0027] The ECG sensing device uses an electrode or sensor assembly configured to sense heart-related signals upon contact with a user's skin, and converts the sensed heart-related signals to ECG electrical signals. The electrode or sensor assembly is positioned on an outer surface of the ECG sensing device or, in one variation, on the outer surface of the smartphone protective case. A converter transmits the ECG electrical signals, which are received by a computer or smartphone. It is anticipated that health care professionals including nurses will use such devices to measure, transmit and record a patient's ECG since the ECG sensing device allows rapid monitoring of multiple patients.
[0028] When applying the handheld ECG sensing device to patients, a microbial shield can for example prevent the spread of disease from one patient to another or for example transmission of microbes from a patient to him or herself. If a handheld ECG sensing device is incorporated with a smartphone, then additional shielding for the smartphone can be provided to protect the smartphone and ECG sensing device from contamination.
[0029] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows the exemplary steps of a method 100 for managing contamination of a sensing device. A user such for example a nurse, doctor, health care provider, or subject can be provided with a handheld ECG sensing device in a step 101 that can for example couple with a smartphone case or any other similar mobile computing device. The ECG sensing device can comprise two or more sensors for sensing an electrical potential on the skin surface of a subject. For example, the sensors could sense a signal from the skin surface of a subject when the subject's skin touches the sensors. For example, in an ECG sensing device with two sensors, a subject can touch one sensor with a finger from his right hand and the second sensor with a finger from his left hand. It is understood that there are other skin segments of a subject that are usable with an ECG sensing device, including the chest of a subject and a limb of a subject. The sensors of the ECG sensing device can sense an electrical potential on the surface of a skin segment of the chest of a subject when one or multiple sensors of the ECG sensing device are in contact with a segment or segments of the subject's chest. Likewise, an electrical potential on the surface of a skin segment of a limb of a subject can be measured when a sensor or sensors of the ECG sensing device are in contact with an arm or leg of a subject. Because pathogenic microbes can reside on the skin surface of a subject, direct contact of a skin segment of a subject with the ECG sensing device can result in the transfer of a pathogenic microbe onto the ECG sensing device. This transfer of microbes to the ECG sensing device is of particular concern in for example, a hospital or other clinical setting where one ECG sensing device might be used on multiple subjects. Subjects in hospitals and other clinical settings tend to carry infection causing pathogenic microbes on their skin. If there is direct contact of the ECG sensing device with the skin of a first subject having a pathogenic microbe on their skin followed by direct contact of that same ECG sensing device with a second subject, the pathogenic microbes on the skin of the first subject can transfer to the ECG sensing device and then from the ECG sensing device to the second subject. Similarly, pathogenic microbes can pass in this way from an ECG sensing device to a nurse, doctor, or other health care provider.
[0030] A user can further be provided with a microbial shield in a step 102 . The microbial shield prevents a transfer of microbes from a subject the ECG sensing device by preventing direct contact of the skin of a subject with the ECG sensing device. The microbial shield can comprise two or more electrically conductive portions and an insulating portion situated between the electrically conducting portions. The two or more electrically conductive portions can comprise any conductive metal or metal foil including for example copper, aluminum, copper alloy, gold, and silver. The two or more electrically conductive portions can also comprise for example conductive fabrics which are available with, for example, semi-metallized and metal conductive yarns. It is understood that any conductive material can be suitable. The insulating material is any material that serves as an insulator such as for example a plastic, silicone, or other polymer or polymer blend material. Likewise a paper or cotton based material can be used as insulating portion as well. The insulating portion is positioned between the two electrically conducting portions so that that they are for example separated from each other and an electrical signal cannot pass from one electrically conducting portion to another. The insulating portion can for example have a larger overall surface than the electrically conducting portion and thus can extend outwards to provide a large shield surface. The two or more electrically conducting portions are positioned on the microbial shield so that they can communicate an electric signal to the two or more sensors. The microbial shield can be configured as a sheet or as an envelope. The microbial shield has two surfaces. When used together with an ECG sensing device, one surface of the microbial shield is an inward surface which is oriented towards the ECG sensor and communicates with the ECG sensing device sensors. The second surface of the microbial shield is oriented outwards towards the environment when used with an ECG sensing device. The outward surface of the microbial shield can be contacted by a subject. The two or more conducting portions of the microbial shield which are part of the microbial shield also have an inward surface and an outward surface. An electrical signal can be conducted by the electrically conducting portions from their outward surface which faces the environment towards their inward surfaces which is oriented towards the ECG sensing device. Thus for example, an electrical signal from the skin surface of a subject can be conducted through the microbial shield from the outward surface of the microbial shield to the inward surface when the outward surface of the two or more conducting portions is contacted by a skin surface of a subject.
[0031] In a step 103 a user places the microbial shield in communication with the ECG sensing device. For example, the user can place the microbial shield in contact with the ECG sensing device by positioning the inward side of the microbial shield against the ECG sensing device so that for example the inward surface of the two or more electrically conducting portions of the microbial shield contact the two or more sensors of the ECG sensing device. The two or more conducting portions of the microbial shield communicate with the two or more ECG device sensors in a one to one fashion. It is understood that that the two or more conducting portions of the microbial shield can communicate with the two or more sensors of the ECG sensing device by direct surface to surface contact, by a capacitive connection, or any other method of connecting conductors that are known in the art. The microbial shield can have at least one adhesive surface that adheres the inward surface of the microbial shield to the ECG sensing device. Alternatively, the microbial shield can have an adhesive surface on its outward facing surface to adhere to a skin surface of a subject. If the microbial shield is the envelope variation, the user places the ECG sensing device along with any mobile computing device that the ECG sensing device is coupled to inside of the envelope. Alternatively, the user places only the ECG sensing device in the envelope and can then couple the ECG and microbial shield envelope to a mobile computing device. In the envelope variation of the microbial shield, the user places the electrically conducting portions of the microbial sensing device in communication with the sensors of the ECG sensing device as the user would in the sheet variation of the microbial shield. The ECG sensing device is positioned relative to the microbial shield so that microbial shield prevents contact of the ECG sensing device with contaminants associated with the subject or any other contaminants in the environment. If the ECG sensing device is coupled with a mobile computing device, the microbial shield can prevent the mobile computing device from being contacted by contaminants associated with the subject or any other contaminant in the environment. For example, in the variation where the microbial shield is a sheet, a user can place a microbial shield that for example has larger dimensions than the ECG sensing device or larger dimensions than the ECG sensing device in combination with a mobile computing device against the ECG sensing device or the ECG sensing device and mobile computing device together. In this way an entire surface of the ECG sensing device or the ECG sensing device together with a mobile computing device is covered by the microbial shield sheet. Alternatively, the outward surface of the sheet variation of the microbial shield can first be placed against a subject such as for example against the chest of a subject, and then the ECG sensing device or ECG sensing device together with the mobile computing device can be placed against the inward surface of microbial shield so that the ECG sensing device or the ECG sensing device together with the mobile computing device does not come into contact with the chest of the subject. In the variation where the microbial shield is an envelope, the user can place the ECG sensing device or the ECG sensing device and a mobile computing device entirely inside the envelope so that the ECG sensing device or the ECG sensing device together with a mobile computing device are substantially covered. Further, the microbial envelope with the ECG sensing device or the ECG sensing device together with a mobile computing device can be sealed inside the envelope either permanently as for example with an adhesive or reversibly as with for example a zipper or interlocking mechanism.
[0032] In a step 104 , a user places the outward surface of the microbial shield in contact with a skin surface segment of a subject. The outward surface of the microbial shield can be placed on any skin surface of the subject that is suitable for recording an ECG signal. For example, the microbial shield can be placed on a subject's chest so that the electrically conductive portions of the microbial shield are in contact with the subject's skin over an area of the subject's chest where an ECG signal might be recorded. Alternatively, the subject can be provided with an ECG sensing device coupled with a microbial shield, and the subject's fingers can be brought into contact with the electrically conductive portion of the microbial shield by the subject himself or the user can place the subject's fingers in contact with the electrically conductive portions. For example the microbial shield can be placed over the left chest of the subject where the heart is located and where traditional ECG leads are typically placed. It is important to note, that step 104 can occur either before step 103 or after step 103 . Step 103 , at least in part describes placing the microbial shield in communication with an ECG sensing device, and step 104 , at least in part describes placing the outward surface of the microbial shield in contact with a skin surface of a subject. If a user should choose, the microbial shield can be for example first placed against or adhered to a surface of the ECG sensing device with the inward surface of the microbial shield contacting the ECG sensing device, and then the ECG sensing device surface that is covered by the microbial shield can be placed into contact with a skin surface of a subject. Alternatively, if a user should choose, a microbial shield can for example first be placed against or adhered to a skin surface of a subject such as for example the chest of a subject, and then an ECG sensing device can be placed in communication with the microbial shield that is in contact with the subject's chest. Whether step 104 precedes step 103 or follows step 103 , the ECG sensing device or the ECG sensing device and mobile computing device do not contact the skin surface of the subject, because the microbial shield serves as a barrier.
[0033] In a step 105 , an ECG is sensed from a subject. The two ECG sensors on the ECG sensing device can sense an ECG when the skin of a subject contacts the electrically conductive portions of the microbial shield that communicate with the two sensors. For example, a subject can contact a first electrically conductive portion of a microbial shield with their right thumb and a second electrically conductive portion of a microbial shield with their left thumb. A signal is conducted by each respective conductive portion to a corresponding communicating sensor on the ECG sensing device so, for example, an electrical potential on the skin surface of the right and left thumbs of the subject can be measured by the ECG sensing device. The insulating portion of the microbial shield prevents any crossover of signal from one electrically conductive portion to another electrically conductive portion. The ECG sensing device senses an ECG via for example the apparatuses and methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,301,232 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,509,882.
[0034] In a step 106 , a sensed ECG of a subject is displayed on a display screen of for example a mobile computing device that is coupled to the ECG sensing device. The display of the ECG on the screen of a mobile computing device can for example comprise a two lead ECG, three lead ECG, four lead ECG, six lead ECG, or 12 lead ECG. All leads can for example be displayed on the screen at one time, in groups, or separately.
[0035] In a step 107 , the microbial shield can be removed from contact with the subject, and in a step 108 the microbial shield that is now contaminated due to contact with a subject is disposed of. A new clean or sterile microbial shield can be obtained by the user and used in substantially the same way outlined in the steps of the method 100 on a different subject or the same subject.
[0036] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a microbial shield 10 . The microbial shield 10 comprises a sheet 12 having a first electrically conductive portion 14 and a second electrically conductive portion 16 , the first and second electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 , respectively, separated from one another by an electrically insulating portion 18 . Also shown is a smartphone with a protective cover 20 incorporating an ECG sensing device having a first sensor 30 and a second sensor 24 . The microbial shield 10 is proportioned to be larger than the smartphone with a distance 26 between the first and second electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 , respectively, that is equal to or less than the distance 28 between the first and second sensors 22 and 24 , respectively. This allows a user to place the microbial shield 10 on, for example, a patient's chest and place the smartphone with the protective cover 20 onto the microbial shield 10 such that the first sensor 22 contacts the first electrically conductive portion 14 of the microbial shield 10 , and the second sensor 24 contacts the second electrically conductive portion 16 of the microbial shield 10 . While the sheet 12 is shown as a rectangle with large first and second conductive portions, it is understood that other shapes and sizes are useable and that the size and shape of the first and second electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 , respectively can vary.
[0037] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the microbial shield 10 wherein the electrically insulating portion 18 comprises most of the sheet 12 , and the first and second electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 , respectively, are similar in size and shape to the first and second sensors 22 and 24 , respectively, on the smartphone with the protective cover 20 . The actual design can vary and will be influenced by manufacturing cost and ease of use.
[0038] The first and second electrically conductive portions can be constructed of a metal foil, a woven or non-woven conductive fabric, or the like. Non-limiting examples of suitable metal foils include copper, aluminum, copper alloy, gold, and silver foils. Suitable conductive fabrics are available with, for example, semi-metallized and metal conductive yarns.
[0039] Any electrically insulating material can be utilized for the electrically insulating portion 18 . In some embodiments the electrically insulating material is flexible and can be silicone, a polymer such as polyethylene, or the like. Plastics, papers, and fabrics with suitable insulating properties can be used for the insulating portion 18 as well.
[0040] A suitable adhesive can be used to bond the edges of the first and second electrically conductive portions to the appropriate edges of the electrically insulating portion. Adhesive can be placed on a single side of the sheet variation of the microbial shield on one side of the sheet or both sides of the sheet. The type of adhesive used can vary depending on for example whether the adhesive is intended to contact the skin of a subject or a surface of an ECG sensing device or an ECG sensing device and a mobile computing device. Such methods for providing adhesion are known to those skilled in the art. An adhesive can be provided for any surface of the envelope variation of the microbial shield as well in the same manner.
[0041] The adhesive surface can be initially covered with a piece of paper or waxy paper and removed by the user immediately before use, much like the paper covering the adhesive portion of a band aid or adhesive dressing. The peel-off cover functions to maintain sterility prior to use of the microbial shield 10 on the side to be place on the patient.
[0042] Multiple microbial shields 10 can be provided on a roll of peel-off material. The multiple microbial shields 10 on a roll can be separable by perforations between the shields.
[0043] In another version, a microbial shield 10 comprises two peel-off covers similar to bandage material available commercially, thereby providing sterile surfaces to the entire microbial shield. Similarly, commercial procedures for providing peel-off covers for thermometer probe covers and adhesive bandages can be readily adapted to provide a sterile package for the microbial shield 10 .
[0044] FIG. 4 shows an edge view of a variation of a microbial shield 10 comprising a sheet 12 . Insulating portion 18 , is positioned lateral to as well as in between conductive portions 14 and 16 , so that each conductive portions 14 and 16 is surrounded by insulating portion 18 . The insulating portion 18 that is between conductive portions 14 and 16 is positioned in the space 26 between electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 .
[0045] The variation of the microbial shield shown in FIG. 4 also shows one way in which the microbial shield can be configured. In this variation of the microbial shield, there are two empty spaces in the insulating portion 18 which can comprise for example oval or circular holes or polygonal empty spaces 30 within the insulating portion 18 . The electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 are positioned within these empty spaces 30 within the insulation portions 18 so that the electrical conducting portions 14 and 16 have a surface exposed on the outward surface of the microbial shield that faces the subject and the environment and the inward surface that faces the ECG sensing device. In this variation of the microbial shield, shown in FIG. 4 , the electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 are sized to extend beyond the empty space 30 along the entire border of the empty space. The area of the electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 that extend beyond the empty space 30 contact the insulating portion 18 along the border of the empty space 30 forming an overlapping lip 32 . The electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 can be sealed with the insulating portion 18 along the overlapping lip 32 so that the microbial shield is entirely sealed and impervious to penetration by microbial contaminants.
[0046] FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B show a version of the microbial shield 10 which is shaped as a bag or envelope 15 . This version of the microbial shield can either remain open while used or it can be sealed. Similar to the sheet variation, the envelope comprises two or more electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 , which can be contacted by the skin of a subject on the outside surface of the envelope 36 . The envelope further comprises an insulating portion 18 which is positioned lateral to and in between the conductive portions 14 and 16 . Overlapping lip 32 can be seen through the transparent outside surface of the envelope 36 .
[0047] The envelope 15 of FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B can be configured so that only one wall of the envelope 15 comprises the conducting portions 14 and 16 and the remaining wall of the envelope can comprise entirely of the insulating portion 18 . The area of the insulating portion 18 that is positioned between conducting portions 14 and 16 is in space 26 . An ECG sensing device or an ECG sensing device together with a mobile computing device together can be placed inside the envelope through opening 34 . Opening 34 can be sealable or non-sealable.
[0048] The sealable variation of envelope 15 can for example provide greater coverage of the device or devices within the envelope. A seal mechanism can comprise an adhesive on the interior surface of opening 34 . The adhesive can be covered by a strip of paper that is removed by the user once the device or devices are placed inside thereby exposing the adhesive. Alternatively, the opening 34 can be reversibly sealed with a button or zipper mechanism as well as the locking system utilized in certain plastic storage bags such as Zip Lock bags. These examples are non-limiting, and one having skill in the art will understand that there are numerous other ways suitable to provide both a sealable and reversibly sealable opening 34 to envelope 15 .
[0049] A smartphone with protective cover 20 can be inserted into the bag or envelope 15 as shown in FIG. 6 . In this view, the electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 can be seen through the back of the clear envelope 40 . The back of the envelope 15 can comprise the insulating portion 18 . The ECG sensors are not visible in FIG. 6 because the ECG sensing device is turned away towards the wall of the envelope that comprises the electrically conductive portions 14 and 16 . The user placing the ECG sensing device in the envelope 15 can align the sensors of the ECG sensing device so that they communicate with the surface of the electrically conducting portion 14 and 16 of the microbial shield envelope 15 that are on the inside of the microbial shield envelope 15 .
[0050] While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby. | A shield can inhibit transfer of microbes and bodily fluids from a first side to a second side of the shield, while allowing an ECG device adjacent the first side of the shield to sense separate electrical potentials on skin adjacent the second side. The shield comprises a flexible sheet with a first electrically conductive portion and a second electrically conductive portion; the first and second electrically conductive portions are separated from one another by an electrically insulating portion. | 0 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/84,091 filed on Jul. 11, 2006 and entitled “Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Inverse Imaging”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/745,218, filed Apr. 20, 2006. This application further claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/927,357 filed on May 3, 2007, and entitled “Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Inverse Imaging Using Linear Constrained Minimum Variance Beamformer”.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] This invention was made with United States government support awarded by the following agencies: NIH R01 HD040712, NIH R01 NS037462, and NIH P41 RR14075. The United States has certain rights in this invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The field of the invention is nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods and systems. More particularly, the invention relates to dynamic studies in which a series of MR images are acquired at a high temporal resolution.
[0004] When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B 0 ), the individual magnetic moments of the excited nuclei in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. If the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B 1 ) that is in the x-y plane and that is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, M z , may be rotated, or “tipped”, into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment M t . A signal is emitted by the excited nuclei or “spins”, after the excitation signal B 1 is terminated, and this signal may be received and processed to form an image.
[0005] When utilizing these “MR” signals to produce images, magnetic field gradients (G x , G y and G z ) are employed. Typically, the region to be imaged is scanned by a sequence of measurement cycles in which these gradients vary according to the particular localization method being used. The resulting set of received MR signals are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques.
[0006] The measurement cycle used to acquire each MR signal is performed under the direction of a pulse sequence produced by a pulse sequencer. Clinically available MRI systems store a library of such pulse sequences that can be prescribed to meet the needs of many different clinical applications. Research MRI systems include a library of clinically proven pulse sequences and they also enable the development of new pulse sequences.
[0007] The MR signals acquired with an MRI system are signal samples of the subject of the examination in Fourier space, or what is often referred to in the art as “k-space”. Each MR measurement cycle, or pulse sequence, typically samples a portion of k-space along a sampling trajectory characteristic of that pulse sequence. Most pulse sequences sample k-space in a roster scan-like pattern sometimes referred to as a “spin-warp”, a “Fourier”, a “rectilinear” or a “Cartesian” scan. The spin-warp scan technique is discussed in an article entitled “Spin-Warp MR Imaging and Applications to Human Whole-Body Imaging” by W. A. Edelstein et al., Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 25, pp. 751-756 (1980). It employs a variable amplitude phase encoding magnetic field gradient pulse prior to the acquisition of MR spin-echo signals to phase encode spatial information in the direction of this gradient. In a two-dimensional implementation (2DFT), for example, spatial information is encoded in one direction by applying a phase encoding gradient (Gy) along that direction, and then a spin-echo signal is acquired in the presence of a readout magnetic field gradient (G x ) in a direction orthogonal to the phase encoding direction. The readout gradient present during the spin-echo acquisition encodes spatial information in the orthogonal direction. In a typical 2DFT pulse sequence, the magnitude of the phase encoding gradient pulse G y is incremented (ΔG y ) in the sequence of measurement cycles, or “views” that are acquired during the scan to produce a set of k-space MR data from which an entire image can be reconstructed.
[0008] There are many other k-space sampling patterns used by MRI systems These include “radial”, or “projection reconstruction” scans in which k-space is sampled as a set of radial sampling trajectories extending from the center of k-space as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,954,067. The pulse sequences for a radial scan are characterized by the lack of a phase encoding gradient and the presence of a readout gradient that changes direction from one pulse sequence view to the next. There are also many k-space sampling methods that are closely related to the radial scan and that sample along a curved k-space sampling trajectory rather than the straight line radial trajectory. Such pulse sequences are described, for example, in “Fast Three Dimensional Sodium Imaging”, MRM, 37:706-715, 1997 by F. E. Boada, et al. and in “Rapid 3D PC-MRA Using Spiral Projection Imaging”, Proc. Intl. Soc. Magn. Reson. Med. 13 (2005) by K. V. Koladia et al and “Spiral Projection Imaging: a new fast 3D trajectory”, Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 13 (2005) by J. G. Pipe and Koladia.
[0009] An image is reconstructed from the acquired k-space data by transforming the k-space data set to an image space data set. There are many different methods for performing this task and the method used is often determined by the technique used to acquire the k-space data. With a Cartesian grid of k-space data that results from a 2D or 3D spin-warp acquisition, for example, the most common reconstruction method used is an inverse Fourier transformation (“2DFT” or “3DFT”) along each of the 2 or 3 axes of the data set. With a radial k-space data set and its variations, the most common reconstruction method includes “regridding” the k-space samples to create a Cartesian grid of k-space samples and then perform a 2DFT or 3DFT on the regridded k-space data set. In the alternative, a radial k-space data set can also be transformed to Radon space by performing a 1DFT of each radial projection view and then transforming the Radon space data set to image space by performing a filtered backprojection.
[0010] To reduce the time needed to acquire data for an MR image multiple NMR signals may be acquired in the same pulse sequence. The echo-planar pulse sequence was proposed by Peter Mansfield (J. Phys. C.10: L55-L58, 1977). In contrast to standard pulse sequences, the echo-planar pulse sequence produces a set of NMR signals for each RF excitation pulse. These NMR signals can be separately phase encoded so that an entire scan of 64 views can be acquired in a single pulse sequence of 20 to 100 milliseconds in duration. The advantages of echo-planar imaging (“EPI”) are well-known, and this method is commonly used where the clinical application requires a high temporal resolution. Echo-planar pulse sequences are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,678,996; 4,733,188; 4,716,369; 4,355,282; 4,588,948 and 4,752,735.
[0011] A variant of the echo-planar imaging method is the Rapid Acquisition Relaxation Enhanced (RARE) sequence which is described by J. Hennig et al in an article in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 3,823-833 (1986) entitled “RARE Imaging: A Fast Imaging Method for Clinical MR.” The essential difference between the RARE (also called a fast spin-echo or FSE) sequence and the EPI sequence lies in the manner in which NMR echo signals are produced. The RARE sequence, utilizes RF refocused echoes generated from a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill sequence, while EPI methods employ gradient recalled echoes.
[0012] Other MRI pulse sequences are known which sample 2D or 3D k-space without using phase encoding gradients. These include the projection reconstruction methods known since the inception of magnetic resonance imaging and again being used as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,435. Rather than sampling k-space in a rectilinear, or Cartesian, scan pattern by stepping through phase encoding values as described above and shown in FIG. 2 , projection reconstruction methods sample k-space with a series of views that sample radial lines extending outward from the center of k-space as shown in FIG. 3 . The number of projection views needed to sample k-space determines the length of the scan and if an insufficient number of views are acquired, streak artifacts are produced in the reconstructed image. There are a number of variations of this straight line, radial sampling trajectory in which a curved path is sampled. These include spiral projection imaging and propeller projection imaging.
[0013] Recently, parallel MRI scanning methods using spatial information derived from the spatial distribution of the receive coils and a corresponding number of receiver channels has been proposed to accelerate MRI scanning. This includes the k-space sampling methods described in Sodickson D K, Manning W J, “Simultaneous Acquisition Of Spatial Harmonics (SMASH)” Fast Imaging With Radiofrequency Coil Arrays”, Magn. Reson. Med. 1997;38(4):591-603, or Griswold M A, Jacob P M, Heidemann R M, Nittka M, Jellus V, Wang J, Kiefer B, Hasse A, “Generalized Autocalibrating Partially parallel Acquisitions (GRAPPA)”, Magn. Reson. Med. 2002;47(6):1202-1210, or Pruessmann K P, Weiger M, Scheidegger M B, Boesiger P, “SENSE: Sensitivity Encoding For Fast MRI”, Magn. Reson. Med. 1999;42(5):952-962, all of which share a similar theoretical background. Parallel MRI accelerates image data acquisition at the cost of reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The temporal acceleration rate is limited by the number of coils in the array and the number of separate receive channels, and the phase-encoding schemes used. Typically, acceleration factors of 2 or 3 are achieved.
[0014] Mathematically, the attainable acceleration in parallel MRI is limited by the available independent spatial information among the channels in the array. The parallel MRI image reconstruction manifests itself as a problem in solving an over-determined linear system using this spatial information. Therefore, advances in the coil array design with more coil elements and receiver channels can increase the acceleration rate when using the parallel MRI technique. Recently, optimized head coil arrays have been extended from 8-channel as described in de Zwart J A, Ledden P J, Kellman P, van Gelderen P, Duyn J H, “Design Of A SENSE-Optimized High-Sensitivity MRI Receive Coil For Brain Imaging”, Magn. Reson. Med. 2002;47(6):1218-1227, to 16-channel as described in de Zwart J A, Ledden P J, van Gelderen P, Bodurka J, Chu R, Duyn J H, “Signal-To-Noise Ratio And Parallel Imaging Performance Of A 16-Channel Receive-Only Brain Coil Array At 3.0 Tesla”, Magn. Reson. Med. 2004;51(1):22-26, as well as 23 and 90-channel arrays as described in Wiggins G C, Potthast A, Triantafyllou C, Lin F-H, Benner T, Wiggins C J, Wald L L, “A 96-Channel MRI System With 23- and 90-Channel Phase Array Head Coils At 1.5 Tesla”, 2005; Miami, Fla., USA, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, p. 671.
[0015] As described recently by McDougall M P, Wright S M, “64-Channel Array Coil For Single Echo Acquisition Magnetic Resonance Imaging”, Magn. Reson. Med. 2005;54(2):386-392, a dedicated 64-channel linear planar array was developed to achieve 64-fold acceleration using a single echo acquisition (SEA) pulse sequence and a SENSE reconstruction method. The SEA approach depends on the linear array layout and localized RF coil sensitivity in individual receiver channels to eliminate the phase encoding steps required in conventional imaging. The challenge of this approach is the limited sensitivity in the perpendicular direction to the array plane and the extension of the methodology to head-shaped geometries.
[0016] In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/484,091 filed on Jul. 11, 2006 and entitled “Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Inverse Imaging”, a method is described which is capable of extremely fast data acquisition due to the minimal gradient cycling used for spatial encoding. Similar to the problems encountered when using classical source localization techniques with MEG and EEG data sources, an inverse operator is required to estimate the spatial distribution of signal changes and their associated statistical significance in magnetic resonance lnl. Due to the limited amount of independent information from each RF coil channel and the large number of sources to be estimated, an inverse problem of this type is generally ill-posed, indicating that there exist an infinite number of solutions satisfying the physical relationship between the underlying sources and the detected signals, the so called forward solution. In order to obtain a unique solution, additional constraints must be applied in solving this ill-posed inverse problem.
[0017] In MEG and EEG research, a commonly used constraint involves the simplifying assumption that a limited number of focal sources can account for the observed electromagnetic signals. This is the equivalent-current-dipole (ECD) approach, used extensively for discrete and focal source localization in applications such as epileptic spike localization. One major challenge encountered in ECD source modeling is that the number of dynamic sources (ECDs) must be specified a priori, possibly inducing bias in the apparent location or temporal modulation of the estimated sources. Additionally, the computational cost of ECD source localization will grow rapidly when the number of assumed sources increases from one to only a few. In the context of fMRI, the assumption that combinations of a limited number of focal dynamic sources can adequately account for the observed signal modulations does not have much validity.
[0018] The basic principle employed in spatial filtering involves passing dynamic sources from a specified location while suppressing activity from all other signal source locations. One particular spatial filtering technique falls in the category of linear constraint minimal variance (LCMV) filtering, also called “beamforming” (Van Veen, B D, et al., “Localization of brain electrical activity via linearly constrained minimum variance spatial filtering”, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Engr., 1997;44:867-880). Originally developed for radar and sonar processing to allow modulation of the sensitivity profile of radar arrays (Van Veen, B. D., Buckley, K., “Beamforming: A Versatile Approach to Spatial Filtering”, IEEE ASSP Magazine, 1988; 5:4-24), LCMV beamforming has most recently been applied to the problem of MEG and EEG source localization. One example is the synthetic aperture magnetometery (SAM) approach, which automatically estimates the orientation of individual current dipoles in the design of the spatial filter (Robinson, S. E., Vrba, J., 1999. Functional neuroimaging by synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM). Tohoku University Press, Sendai). LCMV and SAM have both been utilized in MEG and EEG studies utilizing time domain (Gaetz, W. C., Cheyne, D. O., 2003. Localization of human somatosensory cortex using spatially filtered magnetoencephalography. Neurosci Lett 340, 161-164; Sekihara, K., et al., 2001. Reconstructing spatio-temporal activities of neural sources using an MEG vector beamformer technique. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 48, 760-771) as well as spectral domain (Gross, J., et al., 2001. Dynamic imaging of coherent sources: Studying neural interactions in the human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98, 694-699; Taniguchi et al., 2000. Movement-related desynchronization of the cerebral cortex studied with spatially filtered magnetoencephalography. Neuroimage 12, 298-306) analysis. LCMV and SAM beamformers have also been used for statistical inference in MEG/EEG localization (Barnes, G. R., Hillebrand, A., 2003. Statistical flattening of MEG beamformer images. Hum Brain Mapp 18, 1-12; Chau et al., 2004. Detection of power changes between conditions using split-half resampling of synthetic aperture magnetometry data. Neurol Clin Neurophysiol 2004, 24). However, none of these spatial filtering methods have been applied to the problem of fMRI signal detection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0019] The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of prior methods by providing a spatial filtering method for acquiring MR image data and for reconstructing images from such data that enables the elimination of one or more imaging gradients. More specifically, the present invention is a method that obtains spatially distributed estimates of task-related dynamic signal changes and their associated statistical significance. The method includes acquiring NMR data from the field of view using multiple coils and corresponding multiple receive channels and combining the data from the multiple coils using an imaging inverse operator that employs a linear constrained minimum variance (LCMV) beamformer, which minimizes the point spread function of the reconstructed kernel by suppressing signal leakage from all image voxels other than the one being reconstructed.
[0020] A general object of the invention is to shorten scan time by reducing reliance on imaging gradients. By eliminating one, two or three imaging gradients using the present invention, the pulse sequence used to acquire NMR image data is shortened and the number of repetitions of the pulse sequence is either reduced or eliminated altogether. Unlike prior parallel MRI imaging methods, the imaging inverse operator also allows reconstruction in the underdetermined case: where the rate of the accelerated image exceeds the number of RF array channels. For example, if in rate=4 SENSE, ¼ of the k-space data needed for an unaliased image is sampled with 8 receive channels. In the present invention, the effective Rate (reciprocal of the ratio of sampled k-space points to that needed for an unaliased reconstruction), can exceed the number of RF array channels present. If the gradient encoding is completely eliminated (one k-space sample) then the present invention can generate an image solely using the spatial information in the array of multiple receive coils.
[0021] Another object of the invention is to increase the temporal resolution in dynamic MRI studies. By using the present invention phase encoding can be eliminated from an fMRI pulse sequence and image frames can be acquired at a very high frame rate. As a result, the time resolution of the resulting time course fMRI data is much higher.
[0022] The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference is made therefore to the claims and herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an MRI system which employs the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a graphic illustration of the Cartesian, or Fourier k-space sampling pattern;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a graphic illustration of a radial, or projection reconstruction k-space sampling pattern;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a pictorial representation of a 90-element coil used with the MRI system of FIG. 1 to practice the preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0027] FIG. 5 is a graphic representation of a pulse sequence used to direct the MRI system of FIG. 1 when practicing the preferred embodiment;
[0028] FIG. 6 is a flow chart which illustrates the steps used in the preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0029] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the steps used to prepare acquired k-space data.; and
[0030] FIG. 8 is a flow chart which illustrates the steps used to prepare the spatial filter in the method of FIG. 6
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] The present invention employs an RF coil array with separate coil elements positioned at different locations relative to the subject positioned in the field of view (FOV). Each coil element receives an NMR echo signal which is separately amplified, digitized and processed according to the present invention to reconstruct an image.
[0032] The generation of time series image on an n c -channel RF coil array in MRI can be formulated as:
[0000] y ( t )= Ax ( t )+ n ( t ), (1)
[0033] where t indicates time, y(t) is an (n a ·n Cc )-by-1 vector with n a vertical stacks (of k-space samples) with n c observations (number of array channels), x(t) is an n ρ -by-1 vector denoting the image to be reconstructed, n(t) is a (n a ·n c )-by-1 vector denoting the contaminating noise in the coils, and A is the “forward operator”, which maps the signals to the coil array observations. Here we introduce the symbol r to indicate the “acceleration rate”, the ratio between the number of fully sampled k-space data (n ρ ) and the number of k-space samples in the accelerated dynamic scan (n a ). Usually n a ≦n ρ . In Fourier MR imaging, the forward operator for the n th coil in the array can be further decomposed into Fourier encoding part (E) and coil sensitivity modulation part (P n ):
[0000]
A
n
=
EP
n
,
n
=
1
…
n
c
,
A
=
[
A
1
⋮
A
n
]
.
(
2
)
[0034] The coil sensitivity describes how the spin density is modulated by the reception profile of each coil element in the RF coil array; it is thus different among the coils in the array. The Fourier encoding matrix, however, is identical for all coils in the array due to the same applied gradients. Given the k-space trajectory E=Φ n a −1 SΦ n ρ , where S is the sampling matrix of size n a -by-n ρ consisting of row vectors of the discrete data delta function. In the i th row of S, the j th element is 1 if the k-space spatially indexed entry j is sampled, and 0 everywhere else. Here, Φ n ρ is the discrete Fourier transform matrix of size n ρ . In addition, off-resonance phase information can also be incorporated and thus a “phase-constrained” forward problem is formulated by factoring out the real and imaginary parts. The purpose of the phase-constrained forward problem is to enable dynamic statistical inference with either positive or negative values to infer the MR signal to be higher or lower than the baseline signal. This is because x(t) is explicitly constrained to be a real-valued vector, the details of which are described below.
[0035] In an ensemble of parallel MRI acquisitions, the noise can be characterized with a noise covariance matrix, C. The forward problem is first “whitened” to facilitate the formulation without a loss of generality. Employing the Cholesky decomposition of the noise covariance matrix, C, the whitened forward equation is written:
[0000] y w ( t )= A w x ( t )+ n w ( t ), (3a)
[0000] y w ( t )= C 1/2 y ( t ), (3b)
[0000] A w ( t )= C 1/2 A, (3c)
[0000] n w ( t ) n w ( t ) H = I n c (3d)
[0036] Where ( . . . ) H indicates the Hermitian transpose operator, . represents the average across ensembles, and I n c is the identity matrix of size n c -by-n c .
[0037] In MR inverse imaging (“lnl”) according to the present invention, the spatial locations corresponding to elements of x(t) constitute a source space. In practice, the source space can be a 3-dimensional volumetric space representing multiple partitions in conventional 3D MRI. This 3D lnl source space corresponds to using non-selective excitation over the whole volume-of-interest (VOI) and acquires only the central point of the k-space volume for lnl reconstruction. It is also possible to have a 2-dimensional planar lnl source space if a slice selection gradient is employed in the pulse sequence to constrain the image to be reconstructed from a single plane (2D lnl). Moreover, a 1-dimensional linear lnl source space is possible if both slice selection and frequency-encoding gradients are employed in the pulse sequence (1D lnl). Coil sensitivity profiles are used to resolve this uncertainty. Finally, incorporating a limited amount of phase encoding steps, such as in traditional parallel MRI SENSE/MASH/GRAPPA, lnl source space can be further restricted.
[0038] In dynamic MR imaging where a series of time resolved images is acquired, a priori information about the subject in the FOV is usually available. The incorporation of such a priori information can improve the image reconstruction quality in anatomical and dynamic functional MRI. The option of using a priori information can be included in the dynamic lnl framework. Denoting the time-invariant prior for the solution by x 0 , the forward problem can be re-written as:
[0000] y′ w ( t )= A w x ′( t )+ n w ( t )
[0000] y′ w ( t )= y w ( t )− A w x 0
[0000] x ′( t )= x ( t )− x 0
[0000] y ′( t )= y ( t )− Ax 0 . (4)
[0039] The subsequent derivation of the minimum-norm solution will incorporate the a priori information to yield time-resolved images x(t). However, if no prior information is available, a “baseline interval” can be employed to estimate the A w x 0 term. For example, the averaged lnl accelerated measurements over a baseline interval generates the averaged baseline activity estimate, which is subtracted from the dynamic lnl measurements in an “activity interval” to generate y′ w (t). In the following section, it will be shown that the spatial distribution of the dynamic change can still be resolved simply based on y′ w (t) without a spatial prior, x 0 .
[0040] The stability of the solution for x′(t) depends on the condition of the forward operator. Traditional parallel MRI methods limit the forward operator such that A w has more rows than columns. In practice, this constrains the acceleration rate (r) to be less than or equal to the number of coils in the array (n c ). Mathematically, this is equivalent to the requirement of the existence of (A w H A w ) −1 . This is explicitly required in the SENSE and GRAPPA image reconstruction methods. Nevertheless, in extremely accelerated cases, the Fourier encoding matrix has a very small number of rows, and thus (A w H A w ) is very ill-conditioned. In other words, dynamic lnl may encounter the inverse problem where there are more unknowns than observations. In light of the ill-posed dynamic lnl, a solution can be approached by introducing constraints. One common choice is the linear minimum-norm estimate, which minimizes the following cost function:
[0000] {circumflex over (x)}′( t )=arg x′ min{∥ y′ w ( t )− A w x ′( t )∥ 2 2 +λ 2 ∥x ′( t )∥ 2 2 }, (5)
[0041] Where ∥ . . . ∥ 2 2 is the square of the l 2 -norm and λ 2 is a regularization parameter. The cost function consists of two parts: the first is the model error term, which quantifies the discrepancy between measured data and modeled error, and the second is the prior error term, which quantifies the solution deviation from the prior. The second term in the cost function implies searching a solution that minimizes the deviation from the prior. The “minimum-norm” estimate, {circumflex over (x)}′(t), thus corresponds to a solution with minimum cost. The solution is provided by the linear inverse operator W w :
[0000] {circumflex over (x)}′( t )= W w y′ w ( t ).
[0042] The ill-conditioned dynamic lnl problem set forth above can alternatively be solved using a linear constrained minimum variance (LCMV) beamforming method. In this method, the point-spread function of the reconstruction kernel is minimized by suppressing signal leakage from all image voxels other than the one currently being reconstructed. An exemplary LCMV beamformer is described below and further, for example, in Van Veen B D, et al., IEEE Trans. Biomed. Engr., 1997; 44(9):867-880.
[0043] For a each image voxel, a spatial filter W(ρ) is calculated that is employed to reconstruct the intensity of the ρ th voxel. This is achieved by minimizing the following cost function:
[0000] W (ρ) H ·( D+λ 2 C )· W (ρ), (6)
[0044] Subject to the following constraint:
[0000]
W
(
ρ
)
H
A
(
ρ
′
)
=
{
1
,
ρ
=
ρ
′
0
,
ρ
≠
ρ
′
.
(
7
)
[0045] Where A(ρ′) is the forward operator for the ρ th voxel. In equation (6), λ 2 is again a regularization parameter, and D is a data covariance matrix, which has the form:
[0000] D= x ′( t )· x′ ( t ) H = x ( t )· x ( t ) H . (8)
[0046] An analytical solution to equation (6) is attainable with the constraint provided by equation (7). Thus, the analytical solution for W(ρ) has the form:
[0000]
W
(
ρ
)
=
A
(
ρ
)
H
·
(
D
+
λ
2
C
)
-
1
A
(
ρ
)
H
·
(
D
+
λ
2
C
)
-
1
·
A
(
ρ
)
.
(
9
)
[0047] The calculated spatial filter, W(ρ), can thus be employed on a voxel-by-voxel basis to reconstruct the time series of images, x′(t), from the corresponding data y′(t) as:
[0000] x ′( t )= W (ρ) H ·y′ w ( t ). (10)
[0048] Traditional dynamic MRI image reconstruction provides a series of time-resolved images where subsequent statistical analysis on the time series of images yields statistical parametric maps (SPMs). However, in lnl, reconstructed time series of images can be normalized to a noise estimate to obtain SPMs at every time point. In this situation, the spatial filter, W(ρ), is modified to be noise-normalized as:
[0000]
W
(
ρ
)
dSPM
=
W
(
ρ
)
W
(
ρ
)
H
·
C
·
W
(
ρ
)
.
(
11
)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0049] Referring particularly to FIG. 1 , the preferred embodiment of the invention is employed in an MRI system. The MRI system includes a workstation 10 having a display 12 and a keyboard 14 . The workstation 10 includes a processor 16 that is a commercially available programmable machine running a commercially available operating system. The workstation 10 provides the operator interface that enables scan prescriptions to be entered into the MRI system. The workstation 10 is coupled to four servers: a pulse sequence server 18 ; a data acquisition server 20 ; a data processing server 22 , and a data store server 23 . The workstation 10 and each server 18 , 20 , 22 and 23 are connected to communicate with each other.
[0050] The pulse sequence server 18 functions in response to instructions downloaded from the workstation 10 to operate a gradient system 24 and an RF system 26 . Gradient waveforms necessary to perform the prescribed scan are produced and applied to the gradient system 24 that excites gradient coils in an assembly 28 to produce the magnetic field gradients G x , G y and G z used for position encoding MR signals. The gradient coil assembly 28 forms part of a magnet assembly 30 that includes a polarizing magnet 32 and a whole-body RF coil 34 .
[0051] RF excitation waveforms are applied to the RF coil 34 by the RF system 26 to perform the prescribed magnetic resonance pulse sequence. Responsive MR signals detected by the RF coil 34 or a separate local coil (not shown in FIG. 1 ) are received by the RF system 26 , amplified, demodulated, filtered and digitized under direction of commands produced by the pulse sequence server 18 . The RF system 26 includes an RF transmitter for producing a wide variety of RF pulses used in MR pulse sequences. The RF transmitter is responsive to the scan prescription and direction from the pulse sequence server 18 to produce RF pulses of the desired frequency, phase and pulse amplitude waveform. The generated RF pulses may be applied to the whole body RF coil 34 or to one or more local coils or coil arrays (not shown in FIG. 1 ).
[0052] The RF system 26 also includes one or more RF receiver channels. Each RF receiver channel includes an RF amplifier that amplifies the MR signal received by the coil to which it is connected and a detector that detects and digitizes the I and Q quadrature components of the received MR signal. The magnitude of the received MR signal may thus be determined at any sampled point by the square root of the sum of the squares of the I and Q components:
[0000] M= √{square root over ( I 2 +Q 2 )},
[0053] and the phase of the received MR signal may also be determined:
[0000]
φ
=
tan
-
1
(
Q
I
)
.
[0054] The pulse sequence server 18 also optionally receives patient data from a physiological acquisition controller 36 . The controller 36 receives signals from a number of different sensors connected to the patient, such as ECG signals from electrodes or respiratory signals from a bellows. Such signals are typically used by the pulse sequence server 18 to synchronize, or “gate”, the performance of the scan with the subject's respiration or heart beat.
[0055] The pulse sequence server 18 also connects to a scan room interface circuit 38 that receives signals from various sensors associated with the condition of the patient and the magnet system. It is also through the scan room interface circuit 38 that a patient positioning system 40 receives commands to move the patient to desired positions during the scan.
[0056] The digitized MR signal samples produced by the RF system 26 are received by the data acquisition server 20 . The data acquisition server 20 operates in response to instructions downloaded from the workstation 10 to receive the real-time MR data and provide buffer storage such that no data is lost by data overrun. In some scans the data acquisition server 20 does little more than pass the acquired MR data to the data processor server 22 . However, in scans that require information derived from acquired MR data to control the further performance of the scan, the data acquisition server 20 is programmed to produce such information and convey it to the pulse sequence server 18 . For example, during prescans MR data is acquired and used to calibrate the pulse sequence performed by the pulse sequence server 18 . Also, navigator signals may be acquired during a scan and used to adjust RF or gradient system operating parameters or to control the view order in which k-space is sampled. And, the data acquisition server 20 may be employed to process MR signals used to detect the arrival of contrast agent in an MRA scan. In all these examples the data acquisition server 20 acquires MR data and processes it in real-time to produce information that is used to control the scan.
[0057] The data processing server 22 receives MR data from the data acquisition server 20 and processes it in accordance with instructions downloaded from the workstation 10 . Such processing may include, for example: Fourier transformation of raw k-space MR data to produce two or three-dimensional images; the application of filters to a reconstructed image; the performance of a backprojection image reconstruction of acquired MR data; the calculation of functional MR images; the calculation of motion or flow images, etc.
[0058] Images reconstructed by the data processing server 22 are conveyed back to the workstation 10 where they are stored. Real-time images are stored in a data base memory cache (not shown) from which they may be output to operator display 12 or a display 42 that is located near the magnet assembly 30 for use by attending physicians. Batch mode images or selected real time images are stored in a host database on disc storage 44 . When such images have been reconstructed and transferred to storage, the data processing server 22 notifies the data store server 23 on the workstation 10 . The workstation 10 may be used by an operator to archive the images, produce films, or send the images via a network to other facilities.
[0059] To achieve an order-of-magnitude speedup in the acquisition of time-resolved MR images, spatial resolution is achieved using a multi-element RF coil array as an NMR signal detector rather than the usual time consuming image gradient encoding methods. The characteristics of the RF coil array that lend it to this application are as follows. A number coil elements are needed surrounding the object as completely as possible in a densely tiled arrangement. The spatial resolution of the invention is expected to increase as the number of spatially disparate detectors is increased. To provide spatially disparate information, the array elements should be uncoupled from one another. To provide both sensitivity and improved spatial information, the coils should be as close to the object as possible. If the array elements are for reception only, they should be detuned during the transmit phase of the MR experiment.
[0060] Referring particularly to FIG. 4 , in the preferred embodiment of the invention a coil array 400 in the shape of a helmet is used to acquire images from the human brain. The close-fitting fiberglass helmet is modeled after the European head standard from EN960/1994 for protective headgear. This coil array 400 has 90 separate RF coil elements that are positioned over the curved helmet surface. Each coil element is substantially circular in shape and adjacent coil elements overlap such that their mutual inductance is minimized. As described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/579,576 filed on Nov. 2, 2006 and entitled “MRI Polyhedral Coil Array Positioning With Non-Zero Gaussian Curvature”, inductive coupling between coil elements is reduced by overlapping adjacent coil elements and using preamplifier decoupling. The cable leading from each of the 90 coil elements to the preamplifier in its corresponding receiver channel is carefully chosen and the tuning of the matching circuit to the preamplifier is chosen to transform the high preamplifier input impedance to a low impedance across the circular coil element. An arrangement of hexagonal and pentagonal tiles cover the helmet surface, similar to a geodesic tiling of a sphere. Each tile has sides that are approximately 23 mm long although it was necessary to distort the pentagonal tiles is places in order to map them onto the surface of the helmet. A circular surface coil is centered on each one of the tiles. Each surface coil is made from 0.031 inch thick G10 copper clad circuit board with a conductor width of 2.5 mm. The diameter of each coil element ranges from 4.5 cm to 5.5 cm. It has been found that significant 5 to 8-fold gains in SNR are possible with this structure as compared to conventional head coils, particularly in the cerebral cortex.
[0061] In the preferred embodiment a series of MR images are acquired of the subject's brain while the subject is performing a prescribed function or while the subject is stimulated in a prescribed manner. MR data for a complete image is acquired each 20 msecs. during the dynamic study so that a high temporal resolution of the resulting brain activity is detected. Because the echo time (TE) needed to obtain maximum BOLD NMR signal response is much longer than 20 msecs (e.g., 43 msecs at 1.5 T) a PRESTO echo-shifting pulse sequence, such as the one disclosed, for example, in Liu G, et al., “A functional MRI technique combining principles of echo-shifting with a train of observations (PRESTO)”, Magn. Reson. Med. 1993; 30(6):764-8, is used.
[0062] Referring particularly to FIG. 5 , the pulse sequence begins by producing transverse magnetization in a slice through the subject by applying a 20 degree RF excitation pulse 310 in the presence of a slice selective gradient 312 . The slice selective gradient 312 is followed by a rephasing gradient 314 . While the rephasing gradient 314 is played out, a negative readout gradient lobe 316 is produced in the readout direction. The negative readout gradient lobe 316 is subsequently followed by a series of alternating readout gradients 318 . After the readout gradients 318 have played out, a second rephasing lobe 320 is produced in the slice select direction and a positive readout gradient lobe 322 is produced in the readout direction. The purpose of the first and second rephasing gradients, 314 and 320 , and the negative and positive readout gradient lobes, 316 and 322 , are such that the net gradient waveform area for each gradient axis (e.g., slice select and readout) is zero during each repetition time (TR) interval. As a result of these zeroed gradient waveforms, auxiliary gradients can be employed during each TR interval to actively dephase the transverse magnetization such that a shifted echo time (TE) is achieved. The auxiliary gradients can be played out along any gradient axis and can alternatively be played out as a combination of gradient waveforms on more than one specific gradient axis.
[0063] In the preferred embodiment, a first auxiliary gradient pulse 324 and a second auxiliary gradient pulse 326 are set to shift the echo time (TE) two TR periods, where a third auxiliary gradient 328 produces an echo train 330 . This is achieved by setting the gradient area of the first auxiliary gradient 324 to −3·A to spoil the transverse magnetization produced by the RF excitation pulse 310 . The second auxiliary gradient 326 has an area of 2·A and thus partially rephases the transverse magnetization. After the application of the third auxiliary gradient 328 , which has a gradient area of A, the transverse magnetization rephases at the now shifted echo time, TE. Data acquisition is only performed during the application of the alternating readout gradients 318 that are played out in the presence of an echo train and the NMR signals corresponding to the echo train 330 are acquired separately by each of the 90 coil elements and each is slightly different due to the different location of each coil element. The result of such a pulse sequence is to increase T 2 *-Weighting of the acquired image data, making it desirable to functional MRI (fMRI) data acquisitions. There is no phase encoding gradient in this pulse sequence, and therefore a scan for one image frame includes an application of the pulse sequence in which a straight line through the center of k-space is sampled. This is referred to herein as a 1D lnl scan in which one gradient encoding axis is eliminated by using the present invention.
[0064] Referring particularly to FIG. 6 , the first step in a preferred fMRI implementation of the present invention is to acquire a series of image frames in a 1D lnl scan as indicated at process block 600 . This is accomplished using the above-described pulse sequence and the resulting 1D array of complex k-space samples from each of the 90 receivers and each of the acquired image frames is stored.
[0065] Prior to reconstructing image frames from this k-space data using the spatial filter calculated from the LCMV beamformer, the k-space data is prepared as indicated at process block 602 . The nature of this preparation depends to some extent on the particular scan being performed, but in the fMRI scan of the preferred embodiment, the preparation steps are illustrated in FIG. 7 . As indicated at process block 700 in FIG. 7 , this includes removing, from the acquired k-space data, any channels with bad measurements. This is accomplished by searching through the data from each channel and eliminating from consideration any channel with increased noise or decreased signal.
[0066] As indicated at process block 702 , the 1D array of k-space data for each channel in each image frame is then Fourier transformed. This is a standard complex FFT which preserves the phase information in the I and Q components of the resulting signal samples. Each resulting signal sample is spatially resolved along the slice select axis and the readout gradient axis and the present invention is employed as described below to spatially resolve these signals along the third axis.
[0067] As indicated at process block 704 , the preparation phase continues by aligning the phase of corresponding signal samples in each channel. This is accomplished by rotating each complex data point to have the same phase as the other time-points which occur at the same latency with respect to the reference waveform. Phase alignment reduces phase instabilities in the data which may occur in the repetitive measurement.
[0068] As indicated at process block 706 , the acquired fMRI data is corrected for subject motion and other physiological noises. This is accomplished by correcting the phase of each signal sample in each image frame by an amount which offsets any detected patient motion during acquisition of each image frame. This is a well known correction common to fMRI post processing. For example, navigator signals can be periodically acquired during the scan as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,312 and used to phase correct the fMRI data for patient motion. Similarly, as indicated by process block 708 , the acquired fMRI image frames are further corrected by removing temporal trends in the data that appear over the entire acquisition time. This is accomplished by detrending the time-series by subtracting a fitted polynomial or other set of basis functions from the data.
[0069] As indicated at process block 710 , the data preparation continues by calculating a noise covariance matrix C among the receiver channels, which is employed when calculating the spatial filter, W(ρ), and acts to remove the spatial correlation between channels in the array. This can be achieved by digitizing the signal for a short period in the absence of RF excitation.
[0070] And finally, as indicated at process block 712 , a baseline measurement is removed from each channel in each image frame as set forth above in Equation (4). In the fMRI scan a baseline measurement is typically made at the beginning of the scan before the patient is stimulated or starts a prescribed task. The corresponding signal samples in the 1D array of channel baseline measurements is subtracted from the corresponding channel measurements in each image frame. This is a complex subtraction that preserves the phase information. This completes the preparation phase of the acquired data which is now ready for inversion.
[0071] A key step in image reconstruction process is the transformation of the acquired data using a spatial filter, W(ρ). Referring again to FIG. 6 , many of the calculations needed to produce the spatial filter, W(ρ), need only be calculated once and can be stored for later use. However, some of the calculations are subject dependent and receive coil dependent and must be calculated for each subject scan as indicated at process block 604 . The steps required to accomplish this are set forth in FIG. 8 .
[0072] Referring now to FIG. 8 , to construct a spatial filter, W(ρ), source space is defined first in block 800 . The source space represents possible locations in which the image will be reconstructed. In the most general case, the source space is the field of view of the image reconstructed with the present invention. If the spatial prior restricts this information, then the source space is reduced. For example, if only a limited number of spatial locations are expected to have dynamic change, then the source space may be restricted to this region. Restriction of the source space is beneficial for speeding up the inverse calculation and as a way to incorporate prior knowledge about the processes being studied by the image.
[0073] The construction continues by calculating coil sensitivity maps. Coil sensitivity maps, P n , in equation (2) are calculated as indicated at process block 802 . The spatial sensitivity patterns of a coil can be estimated from low resolution MR images (magnitude and phase) acquired with minimal tissue contrast. If desired, anatomic information can be removed from this map by comparing to a similar scan acquired with the uniform body RF coil.
[0074] In addition, the Fourier encoding matrix, E, described in equation (2) is produced, as indicated in block 804 . This can be done by using discrete Fourier transform matrix and a given k-space sampling pattern, as described in equation (2). The spatial correlation among channels in the forward operator is removed by using the noise covariance matrix, C, described above. The noise covariance matrix, C, is calculated at process block 806 and subsequently employed to calculate the spatial filter, W(ρ). Next, as indicated in process block 808 , the forward operator, A, is calculated in accordance with equation (2), where the multiplication of the Fourier encoding matrix, E, and the coil sensitivity map, P n , is done for each channel in the array. The collection of all such multiplications from all channels in the array constitute the forward operator A, as described in equation (2). As indicated at process block 810 , the next step is to calculate the data covariance matrix, D, as set forth above in equation (8). The data covariance matrix may be constructed by a stationary full field of view image indicating the spatial distribution of the likelihood of the dynamic change. If a spatial prior is not desired, the identity matrix can be used.
[0075] To obtain the spatial filter, W(ρ), a regularization parameter λ 2 is additionally calculated, as indicated by block 812 . This is because in general an under-determined system is being dealt with, and thus, without a regularization parameter, the matrix between the problem may become ill-conditioned. A regularization parameter can be estimated using an approach, such as an L-curve, generalized cross-validation, singular-value decomposition, or truncated singular-value decomposition.
[0076] Having determined the regularization parameter λ 2 , noise covariance matrix, C, data covariance matrix D, and the forward operator A, the spatial filter W(ρ) is now calculated, as described in equation (9), and as indicated at process block 814 .
[0077] Referring again to FIG. 6 , the next step is to apply the spatial filter, W(ρ), to the prepared image frame data as indicated at process block 606 using equation (10). In equation (10) W(ρ) is the spatial filter and y′(t) is the prepared data. The result of this operation is the production of x′(t), a 2D image at each time frame in the dynamic study in which each image pixel indicates the BOLD response at the corresponding voxel in the subject's brain. When applied to the prepared data, the calculated spatial filter, W(ρ), restores, in this example, the spatial localization information lost by acquiring image data without phase encoding gradients. The same spatial filter is used repetitively to transform the prepared time series data into time series images.
[0078] The last step in the fMRI process is to calculate statistical parameter maps as indicated at process block 608 . This is done in accordance with the modified spatial filter presented in equation (11). First, an estimate of the noise is calculated as the denominator of equation (11), that is:
[0000] ε(ρ)=√{square root over ( W (ρ) H ·C·W (ρ))}{square root over ( W (ρ) H ·C·W (ρ))}.
[0079] The reconstructed images, x′(t), are then divided by the estimated noise, ε(ρ) through an element-wise division. The resulting dynamic statistical parametric maps (dSPMs) are t-distributed under the null hypothesis of no hemodynamic response.
[0080] While the present invention is particularly useful in fMRI applications, it is also useful in other applications where very high temporal resolution is needed. In addition to eliminating the need for gradients to spatially encode for one, two or three axes, the present invention can also be employed in situations where gradient spatial encoding is not eliminated, but merely reduced in resolution. For example, rather than eliminating the phase encoding gradient entirely as is done in the above preferred embodiment, a limited number of phase encoding steps may be employed to increase spatial resolution. The greater the number of phase encoding steps used the longer the scan time and the higher the resolution of the acquired frame images. The choice is thus a trade off between image resolution on the one hand and scan time or temporal resolution.
[0081] The present invention has been described in terms of one or more preferred embodiments, and it should be appreciated that many equivalents, alternatives, variations, and modifications, aside from those expressly stated, are possible and within the scope of the invention. | An fMRI scan is performed using a multi-element head coil and multi-channel receiver to acquire time course image data. One imaging gradient is eliminated from the pulse sequence used to acquire the time course image data enabling images to be acquired at a very high frame rate. The multi-channel NMR data is combined and reconstructed into a series of image frames using a spatial filter calculated using a linear constrained minimum variance (LCMV) beamforming method. | 6 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/481,577, filed on Jan. 12, 2000.
BACKGROUND
[0002] I. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to the delivery of information, and more particularly to a system and method for delivering information related to an inaccessible location to individuals at the inaccessible location.
[0004] II. Description
[0005] In common occurrence, many notable locations are physically removed from easily accessible sources of power and/or communication, such as electrical outlets and wireline telephone jacks. This is particularly true in the case of cemeteries, historically significant locations, dedication or donation plaques, and outdoor, as well as some indoor, equipment. Consequently, it is difficult to place information about the notable locations and/or instructions in close proximity thereto and to revise that information once so placed.
[0006] In the case of cemeteries, friends and loved ones typically place memorial and/or genealogical information such as name, date born, date passed, notable accomplishments, parents, siblings, children, etc., about the deceased party directly on the tombstone or other graveyard marker. Friends and loved ones also sometimes place photographs of the deceased and/or the family of the deceased on or nearby the tombstone or other graveyard marker that may or may not have been weatherized in some form or another.
[0007] In the case of historically notable locations, interested parties typically place signs, placards, photographs, artist's renderings, etc., about the historically notable location, that may or may not have been weatherized, in close proximity to the notable location. Occasionally, interactive tape recordings and/or videos are placed in close proximity to the notable location.
[0008] In the case of dedication or donation plaques, interested parties typically place memorial and/or historical information such as name, date of dedication, date of donation, notable accomplishments, etc., about the donating party directly on the plaque or other marker.
[0009] In the case of outdoor, and inaccessible indoor, equipment, interested parties typically place manuals, warranties, instructions, etc., about the equipment that may or may not have been weatherized in some form or another, or that may or may not have been treated for extreme indoor conditions, or that may or may not have been, for example, sterilized for certain applications.
[0010] In any event, whether the inaccessible location is a cemetery location, historically notable location, dedication or donation plaque, indoor or outdoor equipment, or some other notable but remote or inaccessible location, the need for the information and any equipment necessary for accessing that information to both withstand the weather conditions likely encountered at the location and any attempts to remove them from the location without authorization severely limits both the amount and types of information that may be placed at the remote location with current systems.
[0011] Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of placing and communicating large quantities and varied types of information at inaccessible locations that can withstand the conditions and attempts to remove that information likely to be encountered at the remote location.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention is directed to a system and method for delivering information related to a remote and/or inaccessible location at the inaccessible location. In one embodiment, the invention comprises a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location comprising a memory device affixed to the inaccessible location, the information residing on the memory device; and a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, that retrieves the information from the memory device when positioned at the inaccessible location, wherein the portable memory reading device communicates the information to a party located at the inaccessible location. In another embodiment, the invention comprises a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location comprising a memory device affixed to a physical object at the inaccessible location, the information residing on the memory device; a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, that retrieves the information from the memory device when positioned at the inaccessible location and communicates the information to a party located at the inaccessible location; and a database wherein the information residing on the memory device is replicated; and wherein the memory device is uniquely associated with an identifying code.
[0013] In yet another embodiment, the invention comprises a system for providing historical information about a historically notable location comprising a memory device affixed to a physical object positioned at the historically notable location, the historical information residing on the memory device; and a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, that retrieves the historical information from the memory device when positioned at the historically notable location and communicates the historical information to a party located at the historically notable location. In a still further embodiment, the invention comprises a system for providing memorial information about a deceased party interred at a cemetery location comprising a memory device affixed to a physical object positioned at the cemetery location, the memorial information residing on the memory device; and a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, that retrieves the memorial information from the memory device when positioned at the cemetery location and communicates the memorial information to a party located at the cemetery location.
[0014] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises a system for providing dedication or donation information for a substantially complete explanation about the reasons for the gift at any location, such as a hospital, comprising a memory device affixed to a physical object positioned at the location, the dedication or donation information residing on the memory device; and a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, that retrieves the dedication or donation information from the memory device when positioned at the location and communicates the dedication or donation information to a party located at the location. In a still further embodiment, the invention comprises a system for providing instructions, manuals, and/or warranty information about indoor or outdoor equipment, such as a lawn tractor, at any location, comprising a memory device affixed to the equipment positioned at any location, the instructions, manuals, and/or warranty information residing on the memory device; and a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, that retrieves the instructions, manuals, and/or warranty information from the memory device when positioned at the location and communicates the instructions, manuals, and/or warranty information to a party located at the location.
[0015] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises a method for providing information related to an inaccessible location, comprising the steps of storing the information on a memory device, the information being stored in a format that can be retrieved from the memory device and displayed to a party with a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, when the portable memory reading device is in close proximity to the memory device; and affixing the memory device to a physical object positioned at the inaccessible location. Additional steps in the method may include replicating the information stored on the memory device in a database; revising the replicated information at the database, and communicating the revised replicated information to the memory device over a communicable connection between the database and the memory device; and/or providing the replicated information over a communications medium upon receipt by the database of an identifying code, the identifying code being uniquely associated with the memory device having the information stored thereon.
[0016] Therefore, the present invention provides a system and method of placing and communicating large quantities and varied types of information at inaccessible locations, that can withstand the conditions and attempts to remove that information likely to be encountered at the inaccessible location.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like reference characters identify corresponding elements throughout, and wherein:
[0018] [0018]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0019] [0019]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0020] [0020]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0021] [0021]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.
[0022] [0022]FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention.
[0023] [0023]FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system for providing information related to an inaccessible location in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, many other elements found in a typical information delivery system. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other elements are desirable and/or required in order to implement the present invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements is not provided herein.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of an information generator 1 for providing information related to inaccessible locations in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention. A number of locations 2 - 3 in a cemetery 10 have memory devices 2 B- 3 B permanently affixed to tombstones 2 A- 3 A at locations 2 - 3 respectively. Cemetery 10 may comprise a catacomb, cinerarium, crypt, mausoleum, ossuary, sepulcher, tomb, vault, or any other location where a deceased party may be laid to rest either temporarily or permanently. A deceased party may comprise any living organism that has passed, including but not limited to human beings that have passed. Tombstones 2 A- 3 A may comprise any type of physical object used to mark the locations 2 - 3 of deceased parties within cemetery 10 . Memory devices 2 B- 3 B have memorial and/or genealogical information about the deceased party interred at locations 2 - 3 stored therein or thereon. This information may comprise any information related to the deceased party that a friend or loved one may find interesting including, but not limited to the name, date born, date passed, notable accomplishments, parents, siblings, children, etc., of the deceased party as well as photographic and artistic images of or relating to the deceased party.
[0026] In preferred embodiments of the invention, memory devices 2 B- 3 B comprise contact memory devices, and each memory device may be uniquely associated with an identifying code. Contact memories generically comprise physical devices that attach directly to an object and can be read through active or passive contact with a reading device. Typically contact memories are approximately the size of a clothing button, and comprise a stainless steel container housing a small memory chip inside. Information can usually be written to the contact memory through temporary active or passive contact with the contact memory as well. In preferred embodiments of the invention, memory devices 2 B- 3 B comprise an iButton® contact memory device, the mechanical and technical standards for which are available at http://www.ibuttom.com/ibuttons/standard.pdf, and are incorporated herein by reference. Memory devices 2 B- 3 B may also comprise, in addition to contact memories, read only memory (ROM) devices, electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) devices, electronically programmable read only memory (EPROM) devices, random access memory (RAM) devices, static random access memory (SRAM) devices, static bar codes, or any other device that is small in size, can be easily and permanently attached to a physical object, can store large quantities and varied types of information, and can withstand extreme weather conditions without losing or damaging the information stored therein and/or thereon. The information is stored in and/or on the memory device in a format suitable for the type of memory device used, extensible markup language or hypertext markup language comprising the preferred format.
[0027] Referring still to FIG. 1, system 1 further comprises a portable memory reading device 5 . Portable memory reading device 5 may comprise a special purpose computer, a portable general purpose computer such as a laptop computer, or any other type of portable computerized device, including a hand-held portable computer, a wireless communications device, and/or a smart wireless communications device, that has the ability to read, receive, and/or display all or a portion of the information stored on memory devices 2 B- 3 B when placed at locations 2 - 3 or in close proximity to memory devices 2 B- 3 B. Typically, portable memory reading device 5 will have an integrated means of reading, receiving, and/or writing information from or to memory devices 2 B- 3 B. In other cases, portable memory reading device 5 may have a hand-held probe attached thereto through some type of serial and/or parallel electrical connection for reading, receiving, and/or writing information from and/or to memory devices 2 B- 3 B. The precise means of reading, receiving, and/or writing of the information employed is a matter of design choice and will necessarily depend on the type of memory device 2 B- 3 B employed. Where the memory devices 2 B- 3 B employed are contact memories, a preferred means of reading and/or writing comprises a single signal plus ground probe, whether integrated or hand-held, configured to an input/output line of a microcomputer.
[0028] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a block diagram of a system 20 for providing information related to an inaccessible location 21 in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention. System 20 comprises a memory device 2 B permanently affixed to post 21 A located at historically notable location 21 , and portable memory reading device 5 . Memory device 2 B and portable memory reading device 5 comprise the same elements as in system 1 described above, except that the information stored in and/or on memory device 2 B comprises historical information about historically notable location 21 . Post 21 A comprises a stake anchored to the ground at historically notable location 21 , but may also comprise a sign, lamppost, doorframe, fencepost, cannon, or any other physical object, whether stationary or movable and whether permanent or temporary, located at or near historically notable location 21 . Historically notable location 21 comprises any location physically removed from convenient access to electrical and/or wireline telephone service that a person may find historically interesting because of events that have occurred, are occurring, or may be occurring in the future, and historically notable information comprises any information about the events that have occurred, are occurring, or may be occurring at inaccessible location 21 in the future.
[0029] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a block diagram of a system 300 for providing information related to an inaccessible location 340 in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the invention. An inaccessible location is a location that cannot easily be wired for electricity and/or electronic communication. System 300 comprises a memory device 2 B affixed, such as permanently affixed, to equipment 320 , such as an automobile or a lawn tractor, or indoor equipment, such as a television or a stereo, located at any inaccessible location 340 , and portable memory reading device 5 . Memory device 2 B and portable memory reading device 5 preferably comprise the same elements as in system 1 described above, except that the information stored in and/or on memory device 2 B includes, but is not limited to, instructions, such as manuals, and/or warranty information, about the equipment 320 . As shown, equipment 320 comprises, for example, outdoor equipment in the form of a lawn tractor at location 340 , but may also comprise, for example, snow blowers, mulchers, tillers, or any other physical object, whether stationary or movable, and whether permanent or temporary, located at or near location 340 . Location 340 comprises any location physically removed from convenient access to electrical and/or wireline telephone service, and instructions, manuals, and/or warranty information comprises any information about the equipment at inaccessible location 340 .
[0030] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram of a system 400 for providing information related to an inaccessible location 440 in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the invention. System 400 comprises a memory device 2 B affixed, such as permanently affixed, proximate to, i.e. on or near, a dedication or donation plaque 420 or art piece 420 located at any inaccessible location 440 , and portable memory reading device 5 . As used herein, plaque includes any device, item, piece, or mechanism capable of signifying, for example, a donor's donation, and, as used herein, a dedication or donation would include the generator of the dedication, such as the painter of a painting, or the donator of a painting. Memory device 2 B and portable memory reading device 5 comprise the same elements as in system 1 described above, except that the information stored in and/or on memory device 2 B comprises dedication or donation information, including a substantially complete story about why the gift was given by the donating party to location 440 , such as a hospital, or how a gift was created, such as the artist who created artwork. A dedication or donation plaque 420 comprises a sign at location 440 as illustrated, but may also comprise a photograph, engraving, drawing, painting, or any other physical object, whether stationary or movable and whether permanent or temporary, located at or near location 440 . Location 440 comprises any location physically removed from convenient access to electrical and/or wireline telephone service, and dedication or donation information comprises any information about the donating party at inaccessible location 440 .
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a block diagram of a system 30 for providing information related to an inaccessible location 21 in accordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the invention. System 30 comprises memory device 2 B, 3 B, and 2 B′ permanently affixed to tombstones 2 A and 3 B and post 21 A respectively, tombstones 2 A- 3 A located in cemetery 10 and post 21 A located at historically notable location 21 , portable memory reading devices 5 and 5 ′, and database 31 communicably connected 32 to memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and 2 B′. Memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and 2 B′, tombstones 2 A- 3 A, post 21 A, historically notable location 21 , and portable memory reading devices 5 and 5 ′ comprise the same elements as in systems 1 and/or 20 described above. Database 31 comprises a single or central database wherein the information stored in and/or on memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′ is replicated in whole or in part, or a plurality of distributed databases wherein the information stored in and/or on memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′ is replicated in whole or in part.
[0032] Referring back to FIG. 3, there is shown a block diagram of a system 300 for providing information related to an inaccessible location 340 . System 300 may comprise memory device 2 B permanently affixed to equipment 320 , such as a lawn tractor, portable memory reading devices 5 , and database 31 communicatively connected 32 to memory reading device 5 . Memory device 2 B, equipment 320 , location 340 , and portable memory reading device 5 comprise the same elements as in the systems described hereinabove. Database 31 comprises a single or central database wherein the information stored in and/or on memory device 2 B is replicated in whole or in part, or a plurality of distributed databases wherein the information stored in and/or on memory devices 2 B is replicated in whole or in part.
[0033] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram of a system 400 for providing information related to an inaccessible location 440 . System 400 may comprise memory device 2 B permanently affixed to plaque 420 , plaque 420 located in an inaccessible location 440 , such as a hospital or any other building, portable memory reading device 5 , and database 31 communicatively connected 32 to memory device 2 B. Memory device 2 B, plaque 420 , inaccessible location 440 , and portable memory reading device 5 comprise the same elements as in the systems described hereinabove. Database 31 comprises a single or central database wherein the information stored in and/or on memory device 2 B is replicated in whole or in part, or a plurality of distributed databases wherein the information stored in and/or on memory device 2 B is replicated in whole or in part.
[0034] In the case where database 31 comprises a plurality of distributed databases, the plurality of databases may be connected to one another via an internet connection, limited or wide area network connection, or some other type of suitable communicable connection or combination of connections as would be known in the art, and the information stored in and/or on memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′ may be replicated on each or some lesser number of the databases in the plurality. The communicable connection 32 to memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′ may comprise an internet connection, a limited and/or wide area network connection, a wireless communications connection, a wireline telephone connection, or some other type of suitable communicable connection or combination of connections as would be known in the art. The replicated information residing on database 31 may be revised at database 31 and the revised replicated information communicated to memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′ over communicable connection 32 .
[0035] In certain embodiments of the invention in system 30 , 300 , and 400 , communicative connection 32 need not comprise a permanent communicative connection, as in the case where the information residing on memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′ may be overwritten with portable memory reading device 5 and/or 5 ′. In those embodiments, revised replicated information may be transferred from database 31 to portable memory reading device 5 and/or 5 ′ over a suitable connection and subsequently read to memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′ when memory reading device 5 and/or 5 ′ is placed in close proximity to memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 2 B′.
[0036] In still further embodiments of system 30 , 300 , and 400 , users of the system may utilize the identifying codes that are uniquely associated with memory devices 2 B, 3 B, and/or 3 B′ to access the replicated information residing on database 31 either with or without the use of memory reading device 5 and/or 5 ′, depending on the type of devices employed as memory reading device 5 and/or 5 ′. A user of the system accesses database 31 through an internet with a browser or some other suitable form of software, a telephone connection, including wireless telephone connections, or any other type of suitable communications medium or combination of mediums as would be known in the art, provides the identifying code for the inaccessible location 2 , 3 , and/or 21 he or she is interested in receiving information about, and database 31 provides the replicated information corresponding to inaccessible location 2 , 3 , and/or 21 to the user over the communication medium employed upon receipt of the identifying code.
[0037] Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a block diagram of a system 40 for providing information relate to inaccessible locations in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the invention. System 40 comprises locations 2 and 3 within cemetery 10 , historically notable location 21 , plaque location 440 , equipment location 340 , memory reading devices 5 and 5 ′, database 32 , communication links 42 between memory reading devices 5 and 5 ′ and database 32 , the Global Positioning System (GPS) infrastructure 41 , and GPS signals 43 . Locations 2 and 3 , cemetery 10 , historically notable location 21 , plaque location 440 , equipment location 340 , memory reading devices 5 and 5 ′, and database 32 comprise the same elements as in systems 1 , 20 , and/or 30 described above. In system 40 though, memory reading devices 5 and 5 ′ also comprise GPS receivers, and preferably wireless communications devices or smart wireless communications devices with GPS receivers integrated therein. Communication links 42 comprise the same types of connections a user would employ to access database 32 in system 30 , 300 , and 400 . When memory reading device 5 or 5 ′ is positioned near cemetery location 2 or 3 , historically notable location 21 , plaque location 440 , or equipment location 340 , memory reading device 5 or 5 ′ determines its position on the surface of the earth through the use of GPS signals 43 transmitted by GPS system infrastructure 41 , accesses database 32 via communication links 42 , and communicates its GPS position to database 32 . Database 32 determines the inaccessible location associated with the GPS position received from memory reading device 5 or 5 ′ via communication links 42 , in this case cemetery location 2 or 3 or historical location 21 , and communicates the information related to inaccessible locations 2 , 3 , and/or 21 to memory reading device 5 or 5 ′ over communication links 42 . The information may then be displayed or communicated to a user of system 40 located at or near inaccessible location 2 , 3 , and/or 21 . In some embodiments of the invention, a user of system 40 may be required to initiate access to database 32 over communication links 42 , and/or may be required to provide an identification number, code or password before the information related to inaccessible location 2 , 3 , and/or 21 can be accessed by and/or communicated to memory reading device 5 or 5 ′.
[0038] In any embodiment of the invention, including the embodiments shown and described above, the information related to an inaccessible location may also comprise, in addition to information specifically related to the inaccessible location, data, symbols, codes, and/or other information not specifically related to the inaccessible location that may be used to access the information specifically related to the inaccessible location, whether resident on a memory device at an inaccessible location or a database located somewhere other than the inaccessible location. Moreover, the inaccessible locations where the invention may be employed are not limited to cemetery and historically notable locations, but may comprise any location that a person may find notable that is physically removed from easily accessible sources of power and communication, regardless of whether the climatic conditions likely encountered would be considered extreme. Thus, systems and methods for providing information related to an inaccessible location have been shown and described. Users of the systems and methods have the ability among other things to store, receive, and/or revise the information related to the inaccessible location in a number of ways.
[0039] The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to the embodiments described above however will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without the use of inventive faculty. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific systems and methods shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims set forth below. | Systems and methods of using the systems for delivering information related to an inaccessible location to individuals at the inaccessible location are disclosed. The system comprises a memory device affixed to the inaccessible location, the information related to the inaccessible location residing on the memory device, and a portable memory reading device, separate from the memory device, that retrieves the information from the memory device when positioned at the inaccessible location and communicates the information to a party located at the inaccessible location. The system may further comprise a database wherein the information residing on the memory device is replicated and the database can be accessed by a user of the system via a suitable communications medium or combination of mediums. The system may also comprise a portable memory reading device having a GPS receiver positioned at an inaccessible location and a database, such that the GPS coordinates of the inaccessible location are determined by the portable memory reading device and communicated to the database over a communications link, and the database communicates the information related to the inaccessible location back to the portable memory reading device over the communications link. | 6 |
BACKGROUND
The present invention is related to the field of garment steamers that apply steam to remove wrinkles from clothing and similar fabric items.
Garment steamers are generally constructed to include a user-fillable reservoir for water, a heating element for generating steam from water in the reservoir, and an external surface from which the steam escapes to be directed to a garment or similar item being worked on. Some garment steamers may be sufficiently compact to be used in an entirely handheld fashion, while others may employ a larger, relatively stationary reservoir connected by a hose to a handheld steaming head that is maneuvered by a user during operation.
SUMMARY
There are a variety of aspects of garment steamers that affect their usability. The reservoir, for example, is preferably easy to refill and relatively large in order to reduce the frequency of refilling. The garment steamer preferably heats up quickly so as to be ready for use soon after it has been turned on. Portability is often desired, as the garment steamer may be used in multiple places or moved between a storage location and a location of use. The garment steamer should also be safe to use.
A garment steamer is disclosed that includes features for enhanced usability, especially with respect to safe and effective filling of the reservoir and heating of the water to generate steam. Other features are directed to portability and user handling of the garment steamer.
In one embodiment, a disclosed garment steamer includes a base and a housing configured to be removably attached to the base. For example, the housing may be detached from the base and carried by the user. In one embodiment, the housing for a garment steamer system may include a first portion having an inlet for receiving water and a second portion having an outlet for discharging water, the second portion being in communication with the first portion. In some instances, the first portion of the housing can be the top side or the side wall of the housing. In other instances, the second portion can be situated underneath or below the first portion. In general, each of the first portion and the second portion can be integrally formed as a single unit into a water tank or reservoir. The housing includes a first device, such as a fill plug, in communication with the inlet for substantially sealing water within the first portion. The first device is capable of extending into the first portion of the housing. The housing also includes a second device, such as a valve assembly, in communication with the outlet for substantially sealing water within the second portion. The second device can be actuated by the first device such that in an engaged configuration, water may exit from the outlet to a separate boiler where the water is heated into steam.
By use of the above configuration, water being heated is generally separated from the generally larger amount of water in the water tank, promoting faster heating. When the first device is removed to permit filling of the water tank, the second device is de-actuated. In the event that the boiler is still hot, this de-actuation of the second device prevents heated water and steam from escaping via the inlet and potentially scalding the user. Thus user safety is enhanced.
In one embodiment, the garment steamer system may include a support structure such as a pole for supporting a user-held head or handle from which steam exits during use. The garment steamer system may include a conduit such as a hose between the handle and the heating apparatus to facilitate transfer of steam from the base to the handle. In another embodiment, the base of the garment steamer system may include a plurality of wheels to facilitate mobility of the garment steamer. In some embodiments, the housing and the base may be integrally formed such that the first portion and the second portion of the housing, as well as the base, may be produced as a single unit using a plastic injection molding process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages will be apparent from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of various embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a garment steamer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a garment steamer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 3 is a top-down view of a housing of the garment steamer of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 is a side-view of a plug for the housing of the garment steamer of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 5 is a side-view of a portion of the housing of the garment steamer of FIG. 2 without the plug of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of the housing of the garment steamer of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 7 is a an illustration of a garment steamer according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of a base for the garment steamer of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of the housing of the garment steamer of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 10 is a rear view of a housing of the garment steamer of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 11 is a rear view of an upper part of a support structure of the garment steamer of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 12 is a first side view of the upper part of the support structure of the garment steamer of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 13 is a second side view of the upper part of the support structure of the garment steamer of FIG. 7 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a garment steamer 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The garment steamer 10 includes a base 70 configured to support a housing 20 , where the housing 20 is capable of housing a water tank and a heating apparatus such as a boiler for converting water into steam, among other electrical components and circuitry. In one embodiment, the housing 20 and the base 70 may be integrally formed as a single unit or single component. In other words, the housing 20 and the base 70 may be concurrently manufactured via a plastic injection molding process.
The bottom of the base 70 may include a plurality of wheels 60 to facilitate transportation of the garment steamer 10 from place to place as necessary. In some instances, a support structure 30 such as a telescopic pole may be coupled to the top of the base 70 , the support structure 30 being substantially adjacent to the housing 20 . The support structure 30 may support the likes of a handle or “head” 90 , which may be in fluid communication with the housing 20 via a conduit 40 such as a hose for delivering steam onto a garment or similar item (not shown). In some embodiments, the support structure 30 may also include a hook for holding a piece of clothing or garment. In other embodiments, the handle 90 may include an on/off switch or a trigger (not shown) for discharging steam.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a garment steamer 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, where the support structure 30 of the garment steamer 10 is in a retracted position. As shown, the top of the support structure 30 may include a holder 31 for supporting the handle 90 ( FIG. 1 ). In some instances, a side wall of the housing 20 may include an electrical cord 80 which may be plugged into a wall outlet for powering electrical assemblies and components within the housing 20 .
FIG. 3 is a top-down view of the housing 20 of the garment steamer 10 of FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, the upper section of the housing 20 may include a handle 21 to facilitate removal of the housing 20 from the base 70 . In other embodiments, the handle 21 may facilitate transportation of the housing 20 when the housing 20 is detachably removed from the base 70 . In some instances, the housing 20 may also include a strap (not shown) for carrying the housing 20 on a user's shoulder. In one embodiment, the top of the housing 20 includes an inlet 22 for filling a reservoir within the housing 10 with water.
FIG. 4 is a side-view of a cover or plug 50 for the housing of the garment steamer 10 of FIG. 2 . In one embodiment, the cover or plug 50 may be a device that can be removably coupled to the inlet 22 of the housing 20 to ensure that water does not spill when it is received in the housing 20 . In one example, the plug 50 may be secured to the inlet 22 by a twisting action (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise). In another example, the plug 50 may secure the inlet 22 by a push-pull action using flexible valve baffles. In other instances, the plug 50 may be substantially secured to the inlet 22 via other suitable securing mechanism including a combination of twisting and pushing action, among others. In one embodiment, the bottom portion of the plug 50 may include an extension 52 that may extend substantially into the housing 20 when the plug 50 is coupled to the inlet 22 . The extension 52 may be used to trigger a complementary assembly within the housing 20 which will become more apparent in subsequent figures and discussion.
FIG. 5 is a side-view of a portion of the housing 20 of the garment steamer 10 of FIG. 2 . In one embodiment, the housing 20 includes a first section 24 and a second section 28 . In some instances, each of the first section 24 and the second section 28 may form a portion of a water tank for storing water in the housing 20 . In other instances, the first section 24 and the second section 28 may collectively form a water tank within the housing 20 . In some embodiments, the first section 24 and the second section 28 may be integrally formed as a single unit.
In one embodiment, the first section 24 includes an inlet 22 for receiving water in the first section 24 . The inlet 22 may be sealed by a plug 50 or other suitable securing devices. In some embodiments, the first section 24 may include the top side of the housing 20 . In other embodiments, the first section 24 may include a side wall of the housing 20 . In one embodiment, the second section 28 includes an outlet 29 where water can exit from the second section 28 . In one embodiment, the second section 28 may include an actuable assembly 26 . The actuable assembly 26 may be a valve assembly 26 capable of being actuated by the plug 50 . For example, the valve assembly 26 may engage the extension 52 of the plug 50 . In one embodiment, in a disengaged position (e.g., plug 50 unsecured or removed), the valve assembly 26 is not being actuated by the extension 52 . Accordingly, the valve assembly 26 is able to substantially secure the outlet 29 and prevent water from leaving. It will be appreciated that this can be accomplished using a spring or similar element to bias the valve assembly 26 in a closed position, where the bias is overcome upon actuation by the extension 52 of the plug 50 moving the valve assembly 26 into an open position. In other instances, the valve assembly 26 can be coupled to the outlet 29 in a substantially similar manner as that of the plug 50 and the inlet 22 for performing substantially similar functions.
FIG. 5 shows the garment steamer 10 including the plug 50 installed or located in the inlet 22 . In this configuration with the plug 50 coupled to the inlet 22 , the plug 50 can substantially seal water within the first section 24 . In addition, the extension 52 of the plug 50 extends substantially into at least a portion of the first section 24 for actuating the valve assembly 26 when the inlet 22 is secured with the plug 50 , as explained in more detail below.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the housing 20 of the garment steamer 10 of FIG. 2 , the schematic including structure shown in FIG. 5 . As shown, the housing 20 also includes a water drain 36 , a heating element assembly 32 , a boiler assembly 34 , and a conduit 40 for sending the steam up into the handle 90 ( FIG. 1 ). In case there is excess water buildup, it may be drained by unplugging the plug in the water drain 36 . FIG. 6 shows the plug 50 and valve assembly 26 in the above-discussed configuration in which the extension 52 actuates the valve assembly 26 of the second section 28 such that water can exit the outlet 29 . Once water exits the second section 28 as indicated by the arrow, water can be heated by the heating element assembly 32 and the boiler assembly 34 . In some embodiments, additional electrical components or circuitry (not shown) may be incorporated as necessary for heating purposes. Once an appropriate temperature has been achieved, water can be converted to steam and transported up the conduit 40 to be discharged from the handle 90 onto a piece of garment.
Some of the advantages of the current system over those of the prior art include the ability to retain water in the housing 20 without substantial leaking to occur, among others. This can occur when the housing 20 is attached to the base 70 or when the housing 20 is used as a mobile unit. In addition, minimal condensation may form within the conduit 40 .
FIG. 7 is an illustration of a garment steamer 110 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The garment steamer 110 includes a base 170 configured to support a housing 120 , where the housing 120 is capable of housing a water tank and a heating apparatus such as a boiler for converting water into steam, among other electrical components and circuitry. In one embodiment, the housing 120 and the base 170 may be integrally formed as a single unit or single component. In other words, the housing 120 and the base 170 may be concurrently manufactured via a plastic injection molding process.
The bottom of the base 170 may include supports such as front posts 172 and rear wheels 160 , which facilitate transportation of the garment steamer 110 from place to place as necessary. To this end, a foldable handle 200 is used to tilt and steer the garment steamer during such transportation on a floor or similar surface. A support structure 130 such as a telescopic pole may be coupled to the top of the base 170 , the support structure 130 being substantially adjacent to the housing 120 . The support structure 130 includes a plurality of pole segments 132 and segment locks 134 . The support structure 130 may also include a holder 131 for supporting a handle or “head” 190 , which is generally in fluid communication with the housing 120 via a conduit 140 such as a hose for delivering steam onto a garment or similar item (not shown). The handle 90 may include an on/off switch or a trigger (not shown) for discharging steam. As shown, the support structure 130 may also support the foldable handle 200 , as well as a cross arm 210 with a clip 212 for holding a garment in position as described in more detail below.
FIG. 8 provides a top view of the base 170 , showing a central well 174 for receiving the housing 120 . Channels 176 provide clearance for passage of electrical cords extending from the rear of the housing 120 as described below. The support structure 130 is secured to the base 170 by a female threaded collar 178 that holds a flanged end of the lowest pole 132 against a corresponding male threaded post (not visible) extending upwardly from the base 170 .
In FIG. 8 the cross arm 210 is shown in a vertical or “unused” position, having been rotated 90 degrees from the horizontal or “in-use” position of FIG. 7 . In the unused position there is less possibility of the cross arm 210 undesirably interfering with a user or with other apparatus.
FIG. 9 shows an upper part of the housing 120 including a plastic sleeve 142 on the lower part of the conduit 140 where it meets the housing 120 . An electrical cord 144 passes through a lateral opening of the sleeve 142 and extends along the length of the conduit 140 to the handle 190 ( FIG. 7 ). Within the conduit 140 , the electrical cord 144 is disposed between an inner flexible hose member of the conduit 140 (not shown) an a woven outer sheath of the conduit 140 (visible in FIG. 9 ). The electrical cord 144 provides electrical current to a heating element in the handle 190 as described in more detail below.
Also shown in FIG. 9 is a fill plug 150 used to close a fill opening 122 in the top of the housing 120 . The fill plug 150 may mechanically engage the fill opening 122 in any of a variety of ways, including for example by use of a surrounding O ring or similar component establishing a frictional fit, or by screw threads or similar twisting mechanism. The fill plug 150 includes an extension 152 that engages an actuable assembly or valve within the housing 120 in the same manner as discussed above for the plug extension 52 and actuable assembly 26 . The fill plug 150 is secured to the housing 120 by an elongated tether 154 , preferably made of a flexible and strong plastic material.
FIG. 10 shows the rear of the housing 120 . The electrical cords 180 and 144 extend rearward from respective projections 128 of the housing 120 . As mentioned above, the end portions of the electrical cords 180 , 144 at the housing 120 are received within the channels 176 of the base 170 ( FIG. 8 ) when the housing 120 is seated thereon.
FIG. 11 shows the upper part of the support structure 130 and handle 190 in greater detail. The handle 190 includes an electrically heated pressing element 192 and an immediately adjacent steaming area shown covered by a permeable cloth 194 . The steaming area of the handle 190 generally includes a plurality of small openings (not visible in FIG. 11 ) through which steam from the conduit 140 passes in use. The pressing element 192 is heated by internal electrical coils with current from the electrical cord 144 ( FIG. 9 ). In one embodiment, the pressing element 192 has a positive-temperature-coefficient (PTC) characteristic that automatically regulates the operating current and temperature. The pressing element 192 is preferably heated at a rate commensurate with the rate at which steam is generated, so that a situation can be avoided in which steam contacts a relatively cold pressing element 192 forming undesired condensation.
Also shown in FIG. 11 is the foldable handle 200 in a downward or retracted position. A pushbutton 202 is used to release an internal rotary latch to enable the foldable handle 200 to be rotated to an upward or in-use position. Formed integrally with the foldable handle 200 is a hook 204 usable to receive a clothes hanger to support a garment which is to receive steam treatment. In this case the garment will hang downward, and the support structure 130 and cross arm 210 can be adjusted so that the clip 212 ( FIG. 8 ) can hold the bottom part of the garment in place.
FIG. 12 shows a side view of the upper part of the support structure 130 with the foldable handle 200 in the downward position as in FIG. 11 .
FIG. 13 shows a side view of the upper part of the support structure 130 with the foldable handle 200 in an upward position, having been rotated upward from the downward position of FIG. 12 . In this position, the foldable handle 200 can be grasped by a user to enable the user to both tilt the garment steamer 110 rearward and push or pull to move the garment steamer 110 on its rear wheels 160 .
While various embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | A garment steamer has a housing with a reservoir and a boiler for converting water to steam. The housing includes a normally closed valve in a flow path between the reservoir and the boiler. A removable fill plug in a fill opening or inlet of the reservoir is configured to engage the valve to permit water to be communicated from the reservoir via an outlet to the boiler for conversion into steam. The plug-actuated valve isolates the boiler from the reservoir when the plug is removed, providing safer refilling when the boiler is hot. The garment steamer also includes a steam discharge head coupled by a hose to the housing and configured to direct steam onto a garment or similar item. | 3 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus, and, more particularly, to a portable water treatment apparatus for treatment of oil contaminated water.
Treatment of waste water has been accomplished in a variety of ways to remove certain harmful elements from water before the water is returned to a public sewage system. These elements can range from any number of toxic chemicals to a simple form of dirt or oil. Presently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) imposes certain requirements on the users of such water to prevent dangerous exposure of chemicals to the public. Additionally, a specific treatment of known chemicals in waste water by the user lessens the burden and the risk of improper purification by the public water treatment facility.
The majority of existing waste water treatment apparatuses are designed for treating large quantities of waste water and are, consequently, too expensive and bulky for the average user. These large units have mostly been used by large corporations who have both the need and the ability to process large quantities of waste water.
Normally, the average user relies on disposal of his waste water through commercially available disposal companies. This average user is normally a small manufacturer, machine tool shop or similar type of user who generates waste water in the form of a cutting oil or a penetrant waste liquid which is used in the non-destructive testing field. Therefore, not only is such commercial disposal expensive, but it necessitates having to store waste liquid until it can be properly disposed of.
Some of the existing waste water treatment apparatuses suffer from continual clogging of their filtering apparatus from the residue of flocculent which is produced by the chemical treatment of oil contaminated water. Other apparatuses do not properly remove all the water from the flocculent. This not only provided a flocculent "sludge" which is very heavy but also necessitates the use of commercial disposal which is undesirable.
The need currently exists for a waste water treatment apparatus for the average user which is compact, inexpensive, versatile and portable. The present invention provides such an apparatus with a unique filtering system which is aimed at the treatment of oil contaminated water. Such water is common in the numerous small and mid-size businesses who use various types of cutting fluids and machining operations. Additionally, oil contaminated waste water is readily used in the magnetic particle testing area of non-destructive testing which normally accompanies machining processes to ensure that a machine part does not suffer from any defects.
In the present invention, a portable cart is provided with a mixing/settling container or drum, a mixer and a series of filters connected by tubing which filter the oil out of the water. This filtering is accomplished by the addition of certain chemicals which break the oil from the water and separate the initial waste water into two layers. These chemicals actually combine with the oil molecules to form a "flock" which has an initial density greater than the water and is somewhat of a solid in form and forms a first layer. The second layer is the remaining waste water after the chemicals have combined with the oil and is substantially oil free. This "flock" is then filtered out from the remaining waste water to obtain a substantially oil free water.
The separatoin of the flock in the water can be accomplished in two ways. When the oil in the water is basically heavy and the mixing is of a relatively short duration, the flock will settle to the bottom of the container with the remaining waste water above the flock. When the oil is somewhat lighter and the mixing is of a relatively longer duration, air introduced into the flock enables it to rise to the top of the container with the remaining waste water below the flock. In either event, after separation occurs the flock is introduced into a first large particle filtering stage of the filter which removes the vast majority to the flock from the water. The outlet of this filter then leads to a third small particle filtering stage to remove more minute flock particles. The remaining waste water which is separated in the container can bypass the first large particle filter and proceed to a second medium particle filter and then to the third small particle filter as the user may see fit in order to reduce treatment time.
Upon exiting the third small particle filter, the water, which meets EPA standards, is ready for disposal into a public water treatment system and will be further processed for human use.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a compact, portable, inexpensive apparatus for the treatment of oil contaminated water.
It is a feature of this invention to provide a unique filtering system which is capable of filtering particles of different sizes.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the system is not affected by any unnecessary clogging of the filtering system and produces a residue which is substantially water free.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof may best be understood by making reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the several figures of which like reference numerals identify identical elements and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the waste water treatment apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross section of the large particle filtering stage of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a filtering apparatus 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. The apparatus 10 includes a platform cart 12 which is arranged to support pumps 14 and 16, a pair of drums 18 and 20, a mixer 22, a large particle filter box 24, medium particle filter components 26 and 28 and small particle filter components 30, 32 and 34. The platform is supported by four wheel assemblies 36 at least two of which may be swiveled, to provide movement between locations where the apparatus is to be used and where it is to be stored. Disposable filter elements, filter papers, treatment chemicals and other supplies are conveniently stored in the cabinet 38 on one end of the platform cart 12.
The apparatus 10 is designed for and is especially advantageous for treatment of waste waters produced when using oil base penetrants which are used to locate cracks or similar defects in various types of articles. However, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to treatment of such waste waters and may be used in treatment of other oil contaminated liquid wastes for example, machine tool cutting fluids.
Typically, waste water is dumped or pumped into one of the drums 18 or 20 and a treatment operation is initiated when the drum is nearly full. First, a destabilizing chemical is added to the waste water, operative to "break" the oil/water emulsion and to make separation possible. The mixer 22 is operated to mix in the destabilizing chemical. Then an oil attracting material is added and the mixer 22 is used to mix it in and to allow it to combine with the oil and form a flocculent of solid or semi-solid form which can then be separated from the water.
This process is well known in the art and it is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,284 to H. N. Skogound et al which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is incorporated herein by reference.
Flocculent produced is then pumped out of the outlet hose 40 by pump 14 to a first three-way valve 42. This valve 42 will be positioned to permit the flock to flow through tube 44 to the filter box 24 for the first filtering stage. After filtering in filter box 24, the remaining water is pumped out through filter box exit hose 46 by pump 16 to a second three-way valve 48. This valve 48 will be positioned to permit the water to flow to filters 30, 32 and 34, which are hooked in series, while bypassing filters 26 and 28. Upon exiting filter 34, the water is suitable for disposal to a drain 50 of a public sewage system.
After the operator discerns that the majority of the flocculent is removed from the drum 18 or 20, he then operates the apparatus to filter the water left in the drum 18 or 20. This operation is accomplished by the turning of both valves 42 and 48. The flow of water will now proceed through outlet hose 40 by pump 14 to a first three-way valve 42 and then directly into filter 26 which is hooked in series with filter 28. Upon exiting filter 28, the water will then flow through the second three-way valve 48 to filter 30 in series with filters 32 and 34 and then to the drain 50.
By this process, filter box 24 filters out the largest particles of flock and produces a water which is ready for the small particle filters 30, 32 and 34 and can bypass the medium particle filters 26 and 28. Similarly, the water remaining in the tanks 18 or 20 after separation with the flock does not contain any large particles of flock and can therefore bypass the filter box 24 and proceed directly to medium particle filters 26 and 28.
Both pumps 14 and 16 can be of any type of commercially available pump which will sufficiently handle both the waste water and the flocculent. To accomplish this, neither pump 14 or 16 should have any type of filtering means associated with their flow.
The mixing drums 18 and 20 can be any type of mixing container which will permit sufficient mixing of the chemicals needed to separate the oil from the water and will not adversely react with any of the elements contained therein. In the preferred embodiment, two drums are shown so that filtering can be accomplished from one drum 18 while settling of the contents is carried on in the second drum 20 in order to save processing time.
The mixer 22, is connected to a support frame 52 which runs between drums 18 and 20 and extends upwardly from the cart 12. This mixer 22 can by any type of commercially available mixer and in the preferred embodiment consists of a motor housing with an output shaft having mixer blades at its distal end (not shown). Furthermore, the mixer 22 may incorporate a clamp 53 which enables it to be affixed to the support frame 52 in a stable position to effect mixing in either drum 18 or 20.
The filter box 24 contains a filter section 54 and a tank section 56 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Although any large type of filtering medium can be used, the filter section 54 of the preferred embodiment consists of a filter bed which is composed of a fiberglass blanket of insulation which is readily available. A second filtering may also be employed within the filter box 24 by arranging filter papers 60 to further filter the flock before the water is removed from the tank section 56 of the filter box 24. This two-stage filtering within the box permits filtering of large particles of flock without clogging or impeding the flow of water.
Both the medium particle filters 26 and 28 as well as the three small particle filters 30, 32 and 34 are all filters of a cartridge type design. This design enables water to enter the top of the filter, filter through the medium within the cartridge and exit at the top of the filter to proceed to the next filtering stage. Additionally, although the specific type of filtering medium used within the cartridges depends on the type of filtering to be done, the preferred embodiment of the present invention employs resin treated paper filtering cartridges in filters 26, 28 and 30, while filter 32 consists of a polypropylene cartridge and filter 34 is a small particle carbon cartridge filter. Upon exiting the end filter 34, the resulting water is sufficiently filtered to meet and exceed current EPA standards for its return to a public sewage treatment system.
The outlet hose 40 as well as most of the connecting hoses used throughout the system, can be any type of connecting hose which will sufficiently transport both water and flocculent. In the preferred embodiment, a commercially available pliable plastic or rubber hosing is used which is transparent so that flow of flocculent or water can be observed through the tube.
The valves 42 and 48 can also be of any commercially available three-way valve design and in the preferred embodiment are standard T-shaped valves where flow can be directed from one direction to another.
All of the electrical components within the system are wired through a control box 62 which can be connected to a readily available outlet plug within the users manufacturing facility. Since this wiring is not a part of the present invention, it is not shown or described in detail but generally consists of a standard switch to control each pump independently and can be of any design which will accomplish this function.
Operation of the filtering apparatus 10 will now be described in specific detail for two separate methods of operation. The first method, as described earlier, will be the case where the flocculent within either of the drums 18 or 20 is settled to the bottom and the second method will be where the flocculent has risen to the top of either drum 18 or 20.
In the first instance, flock will settle to the bottom of either container 18 or 20 when the oil in the water is basically heavy and the mixing is of a relatively short duration. When this situation occurs, outlet hose 40 is inserted all the way to the bottom of either the mixing drums 18 or 20 so that flocculent may first be removed from either of those drums. Pump 14 beings to flow which then directs the flocculent through valve 42 which is in a position to permit the flocculent to flow directly to tube 44 to the filter box 24. The flow of flocculent enters the top of filter box 24 and the majority of the large particles are trapped by the fiber glass blanket which catches the majority of the large particles without becoming clogged. The resulting waste water after such filtering accummulates within the tank section 56 of filter box 24. Near the bottom of filter box 24, a second filtering within the box 24 may also be accomplished by arranging filter papers 60 of a desired filtering capacity. After the operator observes that the majority of the flocculent has been removed from either drum 18 or 20, and that basically the separated water is all that remains within the drum, valve 42 is then turned to permit the water from the drum 18 or 20 having smaller particles of flocculent to pass directly to filters 26 and 28, then through valve 48 which is positioned to permit the water then to flow directly to filters 30, 32, 34 and to the outlet drain 50. Then, after all the water is drained out of either drum 18 or 20, pump 14 is turned off and pump 16 is activated with valve 48 positioned to permit flow of now filtered flocculent water from the bottom of filter box 26 directly to filter 30, 32 and 34 and subsequently to drain 50.
In the second instance, when the oil is somewhat lighter and the mixing is of a relatively longer duration, air, which is introduced into the flock either by mixing or by some type of external air injection means (not shown), enables the flock to rise to the top of either mixing drum 18 or 20. In this case, outlet hose 40 is still positioned in the bottom of either mixing drum 18 or 20 but now when pump 14 is activated water which has been separated from the flocculent is first pumped to valve 42 which is in such a position as to permit the water to flow directly to filters 26 and 28 then to valve 48 which is positioned so as to permit the water to flow directly to filters 30, 32, 34 and to drain 50. Then, after the operator sees that mostly flocculent is left within either mixing drum 18 or 20, valve 42 is positioned so as to permit the flocculent to flow directly through tube 44 and to filter box 24 for filtering of large particles. After all the flocculent has been removed from either mixing drum 18 or 20, pump 14 is turned off and pump 16 is activated to pump now filtered flocculent water from the bottom of filter box 24 to valve 48 which is now positioned so as to permit flow of such water directly to filters 30, 32, 34 and to drain 50.
It is also to be noted that the separate step of filtering the separated water within the mixing drums 18 and 20 through filters 26 and 28 may be bypassed completely. In this instance, valve 14 will remain in the position so as to permit both flocculent and separated water to flow into tube 44 for filtering in filter box 24 and then proceed through valve 48 directly to filters 30, 32 and 34. However, since settling and filtering within filter box 24 may take time, the previously described method of filtering separated water through filters 26 and 28 is included as a time saver since no real large particles should exist within the separated water. Therefore, filtering can more rapidly be accomplished by permitting the separated water within drum 18 or 20 to flow through filters 26 and 28 thereby avoiding filter box 24.
While a particlar embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, modifications may be made to the apparatus without departing from the teaching of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is only to be limited as necessitated by the accompanying claims. | A compact portable wastewater treatment apparatus for treating oil contaminated waste water having a support structure with a containment tank on said support structure for receiving waste water. A mixing means on the support structure is also provided for mixing the waste water with a desired amount of materials to form a flocculent with the oil of the oil contaminated waste water. Furthermore, filters are included on the support structure for filtering the flocculent from the waste water with a pump structure for transporting the waste water within the system. | 1 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.76, a claim of priority is included in an Application Data Sheet filed concurrently herewith. Accordingly, the present invention claims priority as a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/563,263, entitled, “Synthesis of Deuterated Ribo Nucleosides, N-Protected Phosphoramidites, and Oligonucleotides”, filed Jul. 31, 2012. The content of the above referenced application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide synthesis; and more particularly, to modified RNA, phosphoramidites, and RNA oligonucleotides, and processes for synthesizing RNA containing partially or fully saturated deuterated sugar and/or nucleobases and deuterated phosphoramidites for synthesis of the modified oligonucleotides.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed towards the synthesis of high purity deuterated sugars, deuterated nucleobases, deuterated nucleosides and deuterated RNA's of defined sequences which can exhibit biochemically useful and biologically valuable properties, thus having potential for therapeutic uses. The past several decades have seen the development of many RNA and DNA sequences for use in therapeutics, diagnostics, drug design, selective inhibition of an RNA sequence within cellular environments, and blocking a function of different types of RNA present inside the cell. One approach has been the use of antisense technology. Antisense oligonucleotides are useful for specifically inhibiting unwanted gene expression in mammalian cells. Antisense oligonucleotides can be used to hybridize to and inhibit the function of an RNA, typically a messenger RNA, by activating RNase H. Primarily, the oligonucleotides affect the level of the target RNA by activation of RNase H, which cleaves the RNA strand of DNA/RNA hybrids. As a result, antisense oligonucleotides have been proposed for the treatment of diseases. While such technology has the potential to be a powerful tool for all diseases, several issues, including molecule stability, have prevented the technology from being a major disease fighting therapy.
Another approach focuses on silencing gene expression at the mRNA level with nucleic acid-based molecules. RNA interference (RNAi) offers great potential for selective gene inhibition and provides great promise for control and management of various biochemical and pharmacological processes. Early studies illustrated that RNA interference in C. elegans is mediated by 21 and 22 nucleotide RNA sequences, see Fire et al., Nature, 391, 806-811, 1998. This was further confirmed by studies illustrating the general phenomenon of specific inhibition of gene expression by small double stranded RNA's mediated by 21 and 22 nucleotide RNA's, Genes Dev., 15, 188-200, 2001. Simultaneous studies confirmed such phenomenon of specific gene expression by small double stranded (dS) RNAs in invertebrates and vertebrates alike. Various studies have also illustrated the use of RNAi as a powerful tool for selective and specific gene inhibition and regulation, see Nishikura, K., Cell, 107, 415-418, 2001; Nykanen,et al., Cell, 107, 309-321, 2001; Tuschl, T., Nat. Biotechnol., 20, 446-448, 2002; Mittal, V., Nature Rev., 5, 355-365, 2004; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 99, 6047-6052, 2002; Donze, O. & Picard, D., Nucl. Acids. Res., 30, e46,2002; Sui, G et al., Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 99, 5515-5520, 2002; Paddison, et al., Genes Dev., 16, 948-959, 2002.
In addition to the use of natural double stranded (ds) RNA sequences, chemically modified RNA have been shown to cause similar or enhanced RNA interference in mammalian cells using 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-beta-D-arabinonucleic acid (FANA) into sequences for siRNA activities, see Dowler, et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 34, 1669-1675, 2006. Various other modifications to improve SiRNA properties have been pursued, including alterations in backbone chemistry, 2′-sugar modifications, nucleobase modifications, see reviews Nawrot, B et al., Med. Chem., 6, 913-925, 2006 and Manoharan, M. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 8, 570-579, 2004. While modifications of SiRNA have been tolerated, several studies indicate an increased toxicity and reduced efficacy see Harborth, et al., Antisense Nucleic Acid Drug Dev., 13, 83-105, 2003. Chiu et al. demonstrated that the 2′-O-methyl modification, although maintaining an A form RNA-like helix, does retain SiRNA activity, or in some cases, reduces SiRNA activity depending on the number of such modifications within a sequence, see RNA, 9, 1034-1048, 2003. It has also been shown that extensive 2′-O methyl modification of a sequence can be made in the sense strand without loss of SiRNA activity, see Kraynack, B.A., Baker, B. F., RNA, 12, 163-176, 2006. Bicyclic locked nucleic acids (LNA's) that confer high binding affinity have been introduced in SiRNA sequences, especially when the central region of SiRNA sequence is avoided, see Braash, et al., Biochemistry, 42, 7967-7995, 2003. Similarly, altritol sugar modified oligonucleotides (ANA), which contain rigid conformations, and has been shown to form degradable duplexes with RNA in a sequence specific manner. In addition, ANAs have been shown to stay in A (RNA type) conformation. Fisher, M., et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 35, 1064-1074, 2007 demonstrated that ANA modified siRNAs targeting MDR1 gene exhibited improved efficacy as compared to unmodified controls, specifically effective when modification was near the 3′-end of sense or anti-sense strand.
Several studies have indicated the potential for siRNA uptake by various delivery systems. Such delivery systems can then be exploited in the development of therapeutics. Cholesterol-conjugated siRNA can achieve delivery into cells and silence gene expression. In addition, lipid conjugated siRNA, bile acids, and long chain fatty acids can mediate siRNA uptake into cells and silence gene expression in vivo. Efficient and selective uptake of siRNA conjugates in tissues is dependent on the maximum association with lipoprotein particles, lipoprotein/receptor interactions and transmembrane protein mediated uptake. High density lipoproteins direct the delivery of siRNA into the liver, gut, kidney and steroidal containing organs. Moreover, LDL directs siRNA primarily to the liver. Studies have indicated that the LDL receptor is involved in the delivery of siRNA. Therefore, it has been proposed that siRNA can be designed with chemical modifications to protect against nuclease degradation, abrogate inflammation, reduce off target gene silencing, and thereby improve effectiveness for target genes. Delivery vehicles or conjugates of lipids and other lipophilic molecules which allow enhanced cellular uptake are essential for therapeutic developments. Such siRNAs are presently being developed for human target validation and interfering with diseases pathways and developing new frontier for drug development.
The 3′-end of sense strand of siRNA can be modified and attachment of ligands is most suited at this end, see for example, Ya-Lin Chiu and Tariq Rana, RNA, 9, 1034-1048, 2003; M. Manoharan, Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol, 6, 570-579, 2004; Nawrot, B. and Sipa, K., Curr. Top. Med. Chem., 6, 913-925, 2006; Scaringe, S., et al. Biotechnol., 22, 326-30, 2004. The introduction of lipophilic or hydrophobic groups and enhancement of siRNA delivery and optimization of targets has been addressed and achieved through bioconjugation. Generally the attachment is performed at the 3′-end of the sense strand, but can be performed on the 3′-end of the anti-sense strand. The design of nuclease resistant siRNA has been the subject of intense research and development in attempts to develop effective therapeutics. Thus base modifications such as 2-thiouridine, pseudouridine, and dihydrouridine have illustrated the effect on conformations of RNA molecules and the associated biological activity, see Sipa et al., RNA, 13, 1301-1316, 2007. Layzer, et al., RNA, 10, 766-771, 2004, illustrated that 2′-modified RNA, especially 2′-fluoro, have great resistance towards nuclease and are biological active in-vivo. Dande et al., Med. Chem., 49, 1624-1634, 2006 used 4′-thio modified sugar nucleosides in combination of 2′-O alkyl modification for improving siRNA properties and RNAi enhancement. Li et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm., 329, 1026-1030, 2005 and Hall et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 32, 5991-6000, 2004 illustrated the replacement of internucleotide phosphate with phosphorothioate and boranophosphates of siRNAs in vivo.
In addition to in vivo stability and appropriate modification of nucleosides, bioconjugation of siRNA molecules, RNA molecules, aptamers and synthetic DNA molecules require key features for cell membrane permeability. Insufficient cross-membrane cellular uptake limits the utility of siRNAs, other single stranded RNAs, or even various DNA molecules. Thus cholesterol attached at the 3′-end of siRNA has been shown to improve in vivo cell trafficking and therapeutic silencing of the gene, see Soutschek et al., Nature, 432, 173-0178, 2004. In addition to cholesterol, various conjugations have been developed, including natural and synthetic protein transduction domains (PTDs), also called cell permeating peptides (CPPs) or membrane permanent peptides (MPPs). PTDs are short amino acid sequences that are able to interact with the plasma membrane. The uptake of MPP-siRNA conjugates takes place rapidly. Such peptides can be conjugated preferably to the 3′-end of the strand. PEG (polyethylene glycols-oligonucleotide) conjugates have been used in various conjugate complexes and possess significant gene silencing effect after uptake in target cells, see Oishi et al., Am. Chem. Soc., 127, 1624-1625, 2005. Aptamers have been used for site specific delivery of siRNAs. Given that aptamers have high affinity for their targets, conjugates with siRNA act as an excellent delivery system and results in efficient inhibition of the target gene expression, see Chu et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 34(10), e73, 2006. These molecules can be conjugated at the 3′-end of siRNA or other biologically active oligonucleotides. Various lipid conjugations at the 3′-end can be attached to oligonucleotides synthesized by the process described by the invention and can be utilized for efficient internalization of oligonucleotides. The lipophilic moiety consists of a hydroxyl function to synthesize a phosphoramidite. Similarly the lipophilic moiety can have carboxylic function at the terminus. The latter can be coupled to a 3′-amino group having a spacer, synthesized by last addition of amino linkers such as C-6 amino linker amidite, of the reverse synthesized oligonucleotide, to the carboxylic moiety using DCC (dicyclohexyl cabodiimide) or similar coupling reagent, see Paula et al., RNA, 13, 431-456, 2007.
Micro-RNA (miRNA) is a large class of non coding RNAs which have been shown to play a role in gene regulation, see Bartel, D. P. Cell, 116, 281-297, He et Nat. Rev. Genet, 5:522-531, 2004; Lagos-Quintana et al., Science, 204:853-858, 2001. It is estimated that there are at least 1000 miRNA scattered across the entire human genome. Many of these miRNAs have been shown to down regulate large numbers of target mRNAs, see Lim et al., Nature, 433:769-773, 2005. Different combinations of miRNAs may be involved in regulation of target gene in mammalian cell. siRNA has been shown to function as miRNAs, see Krek et al., Nat. Genet., 37: 495-500, 2005; Doench et al., Genes Dev., 17:438-442, 2003. Micro-RNAs have great potential as therapeutics and in gene regulation, Hammond, S. M., Trends Mol. Med. 12:99-101, 2006. A vast amount of effort is currently being devoted towards understanding miRNA pathways, their role in development and diseases, and their role in cancer. Additionally, miRNA targets are being developed for therapeutic and diagnostics development. A great number of miRNA are being identified and their role is being determined through microarrays, PCR and informatics. Synthesis of RNA designed to target miRNA also requires RNA synthesis and similar modification, as required for SiRNAs, for stability of RNA and bioconjugation resulting in better cellular uptakes. The instant invention will greatly accelerate the pace of this research and development.
Synthesis of therapeutic grade RNA, antisense RNA, or siRNA requires modification or labeling of the 3′-end of an oligonucleotide. In the case of siRNA, generally it is the 3′-end of the sense strand. The synthesis of 3 ′-end modified RNA requiring lipophilic, long chain ligands or chromophores, using 3′ to 5′ synthesis methodology is challenging, and requires corresponding solid support. Such synthesis generally results in low coupling efficiency and lower purity of the final oligonucleotide in general because of a large amount of truncated sequences containing desired hydrophobic modification. The authors of the instant invention approached this problem by developing reverse RNA monomer phosphoramidites for RNA synthesis in the 5′ to 3′-direction. This approach leads to very clean oligonucleotide synthesis, thus allowing for introduction of various modifications at the 3′-end cleanly and efficiently.
In order to increase stability, oligonucleotides containing lipids have been synthesized. Attachment of the lipids provides for efficient delivery of the RNA and an increase in the cellular concentration of the oligonucleotides. Hydrophobic molecules, such as cholesterol, can bind to LDL particles and lipoproteins to activate a delivery process involving these proteins to transport oligonucleotides. Lipped nucleic acids may also reduce the hydrophilicity of oligonucleotides. It has also been shown that lipidoic nucleic acids improve the efficacy of oligonucleotides, see Shea, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 6553, 1989; Oberhauser, B., and Wagner, E., Nucleic Acids Res., 20, 533, 1992; Saison,-Behmoaras, et al, The EMBO Journal, 10, 1111, 1991; Reed et al., Bioconjugate Chem., 2, 217, 1991; Polushin, et al., Nucleosides & Nucleotides, 12, 853, 1993; Marasco et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 35, 3029, 1994. A series of hydrophobic groups such as adamantane, eicosenoic acid, cholesterol, and dihexadecyl glycerol were attached to oligodeoxy nucleotide sequences at the 3′-end and were hybridized to complementary RNA sequences. The Tm was found to be unaffected indicating that such groups do not interfere with oligo hybridization properties see Manoharan et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 36, 1995; Manoharan, et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 36, 3651-3654, 1995; Gerlt, J. A. Nucleases, 2nd Edition, Linn, S. M., Lloyd, R. S., Roberts, R. J., Eds. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, p-10, 1993.
For efficient delivery of synthetic RNA molecules, PEG attachment to various oligonucleotides has shown favorable properties. PEG-oligomers have shown enzymatic stability by preventing fast digestion. The thermal melting behavior was not affected, therebyretaining properties of double strand formation. Srivastava et al., Nucleic Acids Symposium Series, 2008, 52, 103-104 recently developed a reverse RNA synthesis process for clean attachment of lipophilic and large molecules to synthetic RNA.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Deuterium labeling studies & NMR analysis have been carried out for many nucleosides and oligonucleotides. The structure and dynamics of DNA and RNA is vital to understanding their biological functions. This has been investigated by a variety of physico-chemical techniques. Amongst these techniques, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy have been utilized extensively as a powerful tool because it provides conformational information on the implication of variation of local structures and the dynamics under a biological condition. This has been refined using powerful computers and high resonance energy instruments. With increasing magnetic field, the higher sensitivity reduces the amount of an oligomer needed to obtain a good quality spectrum, and increases the dispersion of resonance signals reducing the spectral complexity due to resonance overlap which results from second order J couplings to first order.
Most of the studies describing incorporation of deuterium at specific positions of deoxynucleosides, ribonucleosides, and modified nucleosides were carried out in an effort to determine the structure of oligonucleosides and conformational details by proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Proton NMR spectrum of oligonucleotides are generally quite complex and do not reveal conformational & structural information. As a result of oligonucleotides having significant overlapping NMR resonance, structure determination of deuterated oligonucleotides has been used for NMR structure determination of biologically functional DNA or RNA molecules. In order to overcome problems associated with resonance, investigators developed non-uniform deuterium labeling techniques, see Foldesi et al., J. Tetrahedron, 1992, 48, 9033; Foldesi et al., J., Biochem. Biophys. Methods, 1993, 26. Deuterium labeled oligonucleotides simplifies NMR spectras, allowing determination of both J couplings and NOE volumes in an unambiguous manner from a small domain of a large molecule see Glemarec et al., J. Nucleic Acids Res., 1996, 24, 2002 and Ludwig, J. Acta Biochem. Biophys Acad Sci., 1981, 16, 131.
Similarly, site specific deuteration of a large number of oligo-DNAs and RNAs have been used to study NMR structures by the “NMR-window” concept in which only a small segment of the oligonucleotide is NMR visible. This approach was used to solve the NMR structure of a 21-mer RNA hairpin loop, see Nucleic Acids Research1996 24:1187 and Nucleosides and Nucleotides 1997, 5&6, 743, and a 31-mer stem-internal loop-stem-internal loop-stem-hairpin loop RNA. Diastereospecifically C-2′ (deuterium labeled nucleoside block in oligo-DNA (Journal Tetrahedron, 1995, 51, 10065) was successfully utilized in NMR interpretation the collection of reduced spin-diffusion as well as the extraction of 3J H1′, H2″ and 3J H1′, H2″ coupling constants.
Huang et al., Acids Research, 1997, 25, 4758-4763 showed that in two dimensional (2D) NOESY spectra of oligonucleotides, if H-8 of purines and H-6 in pyrimidines are replaced with deuterium then the entire cross peaks correlating the nucleobase with sugar protons disappear. Similarly researchers have been interested in studying the role of dynamics of interaction of proteins with DNA by 2H NMR. Solid state 2D NMR provides valuable information about the movement of various functional groups in an oligonucleotide. Chirukul and coworkers have shown that specific deuteration plays a very significant role in determining such structural features, see Chirakul, et al., Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic acids, 2001, 20, 1903-1913.
Enzyme recognition with deuterium substitution in place of hydrogen or enzymatic binding is not adversely affected. The enzyme recognition of a particular sequence is the first step in biochemical interaction of oligonucleotides for their specific roles, and deuterium labeling does not change the biochemical process of site recognition. Similarly it is known that hybridization of a double strand is not effected by deuterium labeling, since deuterium and hydrogen atomic radii are very close for any disruption in recognition pattern.
It is expected that multiple covalent labeling of deuterium in place of hydrogen (carbon-hydrogen bonds to carbon-deuterium bond) in the sugar portion of an oligonucleotide slows down the rate of digestion of oligonucleotides which takes place rapidly in cellular environment with exo and endo nucleases. The quick digestion of the oligonucleotide is demonstrated by shorter half life of oligonucleotide and clearance from body. This is much more pronounced in RNA molecules as compared to DNA molecules. The slow digestion of a therapeutic oligonucleotide is expected to add extra advantage to a therapeutic candidate, while other physical or biochemical properties are not affected. Various biochemical effects of deuterated ribo-oligonucleotides is anticipated deuterated oligos are expected to slow digestion of oligonucleotides to smaller fragments, and have no effect with respect to hydrogen bonding, RNAse H editing activity, or recognition by RISC complex. Intracellular hydrolysis or deuterium exchanges my result in liberation of deuterium oxide (D 2 O).
The enzymatic method of deuterium exchange has been carried out routinely for deuterium labeling. However the exchange method is not complete due to equilibrium which exists in enzymatic reactions. It is anticipated that deuterium labeled oligonucleotides will similarly exchange deuterium with hydrogen within the cellular environment resulting in release of deuterium oxide within the cellular environment. Since deuterium oxide is known as a nutritional agent, oligonucleotides of the instant invention may provide nutritional value.
The use of deuterium exchange for the spectral assignment of nucleosides and oligonucleotides has been carried out quite extensively. Deuteration of the nucleobase residues has been described in exchange of protons at C8-purine and C5-cytosine with deuterioammonium bisulfite at pH 7.8 in deoxyoligomers which gave 90 -95% atom 2 H incorporation. Brush et al. Biochemistry 1988, 27, 115; Brush et al,. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 110, 4405 described platinum-catalyzed exchange at C5-methyl of thymidine in 2 H 2 O.
A large variety of enzymatic and chemical methods have been developed for deuterium incorporation at both sugar and nucleoside levels to provide high levels of deuterium incorporation (D/H ratio). The enzymatic method of deuterium exchange generally has low levels of incorporation and provides significant levels of stray resonances. Enzymatic incorporation has further complications due to cumbersome isolation techniques which are required for isolation of deuterated mononucleotide blocks. Schmidt et al., Ann. Chem. 1974, 1856; Schmidt et al., Chem. Ber., 1968, 101, 590, describes synthesis of 5′,5″- 2 H2-Adenosine which was prepared from 2′,3′-O-isopropylideneadenosine-5′-carboxylic acid or from methyl-2,3-isopropylidene-β-D-ribofuranosiduronic acid, Dupre, M. and Gaudemer, A., Tetrahedron Lett. 1978, 2783. Kintanar, et al., Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 110, 6367 reported that diastereoisomeric mixtures of 5′-deuterioadenosine and 5′(R/S)-deuteratedthymidine can be obtained with reduction of the appropriate 5′-aldehydes using sodium borodeuteride or lithium aluminum deuteride (98 atom % 2 H incorporation). Berger et al., Nucleoside & Nucleotides 1987, 6, 395 described the conversion of the 5′-aldehyde derivative of 2′deoxyguanosine to 5′ or 4′-deuterio-2′-deoxyguanosine by heating the aldehyde in 2 H 2 O/pyridine mixture (1:1) followed by reduction of the aldehyde with NaBD 4 .
Ajmera et al., Labelled Compd. 1986, 23, 963 described procedures to obtain 4′-Deuterium labeled uridine and thymidine (98 atom % 2 H). Sinhababu, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1985, 107, 7628) demonstrated deuterium incorporation at the C3′ (97 atom % 2H) of adenosine during sugar synthesis upon stereoselective reduction of 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-B-D-hexofuranos-3-ulose to 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-3-deuterio-B-D-ribohexofuranose using sodium borodeuteride and subsequently proceeding further to the nucleoside synthesis. Robins, et al., Org. Chem. 1990, 55, 410 reported synthesis of more than 95% atom 2 H incorporation at C3′ of adenosine with virtually complete stereoselectivity upon reduction of the 2′-O-tert-butyldimethylsilyl(TBDMS) 3-ketonucleoside by sodium borodeuteride in acetic acid. David, S. and Eustache, J., Carbohyd. Res.1971, 16, 46 and David, S. and Eustache, J., Carbohyd. Res. 1971, 20, 319 described syntheses of 2′-deoxy-2′(S)-deuterio-uridine and cytidine. The synthesis was carried out by the use of 1-methyl-2-deoxy-2′-(S)-deuterio ribofuranoside.
Radatus, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1971, 93, 3086 described chemical procedures for synthesizing 2′-monodeuterated (R or S)-2′-deoxycytidines. These structures were synthesized from selective 2-monodeuterated-2-deoxy-D-riboses, which were obtained upon stereospecific reduction of a 2,3-dehydro-hexopyranose with lithium aluminum deuteride and oxidation of the resulting glycal. Wong et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1978, 100, 3548 reported obtaining-Deoxy-1-deuterio-D-erythro-pentose, 2-deoxy-2(S)-deuterio-D-erythro-pentose and 2-deoxy-1,2(S)-dideuterio-D-erythro-pentose from D-arabinose by a reaction sequence involving the formation and LiAlD 4 reduction of ketene dithioacetal derivatives.
Pathak et al. J., Tetrahedron 1986, 42, 5427) reported stereospecific synthesis of all eight 2′ or 2″-deuterio-2′-deoxynucleosides by reductive opening of appropriate methyl 2,3-anhydro-β-D-ribo or β-D-lyxofuranosides with LiAlD 4 . Wu et al. J. Tetrahedron 1987, 43, 2355 described the synthesis of all 2′,2″-dideuterio-2′-deoxynucleosides,for both deoxy and ribonucleosides, starting with oxidation of C2′ of sugar and subsequent reduction with NaBD 4 or LiAlD 4 followed by deoxygenation by tributyltin deuteride. Roy et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1986, 108, 1675, reported 2′,2″-Dideuterio-2′-deoxyguanosine and thymidine can be prepared from 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate using 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate aldolase enzyme in 2 H 2 O achieving some 90 atom % deuteration.
Therefore, it is clear that each position of the sugar residue can be selectively labeled. A number of these deuterated nucleosides have been used in solid-state 2 H-NMR studies on the internal motions of nucleosides and oligonucleotides, see Hiyama et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1989, 111, 8609; Alam, T and Drobny, G. P., Biochemistry, 1990, 29, 3421; Alam et al., Biochemistry, 1990, 29, 9610; Huang et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1990, 112, 9059; Drobny, G. P. et al., Biochemistry, 1991, 30, 9229. In the temperature dependent line shape analysis in solid-state 2 H-NMR spectroscopy, the stereoselectivity of 2′ versus 2″ labeling or the level of deuteration does not play a significant role. The use of specifically deuterium labeled nucleotides for the simplification of 1D and 2D 1 H-NMR spectra in solution studies was not very useful for structural information. However, most extensive use of deuteration in the 1D NMR studies was performed by Danyluk et al. These workers isolated pre-deuterated 2 H-labeled mononucleotides (˜90 atom % 2 H incorporation) in a tedious manner from RNA digest of blue-green algae grown in 2 H 2 O. These pre-deuterated nucleoside blocks were then used to obtain a wide variety of partially deuterated dimers and trimers for the purpose of resonance assignments in 1D 1 H-NMR spectra (200-300 MHz). Synthesis of 4′,5′,5″- 2 H3-adenosine was carried out and this was coupled to appropriately blocked adenosine 3-phosphite to give ApA* (pA* 4′,5′,5″- 2 H3-pA). This dimer allowed the unequivocal measurement of the difference between phosphorus and H-3′ (Kondo et l., Am. Cem. Soc. 1972, 94, 5121; Kondo, Labeled Compd. 1973, 9, 497; Ezra, et al., Biochemistry, 1975, 53, 213 ; Kondo and Danylik., Biochemistry, 1976, 15, 3627; Lee, et al., Biochemistry, 1976, 15, 3627; Ezra, et al., Biochemistry, 1977, 16, 1977. Similarly synthesis of 4′,5′,5″- 2 H3-guanosine can be carried out to synthesize guanosine rich oligonucleotides.
A useful alternative method of stereospecific deuteration was developed to synthesize polydeuterated sugars. This method employed exchange of hydrogen with deuterium at the hydroxyl bearing carbon (i.e. methylene and methine protons of hydroxyl bearing carbon) using deuterated Raney nickel catalyst in 2 H 2 O. Detailed studies revealed structure dependent difference in exchange rates, high level of epimerization, significantly lower extent of deoxygenation, and difficulties in the reproducibility of the level of deuteration (Balza et al., Res., 1982, 107,270; Angyal et al. Carbohydr. Res. 1986, 157, 83; Koch et al. Res. 1978, 59, 341; Wu et al. J. Org. Chem. 1983, 48, 1750; and Angyal et al. Res.1986, 157, 83).
Various techniques are available to synthesize fully deuterated deoxy and ribonucleosides. Thus in one method, exchange reaction of deuterated Raney nickel- 2 H 2 O with sugars, a number of deuterated nucleosides specifically labeled at 2,3′ and 4′ positions were prepared. The procedure consisted of deuteration at 2, 3 and 4 positions of methyl β-D-arabinopyranoside by Raney nickel- 2 H 2 O exchange reaction followed by reductive elimination of 2-hydroxyl group by tributyltin deuteride to give methyl β-D-2,2′,3,4- 2 H 4 -2-deoxyribopyranoside which was converted to methyl β-D-2,2′,3,4- 2 H4-2-deoxyribofuranoside and glycosylated to give various 2,2′,3,4- 2 H4-nucleosides (>97 atom % 2 H incorporation for H3′ & H4′; ˜94 atom % 2 H incorporation for H2 and H2′) (Pathak, T., Chattopadhyaya, J. Tetrahedron 1987, 43, 4227; Koch, H. J., Stuart, R. S., Carbohydr. Res. 1977, 59. C l; Balza, F., Cyr, N., Hamer, G K., Perlin, A. S., Koch, H. J., Stuart, R. S., Carbohydr. Res. 1977, 59, C7; Koch, H. J., Stuart, R. S., Carbohydr. Res. 1978, 64, 127; Koch, H. J., Stuart, R. S., Carbohydr. Res. 1978, 59, 341; Balza, F., Perlin, A. S. Carbohydr. Res., 1982, 107, 270; Angyal, S. J., Odier, L. Carbohydr. Res., 1983, 123,13.; Wu, G. D., Serianni, A. S., Barker, R. J., Org. Chem. 1983, 48, 1750; Angyal, S. J., Stevens, J. D., Odier, L. Carbohydr. Res. 1986, 157, 83; Kline, P. C., Serianni, A. S. Magn. Reson. Chem., 1988, 26, 120 ; Kline, P. C., Serianni, A. S. Magn. Reson. Chem., 1990, 28, 324; Robins, M. J., Wilson, J. S., Hansske, F., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1983, 105, 4059.
Methyl β-D-erythrofuranoside, when treated with deuterated Raney Ni, produced methyl β-D-2,3,4(S)- 2 H3-erythrofuranoside (˜75 atom % 2 H incorporation at C2 and C4(S) positions and 100% atom 2 H incorporation at C3) (Kline, P. C.; Serianni, A. S. Magn. Reson. Chem., 1988, 26, 120. This sugar was converted to D-3,4,5(S)- 2 H3-ribose. These nucleosides were subsequently reduced to the corresponding 3′,4′,5′(S)- 2 H3-2′˜deoxynucleosides (Koch, H. J.; Stuart, R. S. Carbohydr. Res. 1978, 64, 127; Kline, P. C., Seriarmi, A. S., Magn. Reson. Chem., 1990, 28, 324). Similar to compound 3′,4′,5′(S)- 2 H3-ribonucleosides, 1′,2′,3′,4′,5′,5″(S)- 2 H6-ribonucleosides can be synthesized starting with fully deuterated and appropriately protected ribose.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Oligonucleotide based therapeutics is a strong component of rational drug design approach and a number of oligonucleotides are currently in the market or at various stages of clinical trials. Previously, deuterium modified nucleosides have been synthesized at specific positions of deoxy-sugars and purine and pyrimidine bases. Deuterated DNA synthons based on phosphotriester technology or phosphoramidite have been synthesized and utilized for synthesis of defined sequence oligonucleotides. These studies have been directed solely for the purpose of conformational studies of DNA and RNA, determination of active site for enzyme assisted catalytic reactions. However deuterated oligonucleotides have not been investigated for therapeutic application in humans or the role which they can elicit as biological and biochemical agents.
The instant invention describes deuterium labeled phosphoamidites, ribose units having solid support caps, oligonucleotides, a process for synthesizing deuterium labeled nucleosides and oligonucleotides, and a process for synthesizing deuterated nucleosides and oligonucleotides which contain deuterium ranging from 0.1% to 98% per position is envisaged. Once a known percentage of deuterium has been incorporated in the nucleoside, such nucleosides can further be modified in subsequent steps until the synthesis of the phosphoramidites or solid support bound nucleosides for solid phase oligonucleotide synthesis occurs. The deuterium ratio of 0.1 to 98% in further steps will be maintained. Such specific and controlled deuteration has not been proposed or carried out in past to the best of our knowledge. The deuterated ribo-oligonucleotides formed provide RNA sequences with enhanced stability.
Deuterium labeling of an oligonucleotide is not expected to present toxic effects. Selective deuterium modified oligonucleotides either in selected positions of sugar, purine, pyrimidine bases or total deuteration of sugar positions and nucleobases will contribute to the improvement of biological properties of oligonucleotides. Oligonucleosides specifically deuterated in various positions of the sugar portion of the ribose are expected to increase enzymatic stabilities and substantially increase stability of a therapeutic oligonucleotide. Deuterium substitution is not known to affect the enzyme recognition or enzymatic binding. Site specific atom transfer has been utilized for structural information of cleavage of a specifically deuterium labeled dodecamer, see Voss, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1990, 112, 9669-9670. The enzyme recognition of a particular sequence is the first step in biochemical interaction of oligonucleotides for their specific roles, and deuterium labeling does not change the biochemical process of site recognition. Similarly hybridization of a double strand is not affected by deuterium labeling.
It is anticipated that deuterium labeled oligonucleotides will not affect the hydrogen bonding with a complementary strand either by Watson Crick base pairing mechanism, Hoogsten or other hybridization mechanisms applicable to DNA/DNA hybridization, DNA/RNA hybridization, RNA/RNA hybridization. RNAse H cleavage between deuterated DNA with complementary RNA, which is involved in anti-sense based oligo-therapeutic approach, is not expected to be affected by the presence of deuterium covalently attached to the sugar backbone or nucleobases. Thus deuterium labeled oligonucleotides should play a role in the anti-sense mode of therapeutic action. Additionally, it should be possible to develop deuterated siRNAs for therapeutic application. Based on the various schemes presented for synthesis of ribonucleosides and oligonucleotides with one or more deuterium in a nucleoside of an oligo nucleotide chain, it is anticipated that designing aptamers with selective or fully deuterated RNA sequences can be accomplished. The chemical method of synthesis and deuterium labeling in nucleosides will be done in sugar and nucleobases at positions which are stable and non-exchangeable in general, such as at the carbon hydrogen bonds (C-H). However within the cell there is expected to be slow exchange of deuterium with hydrogen with slight basic pH. Due to slow release of deuterium by exchange mechanism in vivo (C-D→C-H), such deuterium labeled oligonucleotides will offer the advantage of nutritionally beneficial effects. Deuterium labeled oligonucleotides, therefore, may have enormous potential to replace therapeutic oligonucleotides which have natural hydrogen atoms in various non-ionizable positions of nucleosides and in oligonucleotides. In order to determine the effect of specific levels of deuteration in nucleosides of an oligonucleotide, a very low level deuteration such as 0.1% all the way up to 98% deuteration of a specific covalent carbon hydrogen bond will be carried out and such oligonucleotides will be studied for its biochemical and biological effects and roles. Such systematic biological study will provide better guidance to development of drugs and therapeutics. Such studies have not been proposed or carried out to the best of our knowledge.
As used herein, the term “oligonucleotides” refers to a plurality of nucleotides joined together in a specific sequence defined by the natural or modified heterocyclic base moieties. Representative heterocyclic base moieties include, but are not limited to, nucleobases such as adenine, guanine, cytosine, uracil, as well as other non-naturally-occurring and natural nucleobases such as xanthine, hypoxanthine, 2-aminoadenine, 2,6-diamino purine, 6-methyl and other alkyl derivatives of adenine and guanine, 2-propyl and other alkyl derivatives of adenine and guanine, 5-halo uracil and cytosine, 6-azo uracil, cytosine and thymine, 5-uracil (pseudo uracil), 4-thiouracil, 8-halo, oxa, amino, thiol, thioalkyl, hydroxyl and other 8-substituted adenines and guanines, 5-trifluoromethyl and other 5-substituted uracils and cytosines, 7-methylguanine, 7-deazaadenine, 7-deazaguanine. Modified nucleobases as described herein define synthetic nucleobases or nucleobases that have been changed from their naturally occurring state, such as deuteratedadenine, deuteratedcytosine, deuteratedguanine, and deuterateduracil.
Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the present invention to teach deuterated nucleosides, phosphoramidites and oligonucleotides, a process of synthesizing fully deuterated phosphoramidites and oligonucleotides, and a process of synthesizing deuterated phosphoramidites and oligonucleotides containing 0.1%-98% deuterium at various positions.
It is a further objective of the present invention to teach a process of making derivatized ribo nucleoside and phosphoramidites with deuterium labeled covalently at various positions of nucleosides and products made thereof.
It is a further objective of the present invention to teach ribonucleosides and phosphoramidites with deuterium labeled covalently at various positions of nucleosides.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to teach the process of making deuterium labeled oligoribonucleotides with natural phosphodiester backbone, and products made thereof.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to teach deuterium labeled oligoribonucleotides with natural phosphodiester backbone.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to teach the process of making deuterium labeled oligoribonucleotides with phosphothioate backbone, and products made thereof
It is a still further objective of the present invention to teach deuterium labeled oligoribonucleotides with variant backbones.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to teach deuterium labeled oligoribonucleotides with phosphothioate backbone.
It is another objective to the present invention to teach oligonucleotides that have stability enhancing deuterated backbones.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to teach deuterated oligonucleotides useful for therapeutic treatments.
It is another objective to the present invention to teach deuterated RNA antisense oligonucleotides useful for therapeutic treatments.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1A is a chemical structure of a modified nucleobase, illustrated as deuteratedadenine.
FIG. 1B is a chemical structure of a modified nucleobase, illustrated as deuteratedguanine.
FIG. 1C is a chemical structure of a modified nucleobase, illustrated as deuteratedcytosine.
FIG. 1D is a chemical structure of a modified nucleobase, illustrated as deuterateduracil;
FIG. 2 illustrates Scheme 1, synthesis of 1-O-Acetate-α/β2,3,5-O-tribenzoyl-1-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside;
FIG. 3 illustrates Scheme 2, 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium 3′-Cyanoethyl n,n-diisopropyl phosphoramidite-β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine;
FIG. 4 illustrates Scheme 3, synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl Icaa-CPG-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) Uridine;
FIG. 5 illustrates Scheme 4, synthesis of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine;
FIG. 6 illustrates Scheme 5, synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl Icaa-CPG-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine;
FIG. 7 illustrates Scheme 6, synthesis of an alternative embodiment of a modified phosphoramidite in accordance with the instant invention, illustrated as 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium-β-D ribofuranosyl-N 6 benzoyl adenosine;
FIG. 8 illustrates Structure C1, a representative illustration of a particular embodiment of a deuterated oligonucleotide in accordance with the instant invention;
FIG. 9A illustrates Structure D1, an alternative embodiment of the deuterated oligonucleotide having a phosphodiester internucleotide linkage;
FIG. 9B illustrates Structure D2, an alternative embodiment of the deuterated oligonucleotide having a phosphate backbone variant, illustrated as phosphorothioate internucleotide linkage;
FIG. 10 is a summary chart of an HPLC analysis of the deuterated nucleosides and phosphoramidites, using a Shimazdu, Model, HPLC Column: Chromsep SS(4.6×250 mm) with Chrosep Guard column Omnisphere 5 C18;
FIG. 11A is 1H-NMR spectrum of 1-O-Acetate-α/β2,3,5 tribenzoyl ribofuranoside;
FIG. 11B is a positive ion mss spectrum of 1-O-Acetate-α/β2,3,5 tribenzoyl ribofuranoside; Lot#: SK38-38, Calculated mass: 504.14; Observed Mass: 522.40;
FIG. 12A is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 1-O-Acetate-α/β2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (structure VI), with the H-4 proton shown at approx. 50% intensity, thereby indicating approx. 50% deuterium incorporation at this position;
FIG. 12B is a positive ion mass spectrum of 1-O-Acetate-α/β2,3,5-tribenzoyl-1-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (VI); Calculated mass: 509.17; Observed Mass: 526.80 (M+ Sodium);
FIG. 13A is a HPLC chromatogram of 2′,3′,5′-tri-hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure IX);
FIG. 13B is a HPLC report of 2′,3′,5′-tri-hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure IX);
FIG. 13C is a mass spectrum of 2′,3′,5′-tri-hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure IX); Calculated mass: 249.10; Observed Mass: 247.30;
FIG. 14A is a HPLC report of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl -2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Urdine (Structure X);
FIG. 14B is 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (Structure X);
FIG. 14C is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl -2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (Structure X);
FIG. 14D is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-O-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (compound structure XXIII);
FIG. 15A is a HPLC chromatogram of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure XI);
FIG. 15B is a HPLC chromatogram of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine; (structure XI);
FIG. 15C is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine; (structure XI);
FIG. 15D is a mass spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure XI); Calculated mass: 665.32; Observed Mass: 664.00;
FIG. 16A is a HPLC chromatogram of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-N,N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure XIII);
FIG. 16B is HPLC report of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-N,N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium 62 -D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure XIII); Purity: 96.72%;
FIG. 16C is a UV analysis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-N,N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure XIII);
FIG. 16D is a UV analysis report of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-N,N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure XIII);
FIG. 16E is a mass spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-N,N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure XIII); Calculated mass: 865.43; Observed Mass: 866.50; (Mass+Sodium Ion (888.4);
FIG. 16F is a 31 P NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure XIII); Lot#: SK188-38. sharp doublet at 150.560 & 150.069 ppm; purity: 100%; Δ=0.491;
FIG. 17A is a HPLC chromatogram of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (structure XIV);
FIG. 17B is a HPLC report of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (structure XIV);
FIG. 17C is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (structure XIV);
FIG. 17D is a mass spectrum of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (structure XIV); Calculated mass: 768.36; Observed Mass: 769.30;
FIG. 17E is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-O-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure XIV);
FIG. 17F is a positive mode-mass spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-O-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure XIV); Calculated mass: 764.83; Observed Mass: 788.10 (+Sodium Ion);
FIG. 18A is a HPLC report of 2′,3′,5′-tri Hydroxy-2′,3′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XVIII);
FIG. 18B is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 2′,3′,5′-tri Hydroxy-2′,3′,5′, 5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XVIII);
FIG. 18C is a mass spectrum of 2′,3′,5′-tri Hydroxy-2′,3′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XVIII); Calculated mass: 352.14; Observed Mass: 352.50;
FIG. 18D is a mass spectrum of 2′,3′,5′-tri Hydroxy-2′,3′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XVIII); Calculated mass: 352.14; Observed Mass: 352.50;
FIG. 19A is a positive mode-mass spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-O-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine (structure XIV); Calculated mass: 764.83; Observed Mass: 788.10 (+Sodium Ion);
FIG. 19B is a HPLC report of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (compound XIX);
FIG. 19C is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (compound XIX);
FIG. 19D is a 1H-NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (compound XIX);
FIG. 20A is a HPLC chromatogram of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl 3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXII); Purity: 78.88%;
FIG. 20B is a: HPLC report of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-Dribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXII); Purity: 78.88%;
FIG. 20C is a UV analysis of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXII);
FIG. 20D is a UV analysis of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′, 5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXII);
FIG. 20E is a 31 P NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXII); sharp doublet at 150.576 & 149.852 ppm; Purity: 95%; Δ=0.724;
FIG. 20F is a 31 P NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXII); sharp doublet at 150.576 & 149.852 ppm; Purity: 95%; Δ=0.724;
FIG. 21A is a 31 P NMR spectrum of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXII); sharp doublet at 150.576 & 149.852 ppm; Purity: 95%; Δ=0.724;
FIG. 21B is a mass spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-O-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (compound structure XXIII); Calculated mass: 867.95; Observed Mass: 869.20;
FIG. 22A is a HPLC chromatogram of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl-2′3′,4′,5′,5″-penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 6 benzoyl Adenosine (structure XXVIII);
FIG. 22B is a HPLC chromatogram of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl-2′3′,4′,5′,5″-penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 6 benzoyl Adenosine (structure XXVIII);
FIG. 22C mass spectrum of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl-2′3′,4′,5′,5″-penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-N 6 benzoyl Adenosine (structure XXVIII); Lot #09015RDV Calculated mass: 678.28; Observed Mass: 679.2;
FIG. 23A is a capillary electrophoresis analysis of the purified oligonucleotide of SEQ ID No.1, fully deuterated RNA;
FIG. 23B is a capillary electrophoresis report of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.1, fully deuterated RNA;
FIG. 23C is a UV analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.1, fully deuterated RNA;
FIG. 24A is a capillary electrophoresis analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.2, approx. 25% deuterated RNA;
FIG. 24B is a capillary electrophoresis report of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.2, approx. 25% deuterated RNA;
FIG. 24C is a UV analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.2, approx. 25% deuterated RNA;
FIG. 25A is a capillary electrophoresis analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.3 natural RNA;
FIG. 25B is a capillary electrophoresis report of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.3 natural RNA;
FIG. 25C is a UV analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.3 natural RNA;
FIG. 26A is a capillary electrophoresis analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.4 natural RNA;
FIG. 26B is a capillary electrophoresis report of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.4 natural RNA;
FIG. 26C is a UV analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.4 natural RNA;
FIG. 27A is a capillary electrophoresis analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.5 natural RNA;
FIG. 27B is a capillary electrophoresis report of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.5 natural RNA; and
FIG. 27C is a UV analysis of the purified oligonucleotide SEQ ID No.5 natural RNA.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention describes high purity deuterated ribose and sugars, deuterated ribose-based nucleotides, deuterated RNA oligonucleotides, and controlled processes for synthesizing deuterium incorporated oligonucleotides for use in therapeutics. The controlled process would entail a method of development for various selected deuteration ranging from 0.1% to 98%, and analytical methods to ascertain the reaction conditions. The synthesis process provides deuterated oligonucleotides containing deuterium ranging from 0.1% per position to 98% per position. After incorporation of deuterium in varying percentages within nucleoside, further chemical synthesis will be performed to produce phosphoramidites which will maintain the percent deuterium at each step till the step of phosphoramidite. Subsequently such fixed ratio D/H oligonucleotide synthons will be used to produce oligonucleotide. Once the percent incorporation of deuterium has been determined by various analytical methods such as proton NMR and mass spectroscopy, the ratio of deuterium/hydrogen will not be affected if proper choice of reaction conditions is maintained. The instant invention further describes the selected examples controlled synthesis of deuterium labeled nucleoside-3′-succinate nucleosides with partial or full saturation of deuterium label which varies from 0.1%-98% deuterium at specific positions of the sugar and purine/pyrimidine bases for use in solid phase oligonucleotide synthesis. Therefore, the instant oligonucleotide synthesis process is carried out similar to conventional oligonucleotide synthesis, i.e. from the 3′-end to 5′-end direction. The deuterated ribose and sugars, deuterated ribose-based nucleotides, deuterated RNA oligonucleotides of the present invention may therefore be used for therapeutic benefits. Oligonucleotide therapy, i.e., the use of oligonucleotides to modulate the expression of specific genes, offers an opportunity to selectively modify the expression of genes without the undesirable non-specific toxic effects of more traditional therapeutics. In an illustrative example, the deuterated ribose and sugars, deuterated ribose-based nucleotides, deuterated RNA oligonucleotides of the present invention may be used in antisense therapies. The present invention therefore may be used to provide a modified antisense RNA with enhanced protection to provide a more stable, not easily digested, antisense RNA. The oligonucleotides of the present invention can therefore be used in clinical practice for any disease and against any target RNA for which antisense therapy is now known to be suitable or which is yet to be identified. The deuterated oligonucleotides of the present invention may be used for other nucleic based molecule therapies including silencing gene expression at the mRNA level with nucleic acid-based molecules, such as RNA interference.
Several illustrative steps for synthesizing deuterium nucleoside, sugar and base protection, phosphoramidites and the corresponding oligonucleotide contemplated are described below. Synthesis of sugar deuterium protected nucleosides involves selective deuteration of non-exchangeable protons, such as H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4 and H-5, 5′ of B-D-ribose. The H-1′ and H-4′ protons are slightly acidic in nature when they become part of nucleoside and have the tendency to get exchanged to a certain extent with hydrogen. As a result, these two protons do not give greater than 90% D/H ratio. While the protons H-2′, H-3′, H-5′, 5″ have higher pK, and hence can be deuterated to greater than 95% of D/H ratio, they do not readily exchange back to hydrogen in protic medium during reaction or when in contact with slightly basic pH conditions
The present invention discloses a modified phosphoramidite having the structure of Structure A:
wherein X or X1 represents deuterium or hydrogen, R1 represents a blocking group, R2 independently represents a blocking group, R3 is a phosphate protecting group, preferably cyanoethyl dialkylamino, and R4 is a independently a protecting group, preferably 3′B-cyanoethyl protecting group, and B represents a nucleobase. Although 1′ position of the ribose sugar is also deuterated, however the extent of deuterium can be variable at this position and can be exchanged for H after being deuterated. Therefore, the 1′ position is illustrated as D/H in the Figures. From our data the deuterium incorporation at this position is approx. 50:50: deuterium: hydrogen. Therefore in our further discussions if deuterium incorporation is reduced to a lower deuterium in our formulations, the deuterium enrichment at 1′ position will become almost 50% of the rest of the position as compared to deuteration in other positions of ribose ring. The deuterium at the 4′ position could be variable as well.
The blocking, or protecting group, generally renders a chemical functionality of a molecule inert to specific reaction conditions and can later be removed from such functionality in a molecule without substantially damaging the remainder of the molecule. As part of the oligonucleotide process, functional groups on the nucleobases and the 2′ sugar group can are blocked. Hydroxyl protecting groups according to the present invention include a wide variety of groups. Preferably, the protecting group is stable under basic conditions but can be removed under acidic conditions. Preferably, R1 (5′ hydroxyl group) is dimethoxytrityl (DMT). Other representative hydroxyl protecting groups include, but are not limited to trityl, monomethoxytrityl, trimethoxytrityl, 9-phenylxanthen-9-yl (Pixyl) and 9-(p-methoxyphenyl)xanthen-9-yl (Mox). Preferably, R2 (2′hydroxy group) is protected with t-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS). Other groups, such as with t-butyldimethylsilyloxymethyl (TOM) group may be used as well. The phosphate protecting group functions to protect the phosphorus containing internucleotide linkage or linkages during, for example, solid phase oligonucleotide synthetic regimes. Treatment of the internucleotide linkage or linkages that have a phosphorus protecting group thereon with a deprotecting agent, such as aqueous ammonium hydroxide, will result in the removal of the phosphorus protecting group and leave a hydroxyl or thiol group in its place. In addition to those listed above, other protecting groups such as, but not limited to diphenylsilylethyl, delta.-cyanobutenyl, cyano p-xylyl (CPX), methyl-N-trifluoroacetyl ethyl (META) and acetoxy phenoxy ethyl (APOE) group can be used as well.
The nucleobase B may be natural bases, such as adenine, guanine, cytosine, or uracil. B may also be modified bases, such as deuteratedadenine, see FIG. 1A , deuteratedguanine, see FIG. 1 B, deuteratedcytosine, see FIG. 1C , deuterateduracil, see FIG. 1D , or other modified bases known to one of skill in the art, including or analogs of natural bases, synthetic bases, and modified bases such as, but not limited, to hypoxanthine (inosine), 5-methylcytosine, 5-azacytosine, 5-halogenated uracil and cytosine, and 5-alky-substituted nucleobases such as C-5 propyne uracil and C-5 propyne cytosine, which have also been deuterated. B may also contain a blocking group, such as benzoyl protecting group, or isobutyryl protecting group, acetyl protecting group, phenoxyacetyl protecting group, 4-isopropylphenoxyacetyl protecting group, or dimethylformamidino, dimethylacetaminidine protecting group.
FIG. 2 describes the synthesis of an illustrative example of a starting material in the process of synthesizing deuterated RNA-nucleosides, n-protected phosphoramidites, and oligonucleotides. The synthesis of the 1-O-Acetate-α/β2,3,5-O-tribenzoyl-1-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside, structure VI was carried out according to the Scheme, starting with α/β-D ribofuranoside (-D-Ribose; structure I). Deuterium was introduced by slight modification of the procedure described by A. Foldesi, F. R. Nilson, C. Glemarec, C. Gioeli & J. Chattopadhyaya, Tetrahedron, 9033, 1992. Procedure for synthesis of deuterated Raney Nickel was also adopted from the same authors in the reference cited here with slight modification to improve the efficiency of deuterium incorporation. The steps involved synthesis of 1-O-methyl-α/β-D ribofuranoside (II) from D-Ribose (I). 1-O-methyl α/β 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (III) was synthesized from compound II with deuterated Raney Nickel. 1-O-methyl-α/β 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (IV) was synthesized from compound having structure III by carrying out benzoylation under mild conditions. 1-Bromo-α/β D 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (V) was synthesized from compound IV first by selective removal of 1-O-methyl group to generate 1-hydroxyl sugar which was subsequently replaced by bromine without isolation of the intermediate 1-hydroxyl sugar. The compound V was proceeded directly without purification for the synthesis of 1-O-Acetate-α/β 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (VI). Compound VI was crystallized and fully characterized by 1 H NMR, see FIG. 12A . The percent deuterium incorporated at each sugar position was confirmed from this analysis and the sugar was further characterized by Mass spectral analysis, see FIG. 12B .
Synthesis of 1-O-Acetate-α/β 2,3,5-O-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside, Scheme 1:
Preparation of Deuterium Raney-Nickel Catalyst: Deionized water, 192 mL was placed in a 500 ml Erlenmeyer flask equipped with a thermometer and Teflon coated magnetic stirrer. The Erlenmeyer flask was placed inside a plastic beaker which was half filled with water and located on top of a hot plate/magnetic stirrer. Sodium hydroxide pellets (51.2 g was slowly added into the water within the flask while gently stirring. The gentle stirring maintained the water temperature to about 50° Celsius (C). The mixture was stirred until al all the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pellets had dissolved. Prior to adding additional chemicals, the temperature inside flask was maintained at approximately 50° C. Subsequently raney nickel alloy, (Sigma Aldrich) 40g was gradually added in small portions within 30 minute time frame. The temperature of water outside, i.e. within the beaker, was maintained at approximately 50° C.+/−4° C. After addition of the Raney Nickel Alloy, the composition was stirred for approximately 60 minutes while maintaining the inside temperature. Subsequently, the reaction flask was cooled down slowly to room temperature, taking approximately 1 hour. Deionized water was added to the flask 1 liter at a time and carefully decanted out. This process was repeated two additional times for a total of 3 times. During each of the water additions and decanting, all solid materials was left within the flask. After completion of the 3 water and decanting steps, the solid was transferred to a 500 ml filtration flask. A tube was connected to the filtration flask to remove any over flown water created while deionized water was added to the top of the filtration flask. The contents of the filtration flask was continuously washed and stirred until all turbidity was gone. Once the turbidity was gone, additional washing with deionized water was continued using approximately 20 liters of deionized water. Washing was terminated upon the water having a pH 6.5-7.0 and the supernatant was clear.
Deuterated Raney Nickel catalyst was subsequently prepared. The catalyst particles after washing were transferred into a septum capped bottle. Teflon coated magnetic stirrer was placed in the bottle and a rubber stopper was placed on top of the septum bottle. The bottle was purged with Argon. The suspension was stirred for 1 minute, after which the particles were allowed to settle. Water was carefully removed using Pasteur-pipette. This process was carried out 4 times, each time requiring addition of by adding 1.5 ml deionized water, stirring, and careful removal of the water. Subsequently deuterium oxide (D2O, 1.5 ml; Cambridge Isotope Labs., Massachusetts, purity greater than 98%) was added. The mixture was stirred for 30 minutes. After the solid settled to the bottom, the liquid was carefully removed by pipette. The process was repeated two additional times, adding additional deuterium oxide (D 2 O, 1.5 ml) and stirring for 30 minutes. Each time the septum capped bottle was opened and reagents added, the bottle was flushed with Argon and quickly sealed with septum. After three times, 3 ml of D 2 O was added. Then mixture was stirred for 1 hour, followed by removal of the supernatant. This process was repeated 12 additional times, each time purging the bottle withArgon. The mixture was treated with D 2 O (10 ml) and kept sealed overnight after purging with Argon. The supernatant was carefully removed, followed by addition of fresh D 2 O (10 ml) in the same manner. The supernatant was decanted out.
Synthesis of 1-O-methyl α/β 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (structure III): To 8 grams of 1-O-methyl-α/β-D ribofuranoside 10 ml of D2O (10 ml) was added. The solution was evaporated on a rotavapor. This process was repeated two additional time using 10 ml D2O each time. The residue was dissolved in 160 ml of D2O. Deuterated Raney Nickel (40 ml) was transferred into the solution. Argon was bubbled into the reaction mixture for 10 minutes. The reaction mixture was then maintained on an oil bath at 110° C. for 7 days under Argon atmosphere. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and filtered through a bed of celite and washed with a small volume of deionized water. The filtrate was evaporated on a rotavapor. The residue was co-evaporated with pyridine three times, and dried an additional 6 hours using a direct vacuum line. The process yielded 6.8 g of oily product.
Synthesis of 1-O-methyl-α/β 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (structure IV): Dried 1-O-methyl-α/β 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (III, 6.8 g was) was placed in a round bottom three neck flask and set up with a pressure equalizing funnel and a magnetic stirrer. Dry distilled dichloromethane (34.1 ml) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred. Dry pyridine (68.2 ml) was then added. The solution was stirred at zero degrees Celsius. Subsequently, benzoyl chloride (21.2 ml) was added drop wise through pressure equalizing funnel in the sealed reaction flask. After addition of the benzoyl chloride, the pressure equalizing funnel was removed and replaced with a stopper. The mixture was kept in a sealed polyethylene bag at 0-4° C. in a refrigerator for 48 hours. The reaction was poured on ice and water mixture and the reaction mixture kept for 1 hour. The gummy material was extracted with chloroform, washed with chilled (0-5° C.) saturated sodium bicarbonate solution, followed by a brine solution. The organic layer passed through anhydrous sodium sulfate, and the solution was evaporated on a rotavapor. The residue was subsequently co-evaporated with pyridine, followed by addition with dry toluene. Further drying, 1 undertaken on direct vacuum line, was performed for 6 hours. An oily product was obtained and used to synthesize 1-Bromo-α/β D-2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside.
Synthesis of 1-Bromo-α/β D 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (Structure V): Toluene dried 1-O-methyl-α/β 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (IV) was dissolved in a solution of 33% hydrogen bromide (HBr) made in glacial acetic acid and sealed tightly. The solution was stirred at room temperature. After 30 minutes, the reaction mixture was cooled to 8-10° C. Subsequently, the glacial acetic acid (200 ml) was added to the reaction mixture. Deionized water (130 ml) was then added in a drop wise manner. The reaction mixture was stirred for 23 minutes. The reaction mixture was poured on 5-10° C. cooled deionized water. The gummy mass was extracted with chloroform. Chilled (0-5° C.) aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution was added to the organic layer until the pH of the organic layer was basic (pH>8). The organic layer was separated and washed with chilled aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution once again, followed by passing the organic layer over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The filtered solution was evaporated on a rotary evaporator. The gummy solid was co-evaporated with dry pyridine two times. An oily product was obtained and used in next step.
Synthesis of 1-O-Acetate-α/β 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (Structure VI): The dried product, 1-Bromo-α/β 2,3,5-tribenzoyl-2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside (Structure V) obtained in the proceeding step was taken in dry pyridine (40 ml) and dry distilled in chloroform (40 ml). To the reaction mixture, acetic anhydride (13.9 ml) was added. The solution was mixed gently, sealed and stored at room temperature for 72 hours. The solution was then diluted with chloroform. The total organic layer was placed in a separatory funnel and washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution once, followed by washing with saturated brine solution. The organic layer was passed over anhydrous sodium sulfate, followed by evaporation on a rotary evaporator. The residue was co-evaporated with toluene three times. The gummy mass was dried using a direct vacuum line for 2 hours. Anhydrous ethanol was added to the gummy mass. The solution was kept at 4° C. for 2 hours. The solid obtained was filtered and washed with cold ethanol. The solid was transferred in a round bottom flask and dried on high vacuum direct line at 37° C. for 12 hours. The processes resulted in a yield of 4.5 grams of an off white product. The product was analyzed by 1 H NMR and Mass spectral analysis.
Referring to FIGS. 3, 5 and 7 , the synthesis of modified phosphoramidites are illustrated and carried out according to Schemes 4,6 and 8 respectively and the individual steps outlined in below. FIGS. 3, 5 and 7 show illustrative examples of phosphoramidites having nucleobases uracil, cytosine, and adenine. Phosphoramidites having other nucleobases such as guanine or modified nucleobases can be synthesized using the same or similar steps. Accordingly, the following examples are illustrative only and not meant to be limiting.
Synthesis of 2′,3′,5′-tri-hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosy Uridine (structure IX): A mixture of Uracil (compound VII; 0.5 gm; 4.46 mmole), hexamethyl disilazane (15 ml) and ammonium sulphate (20 mg 0.15 mmol) was boiled under reflux until the Uracil was dissolved, approxiamtley 15 hours. Subsequently, hexamethyldisilazane was evaporated under vacuum & toluene is added. The mixture was shaken and solvents were evaporated out to obtain a residual solid consisting of trimethyl silylated uracil. The solid residue was used without purification for coupling. Freshly distilled 1,2 dichloro ethane (freshly distilled over CaH 2 ), (16 ml) was to the residue. The mixture was stirred at 40° C., followed by addition of stannic chloride (1.13 ml; 1.46 mmole) at the 40° C. temperature. The reaction was continued for 15 minutes at 40° C. Deuterated 1-acetate α/β-D ribofuranoside (structure VI; 1.81 gm; 3.56 mmol) solution in 1,2 dichloro ethane (freshly distilled over CaH 2 ) was placed in a pressure equalizing funnel and mounted on top of the reaction flask above. The solution was added drop wise and the reaction was boiled under reflux for 2.5 hr. The reaction mixture was cooled and stirred in a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution for 1.5 hr. The reaction mixture was filtered through a bed of celite powder. The organic layer was separated and passed through anhydrous sodium sulphate. The reaction mixture was evaporated under vacuum. And checked TLC in chloroform: methanol (8:2). A gummy mass obtained was chromatographed on a column (1.5″×14 cm) of silica (70:230 mesh) (100 gm) with EtOAc: Hexane (6:4) as an eluant. Fractions were monitored by TLC. The R f value was 0.46 in chloroform:methanol (8:2). Pure fractions monitored by UV visualization, combined, concentrated on rotary evaporator and the compound having the structure VIII was obtained as a foam (yield; 1.7 gm).
A mixture of structure VIII (1.7 gm) in pyridine (20 ml) and aqueous ammonia solution (37% w/v, 20 ml) was kept in a tightly sealed flask at 37° C. for 48 hours. The mixture was then evaporated in vacuum and co-evaporated with isopropyl alcohol to dryness. A solution of residue in dichloromethane was applied to a column (2×15 cm) packed with Silica Gel (70:230) (100 gm) in chloroform, followed by chloroform:methanol:85:15 (V:V). The pure fraction as visualized by UV, and was evaporated to yield a compound powder of structure IX, 2′,3′,5′-tri-hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine, (yield; 700 mg; 93.3%), See FIGS. 13A-13C . Rf; 0.4 system; chloroform: methanol(85:15).UV; maxima at 260 (0.494), Emax; 7826.22.
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure X) 2′,3′,5′-tri-hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure IX; 0.7 gm; 0.175 mmol) was dried with dry pyridine two times followed by addition of dry pyridine (10 ml). The solution was stirred and cooled to 0° C. with a drying tube attached. To the solution was added 4, 4, dimethoxy trityl chloride (DMT-Cl; 1.16 gm; 3.42 m·mole) in two portions at one hour intervals. The progress of the reaction was monitored by TLC in Chloroform (85:15). After completion of reaction (approx. 4 hours), the reaction mixture was quenched with cooled methanol (5 ml), followed by removal of solvent on a rotary evaporator. The residual gum was taken in chloroform and washed with saturated bicarbonate solution once, followed by washing with brine solution once. The crude product obtained after removal of the solvent was chromatograph on a column of silica Gel (70:230 mesh size) (150 gm) with chloroform: methanol (95:5) as an eluant. Fractions were monitored by TLC and visualized by UV. Rf 0.4 in chloroform: methanol (95:05). Pure fractions were combined and evaporated to give an almost colorless foam, yield; of 1.3 gm; 86.6%, UVmax at 250 nm; Emax of 11,671. The product was analyzed by one or more of the following HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, mass spectral data and/or 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 14A-14D .
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine XI and 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-3′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine XII: Compound 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (structure IX; 1.3 gm; 2.36 mmole) was dried by co-evaporation with anhydrous acetonitrile and under vacuum for several hours. The dried product was added to anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (THF, 13 ml). To the solution was added silver nitrate (AgNo3 0.5 gm, 2.94 mmole) under anhydrous condition with a drying tube on top of the reaction flask. To the mixture was added dry pyridine (0.69 ml; 8.54 mmole). The reaction mixture was stirred for 10 minute at room temperature. Subsequently, tert butyl dimethyl silyl chloride (TBDMS-Chloride, 0.53 gm, 3.52 mmole) was added under anhydrous conditions. The reaction mixture was sealed and stirred at room temperature for at 2.5 hours. The progress of the reaction was monitored by TLC and visualized under UV. The TLC solvent system was chloroform: Hexane: Acetone (65:25:10). The crude product showed formation of both the 2′ isomer (Structure XI) and 3′ isomer. The comparative analysis on TLC with unmodified 2′ and 3′-isomers was carried out and the spots co-migrated.
After the usual work up, the crude product was chromatographed on a column of silica gel (230:400 mesh) with a solvent system consisting of chloroform: Hexane:Acetone: 65:25:10. The fractions were monitored by TLC and visualized by UV. The R f value was 0.38 in the same solvent system. Combined pure fractions were evaporated to give a foam having a yield of 800 mg, of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl-Uridine 50.9% UV A max at 250 nm (0.350); Emax of 1634. The 3′-isomer 1-(5-O-dimethoxytrityl-3-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2,3,4,5,5′ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) Uracil XII was not isolated. The product was analyzed by one or more of the following HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, mass spectral data and/or 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 15A-15D .
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (compound structure XIII): From the synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine, Structure XI and 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-3′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine Structure XII, the 2′-TBDMSilyl isomer (structure XI; 430 mg) was thoroughly dried with anhydrous acetonitrile and placed in a round bottom flask. Anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (4.3 ml) was added and the solution purged with Argon and replaced with a stopper. To the solution, under stirring, was added 2,4,6-collidine (430 microliter; 5 equivalents), followed by addition of 1-methyl imidazole (51 microliters; 1.0 equivalents). The solution was stirred at room temperature and N,N-diisopropylamino cyanoethyl phosphonamidic chloride (phosphorylating reagent, ChemGenes Catalog No. RN-1505; 290 microliters; 2 equivalents) was quickly added. After 70 minutes, the reaction was complete, and it was worked up by dilution with chloroform. The organic layer was placed in a separatory funnel and washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, followed by further washing of the organic layer with brine solution. The organic layer was passed over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solution was concentrated on a rotary evaporator. The TLC was checked in the system ethyl acetate: hexane: triethylamine (30:60:10). The crude product was purified on a column of silica gel (230-400 mesh) column diameter (30 cm×1.5 cm). The pure fractions were monitored by TLC and combined and then concentrated. A colorless, foamy product was obtained having a dry weight of 300 mg. The product was analyzed by HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, mass spectral data and 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 16A-16F .
Solid supports attached with deuterium labeled nucleosides are required for the synthesis of oligonucleotides. Solid support bound with deuterium labeled nucleosides after oligonucleotide synthesis result in deuterium labeled nucleoside at the 3′-end of the oligonucleotide. In this process the oligonucleotide synthesis is carried out from 3′-end to 5′-end direction (conventional oligonucleotide synthesis). The instant invention discloses methods for synthesizing deuterium labeled nucleoside-3′-succinate nucleosides with controlled deuterium label which can vary from 0.1%-98% deuterium at specific positions of the sugar and purine/pyrimidine bases. The instant invention discloses a process which incorporates deuterium containing phosphoramidites and solid supports, which have varying percent of enrichment of deuterium with a ratio of deuterium and hydrogen ranging from 20:98.
Structure B illustrates a deuterated solid support structure having the chemical structure of
wherein X represents deuterium or hydrogen, R1 represents a blocking group, R2 independently represents a blocking group, R3 represents a linking molecule, and R4 represents a solid support and B represents a nucleobase. As described previously, B may be a natural base, a modified base, or combinations thereof. Linking molecules are generally known in the art as small molecules which function to connect a solid support to functional groups. The preferred linking molecule is succyl-Icaa, but other linking molecules known to one of skill in the art may be used. The solid support is generally used to attach to a first nucleoside. In a preferred embodiment, the solid support is controlled pore glass (CPG). However, other supports, such as, but not limited to, oxalyl-controlled pore glass, macroporous polystyrene (MPPS), aminopolyethyleneglycol, may be used as well.
FIG. 4 illustrates Scheme 3, synthesis of a deuterated ribonucleoside coupled to a solid support structure, illustrated herein as 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-succinyl Icaa-CPG-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine.
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-O-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (compound structure XIV): The compound, 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (XI; 350 mg) was placed in dry pyridine 3.5 ml and stirred. To the stirred solution was added succinic anhydride (158 mg; 1,58 mmol), followed by addition of 4-dimethyl amino pyridine (20 mg; 0.163 mmol). The reaction mixture was sealed and kept in a water bath and maintained at 37° C. for 14 hours. The reaction mixture was checked by TLC and found to be complete. Subsequently, the reaction mixture was quenched with cold methanol (200 microliters), followed by solvent removal on a rotary evaporator. The crude reaction mixture was placed in chloroform and the organic layer was washed with saturated brine solution. The organic layer was filtered through anhydrous sodium sulfate and the chloroform solution was removed under vacuum. The crude compound was purified by a short column chromatography using chloroform:methanol(95:5) solvent system. The pure fractions were combined and evaporated. The foamy product was dried on high vacuum for 6 hours. The Rf value of the product in this system was 0.3. The process yielded 120 mg. The product was analyzed by one or more of the following HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, mass spectral data and/or 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 17E and 17F .
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl Icaa-CPG-2,′3,′4,′5,′5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (compound structure XV): The preceding step nucleoside, 3′-succinate-pyridinium salt, 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl Uridine (compound structure XIV; 85 mg) was placed in a round bottom flask and thoroughly dried with anhydrous acetonitrile, followed by drying under high vacuum using a direct line for 6 hours. To the solid was added anhydrous acetonitrile (6 ml), followed by addition of O-(Benzotriazole-1-Y-L)-N,N,N,N-tetramethyl-uronium-hexafluoro-phosphate, HBTU; (47 mg; 1.1 equivalents). Diisopropyl ethylamine (39 microliters; 2 equivalents) was then added. To the solution was added an amino linker Icaa CPG (long chain alkyl amine controlled Pore Glass; 500 a particle size; a product of Prime Synthesis Inc., Pennsylvania; 1.5 g). The mixture was sealed thoroughly and kept at 37° C. for 12 hours. The CPG was filtered, washed with acetonitrile, followed by diethyl ether. The CPG was air dried overnight.
The residual amino group was blocked. The dried CPG was placed in an Erlenmeyer flask, and CAP A solution (a ChemGenes product, catalog no. RN-1458 consists of acetic anhydride: pyridine: tetrahydrofuron(10:10:80) 10 ml) was added. The suspension was kept at room temperature well sealed for 2 hours. The CPG was filtered, washed with isopropanol, followed by washing with diethyl ether. The completion of complete blocking of the residual amino function was checked by ninhydrin test. A negative ninhydrin test indicates complete capping of residual amino functional group. Trityl determination of the loaded CPG was carried out. The trityl value was 44 μmol/g.
Referring to FIG. 5 , Scheme 4 illustrates an example of synthesis of an alternative embodiment of a phosphoramidite in accordance with the instant invention and having with the nucleobase cytosine having the structure XXII. The details of the individual steps involved in the synthesis are outlined below.
Synthesis of 2′,3′,5′-tri O-benzoyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine: structure XVII): A mixture of N 4 bz-cytosine; (compound structure XVI; 750 mg; 3.47 mmol), hexamethyl disilazane (HMDS; 19 ml) and ammonium sulphate (32 mg; 0.24 mmol) was boiled under reflux until the N 4 bz-cytosine dissolved, approximately 15 hours. Hexamethyldisilazane was then evaporated under vacuum and toluene added. The mixture was shaken and the solvents evaporated out to obtain a residual solid consisting of trimethyl silylated N 4 bz-cytosine. The solid residue was used with out purification for coupling. Freshly distilled 1,2 dichloro ethane (freshly distilled over CaH 2 ), 16 ml was added to the residue. The mixture was stirred at 40° C. Stannic chloride (0.86 ml; 3.29 mmole) was then added at the 40° C. temperature. The reaction was continued for 15 minutes at the 40° C. temperature. Deuterated β-D ribose-1-acetate (structure VI (1.42 gm; 2.79 mmole) solution in 1,2 dichloro ethane (4.3 ml; freshly distilled over CaH 2 ) was placed in a pressure equalizing funnel and mounted on top of the reaction flask. The solution was added drop wise and the reaction was boiled under reflux for 2.5 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled and stirred in saturated sodium bicarbonate solution for 1.5 hours. The reaction was filtered through a bed of celite powder. The organic layer was separated and passed through anhydrous sodium sulphate. The reaction mixture was evaporated under vacuum and checked using TLC, in chloroform:methanol: (98:02). The R f value was 0.46. The reaction yielded 2.14 grams.
Synthesis of 2′,3′,5′-tri Hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine(compound having structure XVIII): A mixture of 2′,3′,5′-tri O-benzoyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine, structure XVII, (2.14 g; 3.22 mmol) in pyridine (20.5 ml) as stirred until dissolved. Methanol (5 ml) was then added. The solution was cooled to 0° C. and 2N aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (6.26 ml) for selective hydrolysis of O-benzoyl groups was added. The hydrolysis reaction was carried out for 20 minutes at 0° C. while stirring continued. The reaction mixture was carefully neutralized to a pH 7.5 with 2N aqueous HCl (7 ml). The solution was evaporated after addition of pyridine (10 ml). The residue was co-evaporated with isopropyl alcohol to dryness. The residue was titrated with distilled water to give a colorless solid. The solid was filtered, washed with diethyl ether and dried under high vacuum. A compound having structure XII was obtained as a powder (yield 1.0 g; 88.49%). The Rf value was 0.5 in chloroform:methanol:(85:15); UV max. at 260 (0.903), and Emax of 16,000. The product was analyzed by one or more of the following HPLC, UV, 1H NMR, mass spectral data and/or 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 18A-18D .
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (compound having structure XIX): Compound 2′,3′,4′,5′, 5| penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (structure XVIII 1.0 g; 2.88 mmol) was dried with dry pyridine two times followed by addition of dry pyridine (10 ml). The solution was stirred and cooled to 0° C. with a drying tube attached. 4,4, dimethoxy trityl chloride (DMT-Cl; 1.15 gm; 3.39 mmol) was added to the solution in two portions at one hour intervals. The progress of the reaction was monitored by TLC in Chloroform: 85:15. After completion of reaction (approx. 4 hours), the reaction mixture was quenched with cooled methanol (5 ml), followed by removal of the solvent on a rotary evaporator. The residual gum was placed in chloroform and washed with a saturated bicarbonate solution once, followed by washing with brine solution. The crude product obtained after removal of the solvent was chromatographed on a column of silica Gel (70:230 mesh size) (150 gm) with chloroform:Hexane:Acetone (50:30:20). Fractions were monitored by TEC and visualized by UV. Rf 0.4 in chloroform:methanol: 94:06. Pure fractions were combined and evaporated to give almost a colorless foam, (yield; 1.5 gm; 81.08%), UV lambda max at 260 nm; Emax; 16609.66 (260 nm). The product was analyzed by one or more of the following HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, mass spectral data and/or 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 19A-19D .
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine & 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-3′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (compound having structures XX & XXI): Compound 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 Benzoyl Cytidine (compound XIII; 1.5 gm; 1.95 mmol) was dried by co-evaporation with anhydrous acetonitrile and under vacuum for several hours. The dried product was placed in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (THF; 15 ml). To the solution was added silver nitrate (AgNo3 0.49 gm; 2.94 mmol) under anhydrous condition with a drying tube on top of the reaction flask. Dry pyridine (0.60 ml; 7.26 mmol) was added to the mixture and stirred for 10 minute at room temperature. Subsequently, tert-butyldimethyl silyl chloride (TBDMS-Chloride; 0.52 g; 3.52 mmol) under anhydrous conditions to seal the reaction mixture. The mixture was stirred for 2.5 hours at room temperature. The progress of the reaction was monitored by TLC and visualized under UV. The TLC solvent system used first checked using chloroform: Hexane:Acetone (65:25:10) (R f value was 0.38) and then using ethyl acetate:hexane(50:50) The crude product showed formation of both the 2′ isomer (Structure XX) and 3′ isomer (Structure XXI). The comparative analysis on TLC with unmodified 2′ and 3′-isomers was carried out and the spots co-migrated.
The crude product was chromatographed on a column of silica gel (230:400 mesh) with a solvent system consisting of chloroform:Hexane:Acetone (65:25:10) The fractions were monitored by TLC and visualized by UV. The R f was 0.38 in the same solvent system. Combined pure fractions were evaporated to give a foam with a yield of 800 mg; of 5 ′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine 50.9%. UV A max at 250 nm (0.350); Emax of 1634. The 3′-isomer, 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-3′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) N 4 benzoyl Cytidine(structure XXI) was not isolated.
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (compound having structure XXII): From the preceding step, the 2′-TBDMSilyl isomer (compound XX; 430 mg) was thoroughly dried with anhydrous acetonitrile and placed in a round bottom flask. Anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (2.0 ml) was added and the solution was purged with Argon and replaced with a stopper. To the solution under stirring, 2,4,6-collidine (176 microliter; 5 equivalents) was added, followed by addition of 1-methyl imidazole (21 microliters; 1.0 equivalents). To the stirred solution at room temperature, N,N-diisopropylamino cyanoethyl phosphonamidic chloride (phosphorylating reagent, ChemGenes Catalog No. RN-1505; 119 microliters; 2 equivalents) was added. After 75 minutes, the reaction was found to be complete, and it was worked up by dilution with chloroform. The organic layer was placed in a separatory funnel and washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, followed by further washing of the organic layer with brine solution. The organic layer was passed over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solution was concentrated on a rotary evaporator and checked using TLC with a solvent system of ethyl acetate:hexane:triethylamine: 50:40:10 and ethyl acetate:hexane:triethylamine (30:60:10) and(50:40:10).
The crude product was purified on a column of silica gel (230-400 mesh) having a column diameter 30 cm×1.5 cm. The column was run first in the system using ethyl acetate: hexane:triethylamine(30:60:10) and after removal of upper impurities, the system was changed to ethyl acetate:hexane:triethylamine(50:40:10). The pure fractions were, monitored by TLC, were combined and concentrated. Colorless foamy product was obtained having a dry weight of 125 mg. The product was analyzed by HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, Mass spectral data and 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 20A-20F .
Referring to FIG. 6 , Scheme 5 illustrates an example of synthesis of an alternative embodiment of a deuterated solid support structure, illustrated herein as 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl Icaa-CPG-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine.
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-O-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (compound having structure XXIII): The compound, 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (structure XXIII); (300 mg) was placed in 3.0 ml dry pyridine. Succinic anhydride (120 mg; 1.99 mmol was added to the stirred solution, followed by addition of 4-dimethyl amino pyridine (14 mg; 0.115 mmol). The reaction mixture was sealed and kept in a water bath maintained at 37° C. for 14 hours. The reaction mixture was checked by TLC and determined to be complete. Subsequently, the reaction mixture was quenched with cold methanol (180 microliters), followed by solvent removal on a rotary evaporator. The crude reaction mixture was placed in chloroform and the organic layer was washed with saturated brine solution. The organic layer was filtered through anhydrous sodium sulfate and the chloroform solution was concentrated under vacuum. The crude compound was purified by a short column chromatography using chloroform:methanol (95:5) solvent system. The pure fractions were combined and evaporated. The foamy product was dried on high vacuum for 6 hours. The R f value of the product in this system was 0.35. The process yielded 80 mg. The product was analyzed by one or more of the following HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, mass spectral data and/or 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 21A-21B .
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl Lcaa-CPG-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (compound having structure XXIV): The preceding step nucleoside, 3′-succinate-pyridinium salt, 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl pyridinium salt-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (compound structure XXIII; 40 mg) was placed in a round bottom flask and thoroughly dried with anhydrous acetonitrile, followed by drying under high vacuum using a direct line for 6 hours. Anhydrous acetonitrile (6 ml) was added to the dried material, followed by addition of HBTU; (19.2 mg; 1.1 equivalents), followed by addition of diisopropyl ethylamine (16 microliters; 2 equivalents). To the solution was added an amino linker Lcaa CPG (long chain alkyl amine controlled Pore Glass; 500 A particle size; a product of Prime Synthesis Inc., Pennsylvania; 680mg). The mixture was sealed thoroughly and kept at 37° C. for 12 hours. The CPG was filtered, washed with acetonitrile, and followed by a diethyl ether wash. The CPG was air dried overnight.
The residual amino groups were blocked. The dried CPG was placed in an Erlenmeyer flask, and CAP A solution (a ChemGenes product, catalog no. RN-1458 consists of acetic anhydride:pyridine:tetrahydrofuran(10:10:80) 10 ml was added. The suspension was sealed and kept at room temperature for 2 hours. Subsequently, the CPG was filtered, washed with isopropanol, followed by a diethyl ether wash. The completion of the complete blocking of the residual amino function was checked by ninhydrin test. A negative ninhydrin test indicated complete capping of residual amino functional group. The trityl value indicated a loading of 30 μmol/g.
Referring to FIG. 7 , Scheme 6 shows an example of the synthesis of an alternative embodiment of a phosphoramidite in accordance with the instant invention, having the nucleobase adenine, structure XXVIII. The details of the individual steps involved in the synthesis are outlined below.
Synthesis of 2′,3+,5′ tri-O-benzoyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″-penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 6 Benzoyl Adenosine (compound having structure XXVI): A mixture of N 6 bz-adenine (XXV; 760 mg; 3.18 mmol) was placed in distilled 1,2-dichloroethane and stirred. Bissily acetamidite (BSA; 3.116 ml; 15.29 mmol) was added and boiled under reflux until the N 6 bz-adenine was dissolved (15 hr). Subsequently BSA was evaporated under a vacuum & toluene was added. The mixture was shaken and the solvents were evaporated to obtain a residual solid consisting of silylated N 6 bz-adenine. The solid was used with out purification for coupling. Freshly distilled 1,2 dichloro ethane (50 ml; freshly distilled over CaH 2 ), was added to the residue. The mixture was stirred at 40° C., followed by addition of stannic chloride (0.55 ml; 0.73 mmol) at this temperature. The reaction was continued for 15 minutes at 40° C. Deuterated β-D ribose-1-acetate (structure VI (1.29 g; 2.53 mmol) solution in 1,2 dichloro ethane (4.3 ml; freshly distilled over CaH 2 ) was placed in a pressure equalizing funnel and was mounted on top of the reaction flask above. The solution was added drop wise and the reaction was boiled under reflux for 2.5 hours.
The reaction mixture was cooled. Saturated sodium bicarbonate solution was stirred in for 1.5 hours. The reaction was filtered through a bed of celite powder. The organic layer was separated and passed through anhydrous sodium sulphate. The reaction mixture was evaporated under vacuum and checked using TLC, using chloroform:ethylacetate:triethylamine (47:47:8). The R f value was determined to be 0.53.
The crude product was purified by column chromatography (silica gel; 230-400 mesh), using a solvent system of chloroform:ethylacetate:triethylamine(47:47:6) The pure fraction, monitored by TLC, was combined and concentrated on a rotary evaporator. Pure foamy product was obtained having a yield of 400 mg.
Synthesis of 2′,3+,5′ tri Hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″-penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosy) N6 benzoyl Adenosine (compound having structure XXVII): The preceding tribenzoyl compound, 2′,3′,5′ tri-O-benzoyl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″-penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N6 Benzoyl Adenosine (XXVI; 400 mg) was placed in pyridine (4.8 ml) and methanol (1.2 ml). The mixture was stirred to bring the compound to solution. The solution was then cooled to 0° C. with an ice bucket outside. To the solution, 2N NaOH (1.16 ml) was added, and the basic reaction mixture was hydrolyzed to remove O-benzoyl groups, for a period of 20 minutes. To the reaction mixture was then added 2N HCl (cooled to 0° C.). The addition was done carefully to neutralize the basic solution to pH 7.5 (using 1.0 ml 2 N HCl). To the reaction mixture, pyridine (5 ml) was added and the solution was concentrated. Co-evaporation with pyridine (2×5 ml) followed the concentration step. The residue was purified by crystallization the by addition of water. The solid obtained was filtered and washed with diethyl ether. The solution was checked using TLC, using a solvent system of chloroform:methanol (85:15) The vacuum dried product had an R f value of 0.4 and with a yield of 200 mg.
Synthesis of 5′-O-dimethoxy trityl-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″-pentadeuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N 6 benzoyl Adenosine (compound having structure XXVIII): The compound 2′,3′,5′-tri Hydroxy-2′,3′,4′,5′,5″-penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl N6 benzoyl Adenosine (XXVII; 200 mg) was dried with dry pyridine two times followed by addition of dry pyridine (2M) under anhydrous conditions. The solution was stirred and cooled to 0° C. with a drying tube attached. To the solution was added 4,4, dimethoxy trityl chloride (DMT-Cl; 0.21 g; 0.619 mmol) in one portion. The progress of the reaction was monitored by TLC in Chloroform (95:05). After completion of the reaction (approximately 4 hours), the reaction mixture was quenched with cooled methanol (2 ml). The solvent was then removed on rotary evaporator. The residual gum was placed in chloroform and washed with saturated bicarbonate solution once, followed by a single wash with brine solution. The crude product obtained after removal of the solvent was chromatographed on a column of silica Gel (70:230 mesh size) (150 gm) with chloroform:methanol (95:5) as an eluant. Fractions were monitored by TLC and visualized by UV. The R f value was 0.38 in chloroform:methanol(95:05) Pure fractions were combined and evaporated to give almost colorless foam. The process yielded 80 mg; UVmax at 250 nm; E max of 11,671. The product was analyzed by one or more of the following HPLC, UV, 1 H NMR, mass spectral data and/or 31 P NMR, see FIGS. 22A-22C .
Oligonucleotide Synthesis: Using Schemes 1-6 to synthesize the necessary chemical structures, the instant invention describes an oligonucleotide synthesis process for the production of deuterated ribonucleotides. Referring to FIGS. 8A , an illustrative example of a deuterated ribo-oligonucleotide having structure Cl is shown, wherein n represents the number of nucleoside units (ribose+nucleobase) of the oligonucleotide, thereby defining the oligonucleotide sequence, B represents natural or modified nucleobase, and D is deuterium, wherein W could be oxygen (O − ) or Sulfur (S − ); Y could be oxygen (O − ) C1-C18 alkoxy, C1-18 alkyl; NHR3 with R3 being C1-C18 alkyl or C1-C4 alkoxy-C1-C6-alkyl; NR3R4 in which R3 is as defined above and R4 is C1-C18 alkyl, or in which R3 is as defined above and R4 is C1-C18-alkyl, or in which R3 and R4 form together with the nitrogen atom carrying them, a 5-6 membered heterocyclic ring which can additionally contain another hetero atom from the series O, S and N. Alternatively, the oligonucleotide linkage could contain a Y-group which is replaced with X—C—(Y 1 Y 2 Y 3 Y 4 )-, represented by Formula II:
wherein W can be oxygen (O − ) or sulfur (S − ); Y can be singly or multiply hydrogen, methyl, ethyl; X can be an electron attracting group, such but not limited to, halogen, such as fluorine, chlorine, or bromine, CN, NO 2 , SO 2 , aromatic groups such as but not limited to phenyl thio, phenyl sulfoxy, phenylsulfonyl. The phenyl ring groups can be substituted with halogen, CN, NO 2 . It is also possible for [X—C—(Y 1 ,Y 2 )] in formula II to be replaced by CF, CO, or CBr 3 .
The number of nucleoside units of the oligonucleotide may be for example 2-200, preferably less than 100, and most preferably between 2 and 50. The oligonucleotide unit may have deuterium levels in the range of 1% to 98% accomplished by dilution with cold material. For example, the oligonucleotide having 100% duteration may be serially diluted with cold RNA for final concentrations of between 0.1% and 98%. As illustrated in FIG. 9A , the oligonucleotide preferably contains a phosphodiester internucleotide linkage. FIG. 9B illustrates an alternative embodiment of the deuterated oligonucleotide illustrated in FIG. 8 having a phosphate backbone variant illustrated as, but not limited to, phosphorothioate internucleotide linkages. Phosphorothioate modifications have been shown to be useful for delivering biologically active oligonucleotides, see Protocols for Oligonucleotides and Analogs , Editor, Sudhir Agarwal, Humana Press, Totawa, N.J., 1993. Moreover, use of variant backbones such as phosphorothioate can be useful in resisting degradation by cellular enzymes, thereby providing a more stable modified oligonucleotide.
The phosphorylating reagents, N,N-diisopropylamino cyanoethyl phosphonamidic chloride or 2-cyanoethyl, N,N,N,N-tetraisopropyl phosphane are readily commercially available and were produced by ChemGenes Corp (Wilmington, Mass.). High purity dimethoxytriphenyl chloride (DMT-chloride) was obtained from Esscee Biotech India Pvt. Ltd. High purity pyridine was obtained from Caledon Laboratories.
The oligonucleotides listed in Table 1 were synthesized using 3′→5′ directed deuterated nucleoside-2′-tertbutyl dimethyl silyl-3′-cyanoethyl phosphoramidites as well as standard or natural RNA phosphoramidite chemistry in 1 μmole scale. The syntheses were performed on Expedite 8900 synthesizer using standard RNA 1 μmole cycle. Table 1. Deuterated/Natural Oligonucleotide sequences synthesized by conventional synthesis method.
SEQ ID NO
SEQUENCE (5′ to 3,)
SEQ ID NO: 1
CUCUCUCUCUCU
SEQ ID NO: 2
CAUUGGUUCAAACAU
SEQ ID NO: 3
AGGUUCAAACAU
Following synthesis of the desired oligonucleotide, the controlled pore glass (CPG) solid support was transferred to a 2 ml microfuge tube. Oligonucleotides were cleaved from the CPG and deprotected by incubation for 30 min at 65° C. in 1 ml of 40% methylamine solution in water. The supernatant was removed and the CPG was washed with 1 ml of water. Supernatants were pooled and dried. The t-butyl-dimethylsilyl protecting group was removed from the RNA residue by treatment with 250 μl of fresh anhydrous triethylammonium-trihydrogen fluoride at room temperature in ultrasonic bath for 2 hours. The oligonucleotide was precipitated by 1.5 ml of n-butanol. The sample was cooled at −20° C. for 1 hour then centrifuged at 10,000 g for 10 minutes. After the supernatant was decanted, the pellet was washed with n-butanol one additional time.
The oligonucleotide was then purified by Ion-Exchange HPLC using a linear gradient in buffer A=(10.0%, 0.5M TRIS and 10.0% ACN), pH 7.5 and buffer B=1.0 M Lithium Chloride in buffer A. The entire sample was loaded on a Sourcel 5Q column (1.0 cm×25 cm) and eluted with a linear 5% to 75% acetonitrile gradient over 40 minutes. Samples were monitored at 260 nm and peaks corresponding to the desired oligonucleotide species were collected, and precipitated by adding 5.0 volume of (2% LiClO 4 , in acetone), followed by centrifuging at 10,000 g for 10 minutes. The supernatant was decanted, and the pellet was washed with ethanol.
General Procedure for 1.0 μmol phosphodiester of oligonucleotide synthesis is described below. Amidites (solid) used for the specific sequence of interest were individually placed in a 20 mL expedite bottle and dissolved in a quantity of dry acetonitrile to make the solution 0.075M. The bottles were flushed with Argon and shaken after sealing the screw cap promptly to dissolve the solid completely. The monomer solution bottles were then screwed in to the synthesizer. In addition, 1.0 um expedite column with Product 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-3′-succinyl Icaa—A support produced by ChemGenes Corp., Cat #N-6104. Natural RNA base loaded support was prepared and attached to the synthesizer. Table 2 illustrates the oligonucleotide synthesis scheme using an automatic DNA/RNA Synthesizer.
TABLE 2
Oligonucleotide synthesis on an automated DNA/RNA Synthesizer:
Wait
# of
Time
Volume
Cycles
Reagent
(sec)
(μl)
Cycle 1
Prewash
2
Synthesis Grade Acetonitrile
—
350
RNA
Protocol
Cycle 2a
Deblock
2
3% TCA/DCM
60
150
Wash
3
Synthesis Grade Acetonitrile
—
350
Coupling
1
Ribo-sugar (deuterated) nucleoside
600
255
amidites (0.075M concentration)
Activator
1
5-Ethylthio Tetrazole (0.35M)
120
Wash
1
Synthesis Grade Acetonitrile
—
350
Cap A
1
Acetic anhydride/THF/Pyridine
50
120
Cap B
1
N-Methyl imidazole/THF
100
Wash
1
Synthesis Grade Acetonitrile
—
350
Oxidize
1
0.02M Iodine in
25
100
Pyridine/THF/Water
Wash
3
Synthesis Grade Acetonitrile
—
350
After completion of the synthesis per summary of the key features as listed in the Table 2, the controlled pore glass (CPG) solid support was washed with 3.0 ml diethyl ether and transferred to a 2 ml microfuge tube. Oligonucleotide 1 was cleaved from the CPG and deprotected by incubation for 30 min at 65° C. in 1 ml of 40% methylamine solution in water. The supernatant was removed and the CPG was washed with 1 ml of water. The supernatants were pooled and dried. The t-butyl-dimethylsilyl protecting group was removed from the RNA residue by treatment with 500 μl of fresh 12.0% solution of tetraethyl ammonium fluoride in DMSO, at 45° C. in an ultrasonic bath for 1 hour. Oligonucleotide 1 was precipitated with 1.5 ml of n-butanol. After precipitation, the sample was cooled at −20° C. for 1 hour then centrifuged at 10,000 g for 10 minutes. The supernatant was decanted, the pellet was washed with n-butanol one time. A final wash with 500 μl ethanol was performed. The sample was centrifuged at 10000 rpm for 5 minutes. Following centrifugation, the supernatant was decanted. The pellet was dissolved in 1000 μl M.Q water. The optical density, OD, (Crude desalt) of the sample was measured. The oligonucleotide was then purified by Ion-Exchange HPLC using a linear gradient in buffer A (10.0%, 0.5M TRIS and 10.0% ACN), pH 7.5 and buffer B (1.0 M Lithium Chloride in buffer A).
The entire sample was loaded on a Source 15Q column (1.0 cm×25 cm) and eluted with a linear 5% to 75% acetonitrile gradient over 40 minutes. Samples were monitored at 260 nm and peaks corresponding to the desired oligonucleotide species were collected, and precipitated by adding 5.0 volume of 2% LiClO 4 , in acetone, followed by centrifugation at 10,000 g for 10 minutes. The supernatant was decanted, and the pellet was washed with ethanol.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 1:
Oligonucleotide 1A: Oligonucleotide 1A was synthesized to have a sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 1, rC*rU*rC*rU*rC*rU*rC*rU*rC*rU*rC*rU*, wherein r is a ribose sugar and * represents deuterated ribose resulting from using deuterium labeled phosphoramidites in the synthesis process. Oligonucleotide 1A was synthesized using 5′→3′ approach, directed with deuterated RNA phosphoramidite chemistry in 1 μmol scale. The synthesis was performed on Expedite 8900 synthesizer using standard RNA 1 μmol cycle and a coupling time of the monomers with solid support of 10.0 minutes.
The Amidites used were: (A) 1-(5-O-dimethoxytrityl-2-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3-N,N-diisopropylcyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2,3,4,5 penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) Uracil, structure XIII; and (B) 1-(5-O-dimetoxytrityl-2-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2,3,4,5 penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) N 4 benzoyl Cytosine (compound structure XXII). The sold support used was 1-(5-O-dimethoxytrityl-2-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3-succinyl Icaa-CPG-2,3,4,5penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) Uracil (compound structure XV). Results of capillary electrophoresis analysis are illustrated in FIGS. 23A-23C .
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 2:
Oligonucleotide 1B: Oligonucleotide 1B was synthesized to have a sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 1, rC**rU**rC**rU**rC**rU**rC**rU**rC**rU**rC**rU** wherein r is a ribose sugar and ** represents a mixture of deuterated ribose and natural, unmodified ribose modified resulting from synthesis using deuterium labeled phosphoramidites and a mixture with natural unmodified nucleoside phosphoramidite in a ratio of 25:75. Oligonucleotide 1B has approximately 25% deuterium label was synthesized using 5′→3′ directed RNA phosphoramidite chemistry in 1 μmol scale. The synthesis were performed on Expedite 8900 synthesizer using standard RNA 1 μmol cycle and coupling time of the monomers with solid support 10.0 minute.
The Amidites used were: (A) 1-(5-O-dimethoxytrityl-2-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3-N,N-diisopropylcyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2,3,4,5 penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) Uracil (structure XIII); (B) 1-(5-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2,3,4,5,5′ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) N 4 benzoyl Cytidine (XXII); (C) 1-(5-O-dimetoxytrityl-2′-O-terbutyldimethyl Silyl-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite-2,3,4,5,5′ penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) N6 Adenosine. Natural RNA base for mixing natural RNA base in the sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5674; and (D) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Cytidine N bz -3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base , for mixing natural RNA base in the sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5672. The solid supports used were (A) 1-(5-O-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-3′-succinyl Icaa-CPG-2,3,4,5,5′penta deuterium β-D ribofuranosyl) Uracil (structure XV) and (B) 5′-O-DMT-3′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-2′-succinyl Icaa—A support produced by ChemGenes Corp., Cat #N-6104. Natural RNA base loaded support was mixed with the Support A listed above in 25:75 ratio to obtain 1.0 micromole column in order to obtain oligonucleotide 1B consisting of 3′-terminal U with a natural U and deuterium modified 3′-terminal U in a ratio of 75:25, for mixed modified RNA base in the sequence.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 3:
Oligonucleotide 1C Oligonucleotide 1C was synthesized to have a sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 1, rCrUrCrUrCrUrCrUrCrUrCrU wherein r is a ribose unit consisting of unmodified natural bases Uridine and Cytidine. The oligonucleotide was synthesized using 3′→5′ directed RNA phosphoramidite chemistry in 1 micro mole scale. The synthesis were performed on Expedite 8900 synthesizer using standard RNA 1 micro mole cycle and coupling time of the monomers with solid support 10.0 minute. The amidites used included (A) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5674 and (B) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Cytidine N bz -3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for mixing natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5672. The sold supports used was 5′-O-DMT-3′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-2′-succinyl Icaa—A support produced by ChemGenes Corp., Cat #N-6104. Natural RNA base loaded support.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 4:
Oligonucleotide 2: Oligonucleotide 2, was synthesized to have a sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 2, consisting of unmodified natural bases uridine, cytidine and adenosine. The oligonucleotide was synthesized using 5′→3′ directed RNA phosphoramidite chemistry in 1 micro mole scale. The synthesis were performed on Expedite 8900 synthesizer using standard RNA 1 mol cycle and coupling time of the monomers with solid support 10.0 minute. The amidites used included (A) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5674; (B) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Cytidine N bz -3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5672; (C) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Adenosine N bz -3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5671; (D) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Guanosine N ibu -3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5673. The solid support used included 5′-O-DMT-3′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-2′-succinyl Icaa—A support produced by ChemGenes Corp., Cat #N-6104. Natural RNA base loaded support. Results of capillary electrophoresis analysis are illustrated in FIGS. 24A-24C .
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 5:
Oligonucleotide 3: Oligonucleotide 3 was synthesized to have a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, consisting of unmodified natural bases Uridine and cytidine, guanidine and adenosine. The oligonucleotide was synthesized using 5′→3′ directed RNA phosphoramidite chemistry in 1 micro mole scale. The synthesis were performed on Expedite 8900 synthesizer using standard RNA 1 micro mole cycle and coupling time of the monomers with solid support 10.0 minute. The Amidites used included (A) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5674; (B) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Cytidine N bz -3′-N,N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5672; (C) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Adenosine N bz -3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5671, and (D) 5′-O-DMT-2′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-guanosine N ibu -3′-N, N-diisopropyl cyanoethyl phosphoramidite, Natural RNA base for natural RNA base sequence, ChemGenes Catalog product, ANP-5673. The solid support used was 5′-O-DMT-3′-O-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-Uridine-2′-succinyl Icaa—A support produced by ChemGenes Corp., Cat #N-6104. Natural RNA base loaded support. Results of capillary electrophoresis analysis are illustrated in FIGS. 25A-25C .
Several preferred RNA sequences having sugar labeled with deuterium will be synthesized and used for biological assays and testing according to the methodology described above, see Table 2. The steps involved in the synthesis are not expected to cause loss of any deuterium and the deuterium/hydrogen ratio is expected to be maintained.
TABLE 2
Additional Deuterated/Natural
Oligonucleotide sequences to be
synthesized by conventional
synthesis method.
SEQ ID
NUMBER
SEQUENCE
NAME
SEQ ID NO. 4
CAUUGGUUCAAACAU
ECX
SEQ ID NO. 5
UUGAUGAAACAU
CLX
SEQ ID NO. 6
CAGUUCAAACAU
PSX
SEQ ID NO. 7
GACCAGUUCAAACAU
PSX-2
SEQ ID NO. 8
AGGUUCAAACAU
KLX
SEQ ID NO. 9
AAACGCCUCCAU
STRX
SEQ ID NO. 10
AAAUGAAAAUGUCAU
STRX-2
SEQ ID NO. 11
AAAUUCUAACAU
STAX
SEQ ID NO. 12
UUCAAAUUCUAACAU
STAX-2
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 6:
Oligonucleotide 4: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 4 having SEQ ID NO: 4, having a sequence of r-C*A*U*U*G*G*U*U*C*A*A*A*C*A*U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially of fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , can be synthesized. Oligonucleotide 4 having SEQ ID NO: 4 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-C*p(s)A*p(s)U*p(s)U*p(s)G*p(s)G*p(s)U*p(s)U*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes intemucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 4 having SEQ ID NO: 4 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and natural phosphoramidites, to consist of a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to the nucleobases with a natural phosphodiester linkages, or variant nucleotide linkages such as a phosphorothioate linkage. As used herein, the term partially refers to one or more positions on the sugar and/or base portion that does not include a deuterium. Additionally, the term could refer to synthesized oligonucleotides that include a mix of ribose units that are deuterated and ribose units that are not deuterated as part of the backbone. Results of capillary electrophoresis analysis are illustrated in FIGS. 26A-26C .
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 7:
Oligonucleotide 5: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 7 having SEQ ID NO: 5, having a sequence of r-U*U*G*A*U*G*A*A*A*C*A*U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′-pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , can be synthesized. Oligonucleotide 7 having SEQ ID NO:5 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-U*p(s)U*p(s)G*p(s)A*p(s)U*p(s)G*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes internucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 7 having SEQ ID NO: 5 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and nature phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to each nucleobase and having a natural phosphodiester nucleotide linkage, or variant linkages such as phosphorothioate linkage. Results of capillary electrophoresis analysis are illustrated in FIGS. 25A-25C .
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 8:
Oligonucleotide 6: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 6 having SEQ ID NO: 6 having a sequence of r-C*A*G*U*U*C*A*A*A*C*A*U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , can be synthesized. Oligonucleotide 6 having SEQ ID NO: 6 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-C*p(s)A*p(s)G*p(s)U* p(s)U*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; wherein * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes internucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 6 having SEQ ID NO: 6 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and natural phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to the nucleobases with a natural phosphodiester nucleotide linkage, or a variant linkage such as phosphorothioate linkage.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 9:
Oligonucleotide 7: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 7, having SEQ ID NO: 7 having a sequence of r-G*A*C*C*A*G*U*U*C*A*A*A*C*A*U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , was synthesized. Oligonucleotide 7, having SEQ ID NO: 7 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-C*p(s)A*p(s)G*p(s)U*p(s)U*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)U*, wherein * where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially of fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes internucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 7, having SEQ ID NO: 7 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and nature phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to the nucleobases, and a natural phosphodiester nucleotide linkage, or variant linkages such as phosphorothioate linkage.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 10:
Oligonucleotide 8: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 8 having SEQ ID NO:8 having a sequence of r-A*G*G*U*U*C*A*A*A*C*A*U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , can be synthesized. Oligonucleotide 8 having SEQ ID NO:8 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-A*p(s)G*p(s)G*p(s)U*p(s)U*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)U*, wherein * where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes internucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 8 having SEQ ID NO:8 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and nature phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to the nucleobases, and a natural phosphodiester linkage, or variant nucleotide linkage, such as a phosphorothioate linkage.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 11:
Oligonucleotide 9: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 11 having SEQ ID NO: 11 having a sequence of r-A*A*A*C*G*C*C*U*C*C*A*U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , was synthesized. Oligonucleotide 11 having SEQ ID NO: 11 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-A*p(s) A*p(s) A*p(s) C*p(s) G*p(s) C*p(s) C*p(s)U*p(s)C*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)U*, wherein * where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes internucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 11 having SEQ ID NO: 11 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and nature phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to nucleobases, and a natural phosphodiester linkage, or variant nucleotide linkage, such as a phosphorothioate linkage.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 12:
Oligonucleotide 10: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 10 having SEQ ID NO: 10, having a sequence of r-A*A*A*C*G*C*C*U*C*C*A*U* where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , can be synthesized. Oligonucleotide 10 having SEQ ID NO: 10 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-rA*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)U*p(s)G*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)U*p(s)*G*p(s)*U*p(s)C*p(s)Ap(s)U* *, wherein * where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes internucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 10 having SEQ ID NO: 10may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and nature phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to a nucleobase, and a natural phosphodiester linkage, or variant nucleotide linkage, such as a phosphorothioate linkage.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 13:
Oligonucleotide 11: Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 11 having SEQ ID NO: 11, having a sequence of r-A*A*A*U*U*C*U*A*A*C*A*U*, where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , was synthesized. Oligonucleotide 11 having SEQ ID NO: 11 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)U*p(s) U*p(s)C*p(s)U*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)C* p(s)A*p(s) U*, wherein * where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially of fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes intemucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 11 having SEQ ID NO: 11 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and nature phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to nucleobases, and a natural phosphodiester linkage, or variant nucleotide linkages such as a phosphorothioate linkage.
OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 14:
Oligonucleotide 12 Using the procedures outlined above, Oligonucleotide 12 having SEQ ID NO: 12, having a sequence of r-U*U*C*A*A*A*U*U*C*U*A*A*C*A*U*, wherein r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; * denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule with a natural phosphodiester backbone, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , can be synthesized. Oligonucleotide 12 having SEQ ID NO: 12 can also be synthesized to have a sequence of r-U*p(s)U*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)U*p(s)U*p(s)C*p(s)U*p(s)A*p(s)A*p(s)C*p(s)A*p(s)U*, wherein * where r is a ribo-oligonucleotide or an RNA sequence; ** denotes a partially or fully deuterated ribose, such as 2,3,4,5,5′ pentadeuterium-D ribofuranoside attached to each nucleoside unit of the RNA molecule, p(s) denotes internucleotide phosphorothioate. Additionally, Oligonucleotide 12 having SEQ ID NO: 12 may be synthesized, using deuterated phosphoramidites and nature phosphoramidites, having a mixture of partially or fully deuterated ribose and natural ribose attached to nucleobases, and a natural phosphodiester linkage, or variant nucleotide linkage such as a phosphorothioate linkage.
All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. | The present invention is directed towards the synthesis of high purity deuterated sugars, deuterated phosphoramidites, deuterated nucleobases, deuterated nucleosides, deuterated oligonucleotides, and deuterated RNA's of defined sequences which can exhibit biochemically useful and biologically valuable properties, thus having potential for therapeutic uses. | 2 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to the U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/095,130, filed Sep. 8, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to prison reform. More particularly, this invention relates to prison reform that provides for a system for keeping the inmates and guards separate from one another except in case of emergency. In addition, this invention relates to prison reform that allows an inmate to have a shower, a television monitor, a telephone jack, and access to a room in which to exercise within an incarceration unit, the use of all of which are controlled by incarceration management. Further, this invention relates to prison reform that allows an inmate to have access to a room in which to exercise within an incarceration unit, the use of which is controlled by incarceration management. The present invention thus reduces the need to congregate inmates together for the purposes of bathing, socializing, and exercising.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Systems of incarceration facilities that are used to detain inmates under various circumstances are well known in the art. Many of these prior art systems are incarceration facilities that typically receive criminals who are considered to be an escape risk and dangerous. Accordingly, many of these prior art incarceration facilities typically have sophisticated and expensive security systems and relatively high ratios of guards to inmates. In addition, many of these prior art incarceration facilities typically are constructed in such a manner that utilize a great amount of space and expensive building materials. Further, many of these prior art incarceration facilities typically use expensive techniques in order to supervise the inmates and to prevent the inmates from committing undesirable acts, such as violence, drug trading, and riots during times that the inmates are grouped together. More specifically, many of these prior art incarceration facilities use expensive techniques in order to supervise the inmates and to prevent the inmates from committing undesirable acts during the activities of bathing, socializing, exercising or watching a television monitor or using a telephone. Certainly, in the prior art incarceration facilities, either violence or undesirable acts occur when the inmates are grouped together. Many inmates, under the prior art incarceration facility, suffer brutal attacks by other inmates while grouped together in the traditional exercise yard or bathing facility of an incarceration facility. In addition, guards may suffer violence during the supervision and control of the inmates during which times the inmates are grouped together in the prior art incarceration facilities. Further, use by guards by the prior art incarceration facility during which times the inmates are grouped together comes at considerable expense.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
The incarceration units provided herein allow inmates to workout in a controlled exercise area in order to keep them safe from overly aggressive inmates. In addition, the incarceration units provided herein allow inmates, to use items such as a shower, telephone, and television monitor under the control of the management without the need to group inmates together for the use of such items. Accordingly, this system allows inmates to have more freedom while preventing violence that may ensue in traditional exercise yards, bathing facilities, and group settings. Under the present incarceration facility, inmates would only exit their cell for court, visitors, or for medical reasons. A further advantage of the present invention is that the cost of building the incarceration facility would be reduced as well as the amount of space and materials needed for production. In addition, an advantage of the present invention is that fewer guards, building materials, and acreage may be used by the incarceration facility.
It is an advantage of the invention that incarceration management will have control of a door, through a door control means, by which to allow inmates to have access to exercise equipment during specified hours. It is a further advantage of the invention that there is placed one or more windows in the exercise room that allow neighboring inmates to socialize with one another or view the outdoors without the need to group inmates together. There is also a shower built into an inmate's interior cell that is controlled by the incarceration management through a shower control device, such that it may be used only during certain hours of the day, subject to exclusive incarceration management control. In addition, there is a television monitor placed into an inmate's interior cell, the use of which is controlled by the incarceration management through a television monitor control device, subject to exclusive incarceration management control, allowing the inmate to watch television programs that are selected by the incarceration management, such as classroom instruction, religious programs, or news, if allowed. Further, there is a telephone jack built into an inmate's interior cell, wherein an inmate may request the use of a telephone during certain hours, while his/her telephone calls are monitored. Of course, the use of the telephone jack is exclusively controlled by the incarceration management through a telephone jack control device.
In addition, it is an advantage of the present invention that unruly inmates may be placed in solitary cells or specialty cells which could be built into the interior of the incarceration facility above the first floor of the incarceration facility for extra monitoring purposes. A further advantage of the present invention is that both men and women may share different floors of the same building. Most of the floors of the present invention would be “maximum” security. Some of the floors of the present invention would be “medium” security. Further, it is an advantage of the present invention that the “medium” security inmates could provide services to the incarceration units, if permitted by the incarceration management, such services including for example, dropping off meals, library books and laundry, which would also provide rehabilitation to the “medium” security inmates. This provision of service by the inmates would allow for social interaction by the inmates as well as for work-related training in order to assist inmates in rehabilitation and release to society upon expulsion from the incarceration facility. The exact dimensions and items located in each incarceration unit may be determined by individual facilities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Described herein are preferred embodiments of the prison reform system which allows for greater security from escape and safety of the inmates. An incarceration unit defines an interior cell and a exercise area. The interior cell further has a door for access to the exercise area, two hi/low beds, a desk, shelving units, toilet, sink, television monitor, telephone jack, and shower. The exercise area has at least one window, a chin-up bar, and at least one exercise equipment. Generally, an inmate is housed in the incarceration unit and is specifically initially housed in the primary interior cell. While in the primary interior cell, the inmate may use at his or her will, two hi/low beds, desk, shelving units, toilet, and sink. In addition, while in the interior cell, the inmate may use, subject to control by the incarceration management through control devices, and upon terms of use set by the incarceration management, television monitor, telephone jack, and shower. Upon approval by the incarceration management, and through an entry control device, an inmate is released from the interior cell into the exercise area in order to allow the inmate to exercise, by opening door. Once released into the exercise area, the inmate may exercise for the time allotted by the incarceration management using the exercise equipment. In addition, once released into the exercise area, the inmate may utilize one or more windows, thereby socializing with other inmates or viewing the outdoors while in the exercise area.
DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a top-down view of a single incarceration unit of a plurality of incarceration units of the first preferred embodiment.
FIG. 2 shows a top-down view of a plurality of incarceration units of the first preferred embodiment.
FIG. 3 shows a top-down view of a single incarceration unit of a plurality of incarceration units of the second preferred embodiment.
FIG. 4 shows a top-down view of a plurality of incarceration units of the second preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A first preferred embodiment of the prison reform system which allows for greater security from escape and safety of the inmates is described herein. Referring now to FIG. 1 , it is generally designated a “maximum” security incarceration unit ( 2 ), a plurality of which embody the present invention. The incarceration unit ( 2 ) generally defines a primary interior cell ( 4 ), bounded by a first wall ( 6 ), a second wall ( 8 ), a third wall ( 10 ), and a fourth wall ( 12 ). In addition the incarceration unit ( 2 ) generally defines a secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) that is contiguous with the primary interior cell ( 4 ) and that is bounded by the fourth wall ( 12 ), a fifth wall ( 16 ), a sixth wall ( 18 ) and a perimeter wall ( 20 ). Thus, the fourth wall ( 12 ) is common between, and is located in between, the primary interior cell ( 4 ) and the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ). A door ( 21 ) is provided upon the third wall ( 10 ) allowing the inmate to enter the primary interior cell ( 4 ). The primary interior cell ( 4 ) comprises two hi/low beds ( 22 ), a desk ( 23 ), shelving units ( 24 ), toilet ( 25 ), sink ( 26 ), television monitor ( 28 ), telephone jack ( 30 ) and shower ( 32 ). The secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) generally comprises a chin-up bar ( 33 ), and exercise equipment ( 34 ). The primary interior cell ( 4 ) and the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) are interconnected by a door ( 36 ). Upon any of the fifth wall ( 16 ), sixth wall ( 18 ), or perimeter wall ( 20 ) of the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) may be defined one or more windows ( 38 ). Specifically, the one or more windows ( 38 ) are generally constructed with a grating material ( 40 ) on each side of each of the one or more windows ( 38 ). Such placement of grating material ( 40 ) prevents the contact of one inmate from another. Specifically, such placement of grating material ( 40 ) prevents inmates from touching each other or from passing any items to each other. In addition, one or more bars ( 39 ) are generally built within each of the one or more windows ( 38 ) such that an inmate may not travel through the window in the event that the grating material ( 40 ) was removed. In the first preferred embodiment, the one or more windows ( 38 ) may be placed upon the fifth wall ( 16 ) or a sixth wall ( 18 ) of the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ), thereby allowing inmates to speak with each other while in the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ). In addition, in the first embodiment, the one or more windows ( 38 ) may be placed upon the perimeter wall ( 20 ), thereby allowing an inmate to view the outdoors while in the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ).
In operation of the first embodiment, still referring to FIG. 1 , the incarceration management allows an inmate that is housed in the incarceration unit ( 2 ), and that is specifically initially housed in the primary interior cell ( 4 ) to use, upon terms of use set by the incarceration management, a television monitor ( 28 ), a telephone jack ( 30 ), and a shower ( 32 ). Each of the television monitor ( 28 ), telephone jack ( 30 ), and shower ( 32 ), are controlled by the incarceration management through a respective control device. In addition, the incarceration management, via a control device, may allow an inmate that is housed in the incarceration unit ( 2 ), and that is specifically initially housed in the primary interior cell ( 4 ) to use, upon terms of use set by the incarceration management, a door ( 36 ), allowing the inmate to be released into the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) in order to allow the inmate to exercise. More specifically, incarceration management, via the control device of the door ( 36 ), allows the door ( 36 ) to open between the primary interior cell ( 4 ) and the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ), allowing the inmate to enter the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) and to utilize the chin-up bar ( 33 ) and the exercise equipment ( 34 ). Once released into the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ), the inmate may exercise for the time allotted by the incarceration management using the chin-up bar ( 33 ) and exercise equipment ( 34 ). Further, the inmate may use the one or more windows ( 38 ) within the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ). Referring now to FIG. 2 , it is reiterated that the incarceration management, through the control device of the door ( 36 ), controls the inmates' access to the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) from the primary interior cell ( 4 ). Thus, the incarceration management may decide to allow certain inmates or all of the inmates access to the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ), at the same time or at different times, from the respective primary interior cells ( 4 ). In addition, the incarceration management, via the control device of door ( 36 ) could decide for example, to allow an inmate access to the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, wherein the inmate could intermittently return to his or her primary interior cell ( 4 ) to have a delivered meal, take a shower, or utilize one or more of the windows ( 38 ). In times of inclement weather, a perforated hard plastic material may be placed over any one of the one or more windows ( 38 ) which are located upon the perimeter wall ( 20 ), in order to prevent the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) from incurring rain water or snow.
A second preferred embodiment of the prison reform system which allows for greater security from escape and safety of the inmates is described herein. Referring now to FIG. 3 , it is generally designated a “medium” security incarceration unit ( 52 ), a plurality of which embody the present invention. The incarceration unit ( 52 ) generally defines a primary interior cell ( 54 ), bounded by a first wall ( 56 ), a second wall ( 58 ), a third wall ( 60 ), and a fourth wall ( 62 ). A door ( 63 ) is provided upon the third wall ( 60 ) allowing the inmate to enter the primary interior cell ( 54 ). In addition the incarceration unit ( 52 ) generally defines a secondary exercise area ( 64 ). The primary interior cell ( 54 ) and the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) are interconnected by a door ( 72 ). Referring now to FIG. 4 , the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) is adjacent to the primary interior cell ( 54 ), and is bounded by an aggregate wall ( 74 ), a perimeter wall ( 76 ), a first side end wall ( 78 ) and a second side end wall ( 80 ). Again referring to FIG. 3 , the aggregate wall ( 74 ) is formed by a plurality of the fourth walls ( 62 ) of a plurality of said incarceration units ( 52 ) placed side-by-side. Thus, the aggregate wall ( 74 ) is common between, and is located in between, the plurality of primary interior cells ( 54 ) and the secondary exercise area ( 64 ). As such, in the second preferred embodiment of the invention, there is no “fifth wall” or “sixth wall” as described in the first preferred embodiment. The primary interior cell ( 54 ) generally comprises a door ( 72 ), two hi/low beds ( 82 ), a desk ( 83 ), shelving units ( 84 ), toilet ( 85 ), sink ( 86 ), television monitor ( 88 ), telephone jack ( 90 ) and shower ( 92 ). The secondary exercise area ( 64 ) generally comprises a chin-up bar ( 94 ), and exercise equipment ( 96 ). Upon the perimeter wall ( 76 ) of the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) may be defined one or more windows ( 98 ), such that an inmate may view the outdoors while in the secondary exercise area ( 64 ). Specifically, the one or more windows ( 98 ) are generally constructed with a grating material ( 100 ) on each side of the window. Such placement of grating material ( 100 ) prevents the contact of an inmate from anything outside of the incarceration facility. In addition, one or more bars ( 39 ) are generally built within the one or more windows ( 98 ) such that an inmate may not travel through the window in the event that the grating material ( 100 ) was removed.
In operation of the second embodiment, still referring to FIG. 3 , the incarceration management allows an inmate that is housed in the incarceration unit ( 52 ), and that is specifically initially housed in the primary interior cell ( 54 ) to use, upon terms of use set by the incarceration management, a television monitor ( 88 ), and a telephone jack ( 90 ), and a shower ( 92 ). Each of the television monitor ( 88 ), telephone jack ( 90 ), and the shower ( 92 ), are controlled by the incarceration management through a respective control device. In addition, the incarceration management, through a control device, may allow an inmate that is housed in the incarceration unit ( 52 ), and that is specifically initially housed in the primary interior cell ( 54 ) to use, upon terms of use set by the incarceration management, a door ( 72 ), allowing the inmate to be released into the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) in order to allow the inmate to exercise. Specifically, incarceration management, through the control device of the door ( 72 ), allows the door ( 72 ) to open between the primary interior cell ( 54 ) and the secondary exercise area ( 64 ), allowing the inmate to enter the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) and to utilize the chin-up bar ( 94 ) and the exercise equipment ( 96 ). Once released into the secondary exercise area ( 64 ), the inmate may exercise in the presence of other inmates and with or without the assistance of other inmates, for the time allotted by the incarceration management using the chin-up bar ( 94 ) and exercise equipment ( 96 ). Further, the inmate may use the one or more windows ( 98 ) within the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) to view the outdoors. Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , it is reiterated that the incarceration management, via a control device of the door ( 72 ), controls the inmates' access to the secondary exercise area ( 64 ). Accordingly, the incarceration management may decide to allow certain inmates or all of the inmates access to the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) at the same time or at different times. In addition, the incarceration management, via the control device of door ( 72 ) could decide for example, to allow an inmate access to the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, wherein the inmate could intermittently return to his or her primary interior cell ( 54 ) to have a delivered meal, take a shower, or utilize one or more of the windows ( 98 ). In times of inclement weather, a perforated hard plastic material may be placed over any one of the one or more windows ( 98 ), in order to prevent the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) from incurring rain water or snow.
Referring now to FIG. 2 , it is generally shown a floor plan of a “maximum” security incarceration facility ( 44 ). Specifically, in FIG. 2 , it is shown a top-down view of a floor of a “maximum” security incarceration facility ( 44 ) comprising a plurality of incarceration units ( 2 ) placed in such a manner as to make-up, in part, a floor of the incarceration facility ( 44 ). Referring now to FIG. 4 it is generally shown a floor plan of a “medium” security incarceration facility ( 104 ). More specifically, in FIG. 4 , it is shown a top-down view of a floor of a “medium” incarceration facility ( 104 ) comprising a plurality of incarceration units ( 52 ) placed in such a manner as to make-up, in part, a floor of the incarceration facility ( 104 ). Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , it is contemplated that an incarceration facility may comprise multiple floors, wherein most floors of the incarceration facility are “maximum” security, being made up of, in part, the plurality of incarceration units ( 2 ) as set forth in the first embodiment. Still referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , it is contemplated that an incarceration facility may comprise multiple floors, wherein one or more floors are “medium” security, being made up of, in part, the plurality of incarceration units ( 52 ) as set forth in the second embodiment.
In the first embodiment, referring to FIG. 1 , the area of either the primary interior cell ( 4 ) or the area of the secondary confined exercise area ( 14 ) may be changed independent of the other without departing from the scope of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3 , in the first embodiment, the area of either the primary interior cell ( 54 ) or the area of the secondary exercise area ( 64 ) may be changed independent of the other without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, the incarceration units in either of the preferred embodiments in are constructed out of concrete or steel; however, one of ordinary skill in the art would know that similar construction materials may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. Further, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , it is contemplated that the incarceration facility of either preferred embodiment may comprise hallways ( 106 ) and stairs ( 108 ) that are needed to provide the incarceration units of either preferred embodiment, subject to the discretion of the incarceration management, with such items as meals, library books, and laundry. It is contemplated, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 that an incarceration facility may comprise at least one floor of the first embodiment of the present invention and at least one floor of the second embodiment of the present invention; in such situations, a “maximum” security inmate may be moved from a “maximum” security incarceration unit ( 2 ) to a “medium” security incarceration unit ( 52 ) when he has short time remaining in order to test his ability to refrain from any violence or problematic activities prior to release from the incarceration facility. In addition, in cases where an incarceration facility comprises at least one floor of the first embodiment of the present invention and at least one floor of the second embodiment of the present invention, it is contemplated that items such as meals, library books, and laundry are delivered by well-behaved “medium” security inmates that reside in the a “medium” security floor of the incarceration facility, as a reward for good behavior and for further rehabilitation for work purposes or for socialization purposes. The top down view in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 shows the interior of the incarceration facility ( 112 ). The interior of the incarceration facility ( 112 ) may be useable floor space for administrative needs, specialty type cells, or used for other purposes, or just left open. It is specifically contemplated in either FIG. 2 or FIG. 4 that, in either of the preferred embodiments, the ground floor may be used for one or more of the following purposes: reception, administrative offices, guards' room, S.W.A.T. room, infirmary, mechanical room, operations room, storage, or kitchen. In addition, it is specifically contemplated in either FIG. 2 or FIG. 4 that, in either of the preferred embodiments, the floors above the ground floor may be used for one or more of the following purposes: laundry room, library, visiting room, or infirmary. Still referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , the floors above the ground floor are utilized as such, so that an inmate, whether a “maximum” security inmate, or a “medium” security inmate, does not have a need to travel to the ground floor of the incarceration facility, unless the inmate is being released from the incarceration facility. It is further contemplated that elevators may be placed within the incarceration facility in order to make the facility accessible to the handicapped. Upon the roof or exterior of the incarceration facility may be placed a plurality of solar panels in order to collect sunlight energy or a water catchment device in order to supply the facility with fresh rainwater; such placements upon the exterior of the incarceration facility will make the facility more environment friendly or “green.”
In describing the incarceration facility and its components, certain terms have been used for understanding, brevity, and clarity. They are primarily used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be used broadly and construed in the same manner. Having now described the invention and its method of use, it should be appreciated that reasonable mechanical and operational equivalents would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Those variations are considered to be within the equivalence of the claims appended to the specification. | The present invention uses a plurality of incarceration units, wherein each of the incarceration units includes an interior cell and an exercise area. The interior cell and the confined exercise area are adjacent to one another and are constructed out of suitable security material, such as concrete or steel. The interior cell includes a shower suitable for bathing. In addition, one of the walls of the interior cell of the incarceration unit includes a door, which leads from the interior cell to the exercise area. An inmate's use of the shower and the door is controlled by the management of the incarceration facility. The exercise area includes at least one exercise equipment. The incarceration unit provides the usual inmate activities of living, eating, exercise, study and conversation in a facility having a lower risk of violence to inmates or guards, and of undesirable activities, such as drug trafficking or riots by the inmates. | 4 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to manganese separation from wood pulps and the like. More particularly the present invention relates to the use of magnesium ions to displace manganese from the pulp.
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It has long been known in the pulp and paper industry that the manganese in mechanical pulp is likely to have an adverse effect on the bleaching operating, particularly if the bleaching is to be done with a peroxide such as hydrogen peroxide. To remove the manganese and other metals from pulp it is conventional practise to treat the pulp with a chelating agent such as sodium diethylene triamine penta-acetate (DTPA) and then thicken.
From extensive previous investigations, it has been determined that a change of as little as 5 ppm in the manganese at the lower levels of Mn normally required for bleaching, i.e. a reduction of manganese content by 5 ppm can result in a measurable increase in brightening when brightening using peroxide on mechanical pulp.
The use of magnesium sulphate together with peroxide, particularly hydrogen peroxide, to stabilize the hydrogen peroxide in the presence of sodium silicate is well-known for peroxide bleaching and the concept of adding magnesium sulphate to pulp as a stabilizer for peroxide (without sodium silicate) has also been described in literature--see Japanese patent publication 78-44564 published Nov. 30, 1978, inventor Yotsuy, Japanese application 56169890 published Dec. 26, 1981 Mitsubishi Gas and Chemical Inc, which describes a process of refiner bleaching by the addition of magnesium compounds to the chips before the addition of hydrogen peroxide and refining of the chips in the refiner.
Canadian patent 1,249,403 also describes the brightening of high yield or ultra high yield pulps wherein magnesium sulphate is present during a bleaching reaction with hydrogen peroxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,161 issued Mar. 15, 1988 to Ehrhardt describes the method of bleaching wherein a bleaching solution contains magnesium salts and hydrogen peroxide is used for bleaching chemical pulps.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved system for removing manganese from paper making pulp.
Broadly the present invention relates to a method of enhancing removal of manganese from wood pulps containing manganese comprising applying a suitable chelating agent to said pulp, applying magnesium ions to said pulp in an amount of at least 500 ppm based on the oven dried weight of the pulp to provide a treated pulp having a consistency of less than about 5%, thickening said pulp to a consistency of at least 12% by dewatering of said pulp to thereby remove an amount of manganese from said pulp greater than the amount of manganese than would be separated if said pulp were treated with said chelating agent but without the addition of the magnesium ions.
Preferably said magnesium ions are added to said pulp in the form of magnesium sulphate (MgSO 4 ).
Preferably said magnesium ions will be applied to said pulp in an amount to add 1,000 to 3,000 ppm magnesium ions to said pulp.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further features, objectives and advantages will be evident from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a bleaching process incorporating the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plot of manganese and magnesium content as a function of the amount of magnesium sulphate applied.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows one typical arrangement or system for bleaching pulp illustrating the point at which the magnesium ions are added into the process.
As shown in FIG. 1, pulp such as chemithermo-mechanical (CTMP) indicated at 10 or groundwood 12 or any other suitable pulp, passes via line 14 to a mixed tank 16 and DTPA (a suitable chelating agent) is added as indicated at 18, either to the line 14 or directly into the mix tank 16 and the magnesium ions are added as indicated at 20 either before the addition of DTPA as indicated by the dotted line 22 or after as indicated by the dotted line 24 or at the same time as indicated by the solid line or directly into the mix tank 16.
The pulp in mixer 16, generally at a consistency of less than 5%, mixes with the added chelating agent and magnesium ions and then passes via line 26 to a suitable press 28 wherein liquid is squeezed therefrom in the form of press effluent leaving the press as indicated at 30. The treated pulp leaves the press and passes as indicated via line 32 into a second mixer 34 (high consistency mixer) and bleach liquor is added either in line 32 or in mixer 34 as indicated at 36. The pulp in line 32 is generally at a consistency of about 30% or higher and is diluted to a degree by the addition of the bleach liquor 36. The consistency of the pulp in line 32 may be also significantly less than 30 depending on the process being used, i.e. is the bleaching at high consistency or medium consistency or low consistency.
In any event the pulp with the bleaching liquor added and mixed therewith is passed via line 38 to a bleach tower where the pulp is held for the appropriate time and at the appropriate temperature to bleach the pulp, i.e. generally between about 60° C. and 90° C. for a period of 1 to 6 hours. The bleached pulp in line 42 is soured as indicated by the addition of SO 2 at 44 and bleached pulp leaves the system as indicated via line 46 and is used as desired.
In a conventional process only the chelating agent (generally DTPA) is added and mixed with the pulp before the press 28 so that the effluent in line 30 contains only that amount of manganese that is separated from the pulp by the chelating agent. When the present invention is used and magnesium ions are applied as above described, the press efluent in line 30 contains significantly more manganese than if the pulp were treated only with the chelating agent DTPA, i.e. when magnesium ions are added in the amount of at least 500 ppm, preferably at least 750 ppm based on the oven dried weight of the pulp, the manganese content of the thickened pulp in line 32 will be reduced by a further at least 5 ppm based on the oven dried weight of the pulp, more than would be obtained if no magnesium ions were added.
EXAMPLE 1
Mechanical pulp from applicant's Powell River mill was taken from the process just after the addition of DTPA and while the pulp was still at a low consistency of about 3.5. Samples of this pulp were then treated with magnesium sulphate and thickened and a control sample was produced by simply thickening a portion of the pulp taken from the process. The results are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1______________________________________MgSO.sub.4 Added, %Weight based on oven Mg.sup.++ addeddry weight of pulp ppm × 1000 Mn, ppm______________________________________0 0 22.43 6 14.94 8 14.04 8 13.45 10 12.76 12 13.1______________________________________
EXAMPLE 2
A second large sample of pulp taken from the same mill at the same location, before thickening, was found to have a manganese content of 147 ppm. Various samples of this pulp were mixed with differing amounts of magnesium sulphate and each thickened to approximately 28.5% consistency based on the oven dried weight of the pulp. The results of these tests have been plotted in FIG. 2 with each data point representing an average of three separate experiments. Curves 100 and 200 represent the Mg and Mn contents of the pulp respectively.
It is clear that the addition of magnesium enhances removal of manganese with the more magnesium added the greater the removal of the manganese. However it is also apparent that above about 2,000 ppm of magnesium ions, i.e. 1% magnesium sulphate, the increased benefits are modest.
The addition of about 500 ppm magnesium ions added reduced the manganese content from about 26 ppm to in the order of about 21 ppm for a total reduction when the magnesium ions were added of at least 5 ppm which in a bleaching operation will make a significant difference in the effectiveness of the peroxide bleaching.
Having described the invention, modifications will be evident to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. | The removal of manganese from pulp is enhanced by supplementing the treatment with a chelating agent by the addition of at least 500 ppm of magnesium ions prior to thickening of the pulp thereby to reduce the manganese content of the thickened pulp significantly more than the content would be reduced by the treatment with the chelating agent without the magnesium ions. | 3 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/431,920, filed Dec. 9, 2002.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention is directed generally to micro air vehicles, and more particularly, to wing configurations for micro air vehicles.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Micro air vehicles can trace their beginnings to model airplanes, which typically resemble full size airplanes. Micro air vehicles generally encompass all relatively small unmanned flying objects, such as those having wingspans less than about 36 inches. Micro air vehicles are often powered by small gasoline or electric propeller driven engines. Micro air vehicles are relatively lightweight vehicles capable of being used for a variety of purposes, such as for recreation, reconnaissance, and other purposes. Because of their small size, micro air vehicles lend themselves to a variety of uses.
[0004] Many micro air vehicles have fixed, rigid wings that are incapable of having their wing span reduced for storage. Micro air vehicles having fixed wings are often difficult to store and do not lend themselves for storage in a knapsack or other item typically carried by military personnel in reconnaissance missions. Some micro air vehicles have collapsible wings that pivot about one or more pivot points. Typically, these micro air vehicles require a series of assembly steps to transform the micro air vehicle from a deployable condition to a storage condition, and vice versa.
[0005] Because of their small size and ability to go relatively unnoticed, micro air vehicles have been outfitted with cameras, both still frame cameras and video cameras, and used in hostile areas for reconnaissance purposes. However, many of the micro air vehicles are inconvenient to be carried by military personnel because of their cumbersome wing span and shape. Thus, a need exists for a micro air vehicle having wings capable of having their wingspan reduced. In addition, other micro air vehicles having wings with reduceable wingspans require a plurality of assembly steps to transform the wings of the micro air vehicle from a deployable condition to a storage condition, and vice versa. Such requirements prevent these micro air vehicles from being deployed quickly and without human interaction. If micro air vehicles were able to be transformed between a storage condition and a deployable condition without assembly steps, the micro air vehicles could be used in a greater variety of applications. Thus, a need exists for a micro air vehicle capable of being transformed between a storage condition and a deployable condition without assembly steps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] This invention is directed to a micro air vehicle having a bendable wing enabling the micro air vehicle to be stored in containers substantially smaller than the micro air vehicle and enabling the bendable wing to go from a storage condition to a deployable condition without assembly or user interaction. Rather, the forces used to hold the wing tips of the wing need only be abated.
[0007] The micro air vehicle may be formed from a central body and one or more wings. The wing may be formed from one or more layers of a resilient material having a camber forming a concave surface facing downward. The wing may be bendable from a steady state position in a first direction such that tips of the wing may be bent toward the concave surface but not in a second direction that is generally opposite to the first direction. In other words, the wing may bent downwards but not upwards. The wing may also be capable of returning to the steady state position upon release the tips of the wing.
[0008] The wing may have a camber such that a bottom surface of the wing has a generally concave configuration when viewed parallel to a longitudinal axis of the wing. The camber may contribute to the stability of flight of a micro air vehicle to which the wing is attached and allow the wing to be bent downwards by not upwards. Thus, the wing may absorb and transfer uplift forces to the central body and allow the wing to be bent downward for storage.
[0009] In an alternative embodiment, the wing may be formed from a support structure covered by a layer of material. The support structure may be formed from one or more ribs, which may be, but are not required to be, generally parallel to each other. The layer of material covering the support structure may be, but is not limited to being, latex or other appropriate materials.
[0010] The bendable wing enables the wing to be stored is containers smaller than the micro air vehicle to which the wing is attached. For instance, the bendable wing having a wing span of about ten inches may be bent around the central body of a micro air vehicle so that the wing may be stored in a container having a diameter of about three inches. Such a characteristic enables a micro air vehicle to which the bendable wing is attached to be used for reconnaissance missions, for deployment from missiles just prior to impact for bomb damage assessment, and carried by special forces operatives in the field on their person.
[0011] An advantage of this invention is that a micro air vehicle incorporating the bendable wing of this invention may be stored in a small container and deployed without any actions taken to assemble the wings other than to release the tips from restraint. Releasing the wings enables the wings to return to the steady state position.
[0012] Another advantage of this invention is that the bendable wing has sufficient stiffness to absorb and transfer uplift forces to the body while enabling the wings to be bent downwardly for storage.
[0013] Yet another advantage of this invention is that by being able to be stored in such a small container, a micro air vehicle may be conveniently carried on a person, such as military personnel, without consuming much room.
[0014] Still another advantage of this invention is that the bendable wing may be produced relatively inexpensively.
[0015] Another advantage of this invention is that the wing is durable and capable of withstanding crash landings.
[0016] These and other advantages will become obvious upon review of the detailed written description below of these and other embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the presently disclosed invention(s) and, together with the description, disclose the principles of the invention(s). These several illustrative figures include the following:
[0018] [0018]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a top side of an embodiment of this invention;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with a portion of the bendable wing being bent around a central body of a micro air vehicle as a result of a downward force applied to a tip of the wing;
[0020] [0020]FIG. 3 is a front view of a micro air vehicle inserted into a small diameter tube with both sides of the bendable wing bent around the central body of the micro air vehicle;
[0021] [0021]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the bendable wing of the micro air vehicle;
[0022] [0022]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the alternative embodiment of the bendable wing shown in FIG. 4 in flexed storage condition with the tips of the wing bent around the central body of the micro air vehicle;
[0023] [0023]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of yet another alternative configuration of the bendable wing of this invention;
[0024] [0024]FIG. 7 is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6;
[0025] [0025]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of this invention;
[0026] [0026]FIG. 9 is a front view of another embodiment of this invention; and
[0027] [0027]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a top side of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] This invention is directed to a wing 12 for a micro air vehicle 10 , as shown in FIGS. 1-10, that is bendable to enable the wing 12 to be easily stored in, for instance, a tube or other structure. The wing 12 may be attached to a body 14 that may or may not house an engine capable of providing rotational motion to a propeller 16 . The engine may be, but is not limited to, one of many conventional engines used to power miniature aircraft. Body 14 may include a tail 17 for controlling the micro air vehicle 10 . The tail 17 may be positioned generally orthogonal to the wing 12 , as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 8 , and 10 , generally parallel to the wing 12 , as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, or in another position. Micro air vehicle 10 may include other components that are typically found on miniature aircraft.
[0029] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, wing 12 may be formed one or more layers formed from resilient materials such that the wing 12 is bendable from a steady state position. The wing 12 may be bent in a first direction, as shown in FIG. 5, such that tips 13 of the wing 12 may be bent downwardly toward a concave surface 15 but not substantially in a second direction that is generally opposite to the first direction. The resilient materials have a high degree of elasticity and are therefore capable of returning the wing 12 to the steady state position upon release of the tips 13 of the wing 12 . In at least one embodiment, the camber of the wing 12 is configured such that a bottom surface of the wing 12 forms a concave surface.
[0030] Wing 12 , as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6 , and 8 , may be formed from a leading edge portion 18 , a rear portion 19 , and a trailing edge 25 . Leading edge portion 18 , rear portion 19 , and trailing edge 25 may together form a monolithic structure formed from the same material, or may be different structures formed from the same or different materials and coupled together. In at least one embodiment, the wing 12 , as shown in FIG. 4, may be formed from a single layer of material, and, in alternative embodiments, may be formed from two or more layers of material. The wing 12 may be formed from resilient materials, such as, but not limited to: fiber reinforced laminates and fabrics, such as, carbon fiber reinforced polymers, glass reinforced polymers, and aramid reinforced polymers; sheet metal, such as, spring steel, high strength aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium; foam materials; and plastics. In at least one embodiment, leading edge portion 18 may be formed from pre-impregnated carbon/epoxy fiber cloth, which provides sufficient strength to absorb forces encountered from wind gusts while maintaining a sufficiently light weight. In at least another embodiment, the leading edge 18 may be formed from an aramid fiber/epoxy mixture and at least a portion of the remainder of the rear portion 19 may be formed from a single layer of carbon fiber/epoxy weave.
[0031] Wing 12 is bendable so that the overall size of micro air vehicle 10 may be reduced for storage. Wing 12 may be bent by applying a downward force to the tips 13 of wing 12 , as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. While wing 21 may be bent downwards, wing 12 resists being bent upwardly as a result of the camber of leading edge portion 18 or the wing 12 , or both. More specifically, the leading edge portion 18 is stiff when loaded with upwardly directed loads, such as aerodynamic loads. The camber provides wing 12 with the structural stability to substantially prevent wing 12 from bending upwardly when subjected to an upwardly directed load. Thus, wing 12 can be bent with a downwardly applied force but not with an upwardly applied force because of the configuration of the wing 12 and materials used to form the wing 12 . The wing 12 may be bent so that a substantial portion of the wing 12 may be wrapped around to an opposite side of the body 14 from the steady state position shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.
[0032] In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6 - 10 , rear portion 19 may be formed from ribs 20 and a skin 22 . Ribs 20 may be formed from unidirectional fibers, such as, but not limited to, carbon fiber strands, and skin 22 may be formed from a lightweight, thin material, such as, but not limited to, latex and other appropriate materials. Ribs 20 may include members positioned generally parallel to body 14 .
[0033] Rear portion 19 may or may not be concave when viewed from below, as shown in FIG. 10. If rear portion 19 is concave, the concave shape of rear portion 19 may or may not be equal to the concave shape of leading edge portion 18 . If the rear portion 19 is not concave, the leading edge portion 18 has a camber forming a concave face on the bottom surface 15 of the wing 12 . The shape of rear portion 19 may be any shape capable of providing aerodynamic lift when coupled to leading edge portion 18 . Rear portion 19 may include a riser 21 at the rear portion of wing 12 . The riser 21 may form a concave portion on an upper surface 23 of the wing 12 in the rear portion 19 . The riser 21 may extend completely across the trailing edge 25 or may extend across only a portion of the trailing edge 25 .
[0034] In one embodiment, leading edge 18 has a greater thickness than the thickness of the rear portion 19 , wherein the characteristic that wing 12 may be bent downwards but not upwards is attributable to the configuration of leading edge portion 18 . In other embodiments, leading edge portion 18 and rear portion 19 may or may not have the same thickness, depending on the strength of the materials used to form leading edge portion 18 and rear portion 19 .
[0035] Wing 12 may have a wing span between about six inches and about twenty four inches. In one embodiment, wing 12 may have a ten inch wing span enabling it to be stored in a cylinder 24 , as shown in FIG. 3, having a diameter less than three inches. Having the capability of being stored in such small cylinders enables micro air vehicle 10 to be used for reconnaissance missions, for deployment from missiles just prior to impact for bomb damage assessment, and carried by special forces operatives in the field on their person. Micro-air vehicle 10 may be used in other applications as well. In other embodiments, wing 12 may vary in length between about three inches and about 24 inches. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the micro air vehicle 10 may include a camera 30 , which may be, but is not limited to being, a video camera, a still photography camera, or other audio or visual recording devices.
[0036] The configuration of wing 12 shown in FIGS. 1-10 and the elastic materials from which the wing 12 is formed enables wing 12 to return to its original, steady state shape, as shown in FIG. 1, 4, and 6 - 10 , after being removed from storage without additional steps or use of mechanical mechanisms, such as servos, motors, piezoelectrics, or shape memory alloys. Instead, wing 12 returns to its original shape because of the elastic characteristics of the wing 12 causes the wing 12 to remain under forces when bent from its original position. These forces abate only when wing 12 is returned to its original position. The materials used to form the wing 12 have great flexibility and elasticity and bend rather than permanently yielding. Thus, micro air vehicle 10 needs only to be removed from a storage container 24 , as shown in FIG. 3, for wing 12 to return to its original shape.
[0037] The wing 12 is configured such that the wing 12 may be bent severely about the body 14 of the micro air vehicle 10 . In fact, the wing 12 may be bent so severely that the wing tips 13 and wing 12 are rolled up around the body 14 , as shown in FIG. 5. This configuration is very advantageous. However, the wing 12 also prevents substantial bending in the opposite direction. This is not to say that the wing will not flex during use. Rather, the wing 12 will flex, or bow, in the opposite direction under normal stresses associated with flight. However, the wing 12 will not bend substantially in the opposite direction.
[0038] The configuration of wing 12 possess numerous aerodynamic advantages including: reduced drag due to the curvature of leading edge portion 18 ; and improved wind gust rejection due to adaptive washout as a result of wing 12 flexing, twisting and decambering. This configuration of wing 12 allows micro air vehicle 12 to fly more smoothly than conventional rigid wing designs in smooth and gusty wind conditions. Wing 12 is also more durable than rigid wings because the configuration of wing 12 bends upon impact with the ground or other structure, rather than breaking.
[0039] The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, and describing embodiments of this invention. Modifications and adaptations to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention. | A micro air vehicle having a bendable wing enabling the micro air vehicle to fly. The bendable wing may be bent downwards so that the wingspan may be reduced for storing the micro air vehicle. The bendable wing may be formed from one or more layers of material, and the wing may have a camber such that a concave surface of the wing faces downward. The wing may substantially resist flexing upwards and may transfer uplift forces to a central body of the micro air vehicle. In addition, the wing may be bent severely downwards by applying a force to tips of the wing. The micro air vehicle is capable of being stored in a small cylindrical tube and may be deployed from the tube by simply releasing the micro air vehicle from the tube. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to construction materials, and particularly to an EAFD stabilizer for returned concrete and mixer drum wash water that uses Electric Arc Furnace Dust as a stabilizer, both as a stabilizer in concrete preparation, and also as a stabilizer for water used to wash out concrete drums, thereby providing an environmentally safe means of disposal for EAFD, which is a hazardous material, and recycling corrosive water that would otherwise be considered a hazardous material requiring containment on-site and disposal as a hazardous waste.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Electric-Arc Furnace Dust (EAFD) is a waste by-product material generated during the steel manufacturing process at a rate of about 2% of the total steel output. The chemical composition of EAFD has been investigated by several researchers, and the most abundant heavy metals in EAFD were found to he Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb), Chromium (Cr), and Cadmium (Cd). However, due to the leaching potential of the heavy metals contained therein, EAFD has been designated by the European Union (EU), and the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) as a hazardous waste, which requires that EAFD must be treated prior to proper disposal in landfills. Therefore, finding effective and safe methods to discard large quantities of EAFD produced by the steel industry is a major environmental concern.
[0005] One possible solution has been to use EAFD to produce concrete. However, EAFD concrete could not be practically produced due primarily to the prolonged setting times of EAFD concrete. Such prolonged setting times can negatively impact the time and financial resources of a given construction project.
[0006] In the ready-mix concrete industry, it is a common practice to thoroughly clean the inside of a concrete truck's mixer drum at the end of each day. This may require 150 to 300 gallons of water. This wash water has a high pH and contains caustic soda and potash. Regulations require that concrete producers contain the mixer drum wash water on-site, and dispose of the water as hazardous material, unless the water is stabilized by chemical treatment.
[0007] In light of the above, it would be a benefit in the construction arts to provide a means of using EAFD in an economically practical manner that substantially reduces the environmental impact of EAFD stock, and to provide a way to stabilize mixer drum wash water to permit re-use of the water without harm to the environment. Thus, an EAFD stabilizer for returned concrete and mixer drum wash water solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The EAFD stabilizer for returned concrete and mixer drum wash water includes various methods of using EAFD as a stabilizer in making concrete. The potentially hazardous stockpile of EAFD can be used in practical construction, which has a positive impact on the environment. A certain amount of EAFD is added to cement being mixed or to wash water and acts as a stabilizer, the wash water being used to make a cement mixture. This resultant EAFD stabilized concrete mixture stabilizes overnight.
[0009] These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a chart showing the grain size distribution of EAFD and cement in an EAFD stabilizer for returned concrete according to the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a chart showing the performance comparison between a control concrete and concrete using an EAFD stabilizer for returned concrete according to the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a chart showing the performance comparison between a control concrete and concrete using EAFD stabilized wash water according to the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a chart showing a slump performance comparison between the control concrete and concrete using the EAFD stabilizer of FIG. 2 .
[0014] FIG. 5 is a chart showing a slump performance comparison between the control concrete and concrete using the EAFD stabilized wash water of FIG. 3 .
[0015] FIG. 6 is a chart showing a slump retention performance comparison between the control concrete and concrete using the EAFD stabilizer of FIG. 2 .
[0016] FIG. 7 is a chart showing a slump retention performance comparison between the control concrete and concrete using EAFD stabilized wash water of FIG. 3
[0017] FIG. 8 is a chart showing a compressive strength performance comparison between the control concrete, stabilized concrete using EAFD and concrete using EAFD stabilized wash water according to the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 9 is a chart showing the temperature variation between the control concrete and the EAFD stabilized concrete according to the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 10 is a chart showing the temperature variation between the control concrete and the concrete using EAFD stabilized wash water according to the present invention.
[0020] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] The EAFD stabilizer for returned concrete and mixer drum wash water provides a viable and environmentally friendly use for EAFD. EAFD contains many products, as exemplarily shown in Table 1 (which shows a 2009 shipment from the HADEED Factory in Al-Jubail), including the heavy metals mentioned above. It has been found that EAFD has the potential to produce concrete with improved mechanical and durability performance. Some of that may be attributed to the relatively larger particle size of EAFD compared to typical cement, as exemplarily shown in FIG. 1 . However, in order to determine acceptable levels of stabilization time, several mixtures containing different amounts of EAFD were formulated. In one non-limiting exemplary embodiment, the results suggested that adding 3% EAFD (by weight of cement) provides a stabilization time in the range of 22 to 26 hours, which is suitable for overnight stabilization of fresh concrete. Amounts of EAFD in the range between 1 kg and 2 kg per 100 liter of wash water were found to be sufficient for overnight stabilization of wash water without affecting the properties of concrete produced using the stabilized wash water.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Typical Composition of EAFD
Analysis, % by Weight
Sample 1
Sample 2
Average
Aluminum (Al)
0.07
0.07
0.07
Calcium (Ca)
4.59
4.60
4.60
Chlorine (Cl
1.01
1.04
1.03
Chromium (Cr)
0.09
0.11
0.10
Copper (Cu)
0.13
0.12
0.13
Iron (Fe)
39.58
39.61
39.60
Potassium (K)
5.31
5.32
5.32
Magnesium
1.26
1.28
1.27
(Mg)
Manganese
1.67
1.68
1.68
(Mn)
Sodium (Na)
0.29
0.12
0.21
Nickel (Ni)
0.01
0.02
0.02
Phosphorus (P)
0.21
0.21
0.21
Lead (Pb)
1.00
1.01
1.01
Sulfur (S)
0.25
0.26
0.26
Silicon (Si)
0.71
0.72
0.72
Titanium (Ti)
0.07
0.08
0.08
Vanadium (V)
0.16
0.16
0.16
Zinc (Zn)
16.72
16.73
16.73
[0022] Tests were conducted to determine the fresh and short-term hardened properties of the stabilized concrete and the concrete produced using stabilized wash water. The tests conducted on fresh concrete included slump, slump retention and setting time. The compressive strength tests at 7 days, 28 days and 90 days were conducted on the hardened concrete.
[0023] EAFD stabilized concrete and concrete prepared using EAFD stabilized wash water were found to perform better than the control mixes in regards to slump retention. These mixes developed the same compressive strength as the control. For the overnight stabilized concrete, there was a reduction in the slump at the end of the stabilization period. In general, at least for the overall short-term performance, EAFD has proven to be a viable means for overnight stabilization for both concrete and wash water. The following example describes the method of producing concrete using the EAFD stabilizer and the testing performed thereon.
EXAMPLE
[0024] Concrete ingredients were mixed according to the standard ASTM C-192 “Standard Method of Making and Curing Concrete Test Specimens in the Laboratory.” The water-binder ratio of 0.52 and temperatures at 20±2° C. was maintained throughout. Initially, aggregates were added into a mixer together with absorption water. After a few revolutions of the mixer, the cement and the remaining mixing water were added. The mixer was run for about 3 minutes after all the ingredients were added, then left to rest for 3 minutes. Finally, the mixer was run for another 2 minutes.
[0025] To simulate the case of using EAFD as a stabilizer for concrete, the specified amount of EAFD was spread out over the concrete mixture, and the amount of water necessary to adjust the water-binder ratio was then added to the mixer. In the non-limiting exemplary embodiment, the amount of EAFD used was about 3% by weight of cement. The mixer was run for other 5 minutes. The fresh concrete was then discharged into wheel barrows just after mixing and stored while covered with plastic sheets. Before being cast and tested, the stabilized fresh concrete was placed back into the mixer and mixed for another 2 minutes.
[0026] To simulate the case of using EAFD as a stabilizer for mixer drum wash water, a small scale concrete mixture was made and used to prepare the control test samples. The mixer was then cleaned using water. Part of the wash water was discharged from the mixer into a plastic bag to he used as a reference, and the remaining was discharged into a plastic container to determine the volume by weight of wash water to be stabilized. This part of wash water was then returned back into the mixer and the required amount of EAFD was added. In the non-limiting exemplary embodiment, the amount of EAFD used was about 1 kg/100 liter of water. The mixer was run for 2 minutes. The wash water containing EAFD was again discharged into a plastic container and remained in a slurry form until the next day. The stabilized wash water was then used to prepare a concrete mixture.
[0027] After preparation of concrete mixtures, the following tests were performed. (1) Initial slump test. The test was performed based on ASTM C-143 “Standard Test Method for Slump of Portland Cement Concrete.” Besides the initial slump, slump tests were done at 30 minutes intervals to investigate the capability of the concrete mixtures to retain the slump. (2) Setting time test. The test was performed according to ASTM C-403 “The Standard Test Method for Time of Setting of Concrete Mixtures by Penetration Resistance.” Three specimens were prepared and tested using an automatic vicat needle apparatus “ToniSet.” (3) Temperature variation within the fresh concrete. One 150×150×150 mm cube was prepared and a thermocouple was used to measure the temperature within the fresh concrete specimen until the full setting was reached. (4) Compressive strength. The compressive strength tests were performed according to ASTM C-39. The tests were conducted at 7, 28, and 90 days on 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height cylinders. Three cylinders were tested at each time interval.
[0028] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , EAFD has been found to be a viable overnight stabilizer. The concrete using the EAFD stabilizer stabilized and set within approximately a 24 hour period while the concrete made with EAFD stabilized wash water set within a couple of hours longer compared to the control. The results shown in FIGS. 4-7 highlight that the EAFD stabilized concrete and the concrete made with EAFD stabilized wash water exhibit better slump and slump retention than the respective control concrete. Generally, higher temperatures existed in both types of concrete utilizing EAFD compared to the control as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , which was expected due to the endothermic reactions resulting from introducing EAFD into the mix. In compression strength, both types of concrete using EAFD developed similar strength characteristics as their respective control concrete as shown in FIG. 8 .
[0029] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. | The EAFD stabilizer for returned concrete and mixer drum wash water includes various methods of using EAFD as a stabilizer in making concrete. The potentially hazardous stockpile of EAFD can be used in practical construction, which has a positive impact on the environment. A certain amount of EAFD is added to cement being mixed or to wash water and acts as a stabilizer, the wash water being used to make a cement mixture. This resultant EAFD stabilized concrete mixture stabilizes overnight. | 2 |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from European patent application EP 11 401 637.1 filed on Nov. 21, 2011 which is incorporated in its entirety by this reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to an electrical plug connector with the features of the preamble of patent claim 1 . The invention is in particular suitable for disengageable electrical connections for voltages above 1000 Volts and currents of a few hundred Amperes. The plug connector is also useable instead of cable shoes or threaded connections.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The patent document DE 623 128 discloses an electrical plug connector with a pin shaped plug and a sleeve shaped coupling which encloses the plug with an annular intermediary cavity in inserted condition, this means when the plug is inserted into the coupling. A stack of flat or disc shaped contact elements is arranged in the intermediary cavity which contact elements are made from electrically conductive material, in particular metal. In one embodiment the contact elements are washers stamped from sheet metal with an inner circular ring in their center and two circular arc shaped spring arms which enclose the circular ring at a radial distance. The first ends of the spring arms are free at the second ends the spring arms integrally transition into the inner circular ring. The spring arms contact the inside of the sleeve shaped coupling and load the inner circular ring in radial direction in a spring elastic manner, so that the circular ring is arranged in the coupling in an eccentrial manner. The contact elements that are arranged in the sleeve shaped coupling in a stacked manner are arranged rotated relative to one another by 180° in an alternating manner, so that their inner rings are arranged in an alternating opposite eccentrical manner in the coupling. The plug which has a slightly smaller diameter than the rings of the contact elements centers the inner rings of the contact elements so that the inner rings contact the plug in a spring elastic manner. This way the spring arms of the washer shaped contact elements of the known electrical plug connector generate a contact pressure at the sleeve shaped coupling and also at the pin shaped plug, wherein the contact pressure provides a reliable electrically conductive connection of the plug with the coupling through the contact elements.
[0004] In a second embodiment the contact elements of the known electrical plug connector are bent from wire material. They include an open inner ring, this means an inner ring that is interrupted at one location and which is bent at sides of the opening of the ring by 180° towards the outside to form circular arc shaped spring arms which enclose the interrupted inner ring at a radial distance on the outside.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide an electrical plug connector as provided supra whose contact elements are better protected against mechanical overload.
[0006] This object is achieved through the features of claim 1 . The electrical plug connector according to the invention includes a pin shaped plug and a sleeve shaped coupling which encloses the plug with an intermediary cavity in inserted condition, thus when the plug is inserted into the coupling. In this intermediary cavity an electrically conductive contact is arranged which has the shape of an open ring, this means a ring that is interrupted at one location. In circumferential direction the contact element extends over more than 180°, in particular it extends over almost the entire circumference and only has a small opening. The contact element is spring elastic transversal to an insertion direction of the plug into the coupling which means that the coupling is inserted onto the plug. In inserted condition the contact element contacts the plug on an inside and also contacts an outside of the coupling in a spring elastic and thus preloaded manner and thus connects the plug and the coupling with one another in an electrically conductive manner.
[0007] The contact element according to the invention includes protrusions that are oriented inward and outward, wherein the protrusions extend in inward and outward direction beyond an enveloping line. In inserted condition the inward extending protrusions contact the plug. Due to the preload of the spring elastic contact element the inward oriented protrusions contact the plug with a preload. This way the invention reaches a well conducting electrical connection between the plug and the contact element with a low electrical resistance.
[0008] The protrusions extending outward from the contact element do not contact the sleeve, but there is a gap between the outward extending protrusions of the contact element and the coupling, thus also when the plug is inserted into the coupling. In the sleeve shaped coupling the contact element contacts at another location besides the outward extending protrusions in order to connect the contact element with the coupling in an electrically conductive manner. The outward extending protrusions secure the contact element against a mechanical overload. The outward extending protrusions limit a deformation of the spring elastic contact element in outward direction and prevent this way a plastic deformation and a fracture under load cycles. The contact element is mechanically loaded through vibrations, for example during driving operations or through alignment errors of the plug in the coupling, this means a radial and/or angular offset.
[0009] Preferably the plug and the coupling have a circular cross section and the contact element has the shape of an interrupted circular ring. The circular cross section of the plug and or the coupling applies for a plug in portion, this means the portion in which the contact element is arranged in the inserted condition. For the coupling the circular cross section relates to an inner circumference. On the outside the coupling does not have to be circular. Other cross sectional shapes and annular shapes, for example a round but not circular, for example an elliptical or oval cross section or a polygonal cross section or a cross section with arcuate sections and straight sections, however are not provided but are not excluded either.
[0010] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention the plug connector includes plural contact elements that are arranged as stacks. The contact elements are arranged contacting one another in plug in direction of the plug and behind one another in the plug. Also an arrangement of the contact elements with an offset from one another is conceivable. The contact elements can be arranged in identical rotational positions or rotated relative to one another. Plural contact elements increase a maximum permissible current through the plug connector and reduce an electrical resistance between the plug and the coupling.
[0011] One embodiment of the invention provides transversal supports of the plug in the coupling on both sides of the contact element. In inserted condition the plug is supported between an outlet and the contact element and between a free end of the plug and the contact element in transversal direction in the coupling. The transversal supports can be configured as sockets. The transversal supports support the plug in a predetermined aligned position in the coupling. The transversal supports prevent relative movements between the pug and the coupling transversal to the insertion direction and thus counteract a radial and angular offset of the plug in the coupling. Also this measure is used for securing the contact element against mechanical overload and is configured to improve the electrical connection between the plug and the coupling by providing the predetermined position of the plug in the coupling as stated supra.
[0012] An embodiment of the invention provides that the inward extending protrusions are arranged offset from a center plane of the annular contact element. The protrusions are offset to the same side of the center plane, preferably in a direction towards the open location of the annular contact element. Due to the spring elastic contact of the contact element at the plug the protrusions that are offset from the center plane and extend in inward direction generate a radial force which loads the contact element in a transversal direction. The contact element is thus pressed into a predetermined position on the plug and in the coupling.
[0013] The outward extending protrusions in one embodiment of the invention are arranged opposite to the inward extending protrusion in order to support the contact element at locations against mechanical overload in the sleeve shaped coupling at which locations the plug imparts a force onto the contact element.
[0014] Preferably the contact element includes two outer and two inner protrusions.
[0015] As a matter of principle the contact element can be arranged on the plug. The contact element is advantageously arranged in the coupling, wherein the arrangement of the contact element on the plug or in the coupling relates to an unplugged condition because in plugged in condition the contact element is arranged on the plug and also in the coupling.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The invention is now described in more detail based on an embodiment with reference to drawing figures, wherein:
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an axial sectional view of a plug connector according to the invention in a perspective view, wherein edges are drawn that are arranged in front of a section plane;
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates a non perspective detail of the plug connector according to FIG. 2 ; and
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a cross section of the plug connector according to FIG. 1 in inserted condition.
[0020] The figures are drawn in different scales.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] The electrical plug connector 1 according to the invention that is illustrated in the drawing figure includes a cylindrical pin shaped plug 2 and a sleeve shaped cylindrical coupling 3 . The plug 2 at a free front end includes a cylindrical support section 4 connected thereto, a frustum shaped spreading section 5 and connected thereto a cylindrical contact section 6 . At the end of the contact section 6 the pug 2 includes a radial flange 7 from which a hollow cylindrical collar 8 extends towards the free end of the plug 2 . The collar 8 encloses the contact section 6 with a radial circular intermediary cavity. The collar 8 is lower in axial direction than the length of the contact section 6 . At the flange 7 a cable connection 9 is connected for connecting the plug 2 with a cable that is not illustrated or another electrical conductor. The cable can be connected in a known manner through welding, crimping, swedging, screw clamps at the plug 2 . The configuration of the cable connection 9 is not essential for the invention.
[0022] The sleeve shaped coupling 3 includes a cylindrical receiver cavity 10 with diameters configured in steps for the plug 2 . Adjacent to the opening the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 includes a contact section 11 which tapers with a circular support stage 12 to a cylindrical intermediary section 13 which in turn tapers with an annular step 14 to a cylindrical support section 15 at an end of the receiver cavity 10 configured as a dead hole. At an end oriented away from the opening the coupling 3 includes a cable connection 16 for connecting with a non illustrated cable or another electrical conductor like the plug 2 . The configuration of the cable connection 16 is not relevant for the invention.
[0023] At the opening the coupling 3 tapers on the outside with an annular shoulder to form a cylindrical collar 17 whose outer diameter coincides with an inner diameter of the collar 8 of the plug 2 . A diameter of the support section 4 of the plug 2 coincides with an inner diameter of the support section 15 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 . In inserted condition, this means when the plug 2 is inserted into the coupling 3 , which means the same as inserting the coupling 3 onto the plug 2 , the support section 4 of the plug 2 is in the support section 15 of the coupling 3 and the collar 17 of the coupling 3 is in the collar 8 of the plug 2 . The two collars 8 , 17 and also the two support sections 4 , 15 fit into one another so that the plug 2 is aligned in a coaxial manner in the coupling 3 . The support sections 4 of the plug 2 and 15 of the coupling 3 form a transversal support as well as the collar 17 of the coupling 3 and the collar 8 of the plug 2 which support the plug 2 transversally or radially in the coupling 3 when the plug is inserted in to the coupling 3 , this means the support sections align the plug 2 and the coupling 3 coaxial to one another and keep it in alignment to one another. An alignment error, thus a transversal or radial offset and an angular offset of the plug 2 relative to the coupling 3 is prevented by the transversal supports 4 , 15 ; 8 , 17 .
[0024] The intermediary section 13 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 has a slightly larger diameter than the contact section 6 of the plug 2 . No contact of the contact section 6 of the plug 2 with the intermediary section 13 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 is provided, wherein the plug in inserted condition penetrates the intermediary section 13 . On the other hand side a contact of this type is not detrimental.
[0025] The contact section 11 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 has a larger diameter than the contact section 6 of the plug 2 so that an annular intermediary cavity 18 between the coupling 3 and the plug 2 is provided when the plug 2 is inserted into the coupling 3 . In the contact section 11 in the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 , there is a stack, this means a stack of electrically conductive contact elements 19 arranged axially behind one another. The contact elements 19 can also be considered as lamellas. One of the contact elements 19 is illustrated in FIG. 3 . The contact elements 19 are flat annular washers stamped from sheet metal, they are substantially circular but not exactly circular in the embodiment. The contact elements 19 include an opening 20 at one location of its circumference. This means they are shaped as interrupted rings. On both sides of the opening 20 , the contact elements 19 include outward extending protrusions 21 . The contact elements 19 include similar protrusions 22 opposite to the opening 20 . The contact elements 19 are elastic. This means the contact elements elastically flex into the coupling 3 in radial direction, this means transversal to the plug-in direction of the plug 2 . In the contact section 11 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 which contact section supports the contact elements 19 like a socket, the contact elements 19 are elastically compressed in a radial direction so that their protrusions 21 , 22 resiliently contact an inside of the contact section 11 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 with a preload. This provides an electrically well conductive connection between the coupling 3 and the contact elements 19 with low electrical resistance.
[0026] At their insides, the contact elements 19 include two inward extending protrusions which are designated herein as knobs 23 which are arranged approximately in a center between the outward extending protrusions 21 at the opening 20 and the opposite outward extending protrusions 22 of the contact elements 19 . As stated supra, the inward extending knobs 23 are not exactly arranged in the center, but they are slightly offset in a direction towards the opening 20 . The offset of the knobs 23 from a center plane in a direction towards the opening 20 of the contact elements 19 is approximately in a range between 10 and 15° in the illustrated embodiment.
[0027] The contact elements 19 are supported at the support shoulder 12 in the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 . A washer 25 that is arranged and fixated in the opening of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 supports the contact elements 19 in the contact section 11 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 .
[0028] The transversal supports of the plug 2 in the coupling 3 which transversal supports are formed by the support sections 4 , 15 and the collars 8 , 17 of the plug 2 and the coupling 3 are arranged on both sides of the contact elements 19 , this means axially in front and behind the contact elements 19 .
[0029] When inserting the plug 2 into the coupling 3 , initially the support section 4 of the plug 2 passes through the contact elements 19 , subsequently the frustum shaped spreading section 5 of the plug 2 elastically spreads or expands the contact elements 19 and subsequently the cylindrical contact section 6 of the plug 2 moves between the contact elements 19 . The contact elements 19 with their inward extending knobs 23 contact the plug 2 so that the approximately semicircular arc shaped sections of the knobs are elastically pressed in outward direction between the opposite outward extending protrusions 21 , 22 . The approximately semicircular arcs between the opposite protrusions 21 , 22 extending outward from the contact elements 19 are elastically pressed in outward direction by the plug 2 and thus elastically preloaded approximately in centers of the protrusions 21 , 22 , namely where the inward protruding knobs 23 are located. The knobs 23 therefore contact the contact section 6 of the plug 2 with a preload which provides an electrically well conductive connection with a low electrical resistance between the contact elements 19 and the plug 2 .
[0030] Based on their offset towards the opening 20 of the contact elements 19 and based on the preload under which the inward extending knobs 23 of the contact elements 19 contact the plug 2 , a radial force acts transversal to the plug 2 , wherein the radial force presses the contact elements 19 into a defined position relative to the plug 2 . The contact elements 19 contact the contact section 6 of the plug 2 opposite to the opening 20 of the contact elements 19 .
[0031] Opposite to the inward extending knobs 23 , the contact elements 19 include two outward extending knobs 24 which are also configured as outward extending protrusions. The outward extending knobs 24 of the contact elements 19 do not contact the coupling 3 . Between the knobs 24 , there is a gap d, this means also when the plug 2 is inserted into the coupling 3 , this means when the contact section 6 of the plug 2 is in the contact elements 19 and presses them in an elastic manner in outward direction at the inward extending knobs 23 . The gap d is exaggerated in FIG. 2 . It amounts to a few 1/100 mm, for example approximately 5/100 mm for a diameter of the contact section 6 of the plug 2 of 8 mm. For greater or smaller diameters, the gap d, however, does not necessarily decrease proportionally. It is not excluded either that the gap d for different diameters of the contact section 6 of the plug 2 remains constant in size. The outward extending knobs 24 define a maximum possible deformation of the contact elements 19 through a contact on an inside at the contact section 11 of the receiver cavity 10 of the coupling 3 . The gap d is selected tight enough so that a plastic deformation of the contact elements 19 is excluded. The outward extending knobs 24 of the contact elements 19 also prevent a fracture or another damage to the contact elements 19 under a fatigue load, e.g. as a consequence of vibrations impacting the plug connection 1 as they occur during driving operations of a motor vehicle, in particular when the coupling 3 or the plug 2 are attached to the motor vehicle in a rigid manner without damping. | The invention relates to an electrical plug connector including a pin-shaped plug and a sleeve-shaped coupling which encloses the plug with an intermediary cavity and open washer shaped spring elastic contact elements which are arranged in the cavity. In order to provide a good electrical contact the invention proposes two inward protruding knobs of the contact elements, wherein the knobs are arranged opposite to one another. Outward protruding knobs limit a maximum deformation of the contact elements and thus prevent a mechanical overload of the contact elements. | 7 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed to a cup and probe assembly designed to be used in a valve system primarily for transferring liquid from a container or other supply of liquid to a device for using the liquid.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In photographic processors it is often necessary to provide replenishment solution to the processing liquid being used in the processor. In many situations, replenishment solution is provided in a container that is used in a replenishment system for delivering the replenishment solution in a predetermined manner to the appropriate processing tank. Because of the desire to minimize leaks and/or exposure to the environment of the replenishment solution, various dripless type assemblies have been suggested allowing connection and disconnection of the container containing the replenishment solution with the processor replenishment system. Examples of such valve assemblies are illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,694,991 and 5,577,614. The valve assembly typically comprises a two part system, a first valve assembly of the valve system is typically associated with the container having the supply of replenishment solution to be provided to the processor, and a second valve assembly (also referred to as a probe) that is provided with the processor and is designed to mate with the first valve assembly allowing fluid to pass from the container to the replenishment system of the processor. These dripless valve assemblies minimize any leakage between connection and disconnection thereof. However, it has been found that there is a need to provide a cup around the valve assembly provided on the processor so as to capture leaks from the valve assembly that may occur. In addition, during long and repeated use of the valve assemblies, it has been found that it may be necessary to periodically change the second valve assembly provided on the processor. However, due to current construction, this is often a very difficult task and requires much labor including the need to remove air from the replenishment system provided on the processor.
[0003] Applicants have provided a new and improved cup and valve assembly that minimizes or eliminates the problem of the prior art. In particular, the cup and probe assembly provides a system whereby the probe can be quickly and easily changed and avoid the necessity of having to remove air from the replenishment system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In accordance with the present invention there is provided a cup and probe assembly for use in a system for transferring a liquid between two sources in a photographic processor, comprising:
[0005] a cup member having an opening and an outlet section having a first threaded inlet section and an outlet section for connection to one of the sources, the inlet section and outlet section being in fluid communication by a first passageway;
[0006] a probe assembly that is one part of a two part valve assembly, the probe assembly having body portion having a second threaded section for mating with the first threaded inlet section.
[0007] These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims and by reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] In the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention presented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0009] [0009]FIG. 1 a is a perspective view of a cup and probe assembly which comprises one half of a dripless valve assembly in accordance with the prior art;
[0010] [0010]FIG. 1 b is a cross elevational view of the cup and probe assembly of FIG. 1;
[0011] [0011]FIG. 1 c is a cross sectional view of the cup and probe assembly of FIG. 1;
[0012] [0012]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cup and probe assembly made in accordance with the present invention;
[0013] [0013]FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the assembled cup and valve assembly of FIG. 2;
[0014] [0014]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the cup and probe assembly of FIG. 2;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the body portion of the probe assembly of FIG. 4; and
[0016] [0016]FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of the top portion of the body of FIG. 6 a.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1 a , 1 b and 1 c , there is illustrated a cup and probe assembly 10 made in accordance with the prior art. The cup and probe assembly 10 is mounted, for example, on a processor for processing photosensitive media such as photographic paper and/or film. The cup and probe assembly 10 comprises a cup 12 having an access opening 14 and an outlet opening 16 provided in the base 18 . The probe assembly 20 comprises one half of a two part valve assembly of the type illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,991 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The probe assembly 20 includes a body 22 having lower end 24 that is secured to a replenishment supply system of a processor (see FIG. 8). The probe assembly 20 further includes a slidable cap member 28 that is biased upward by a spring 30 . The cap member 28 includes projections 32 that engage a lip 34 formed at the upper end 36 of body 22 . The lip 34 stops the cap member 28 from sliding off body 22 . A threaded nut 38 is provided for engaging threaded section 40 on body 22 for securing body 22 to cup member 12 . The replenishment supply system includes a connecting tube 42 which is clamped to the lower end 24 of probe body 22 by clamping member 44 . The cup 12 is secured to the process by any desired means. In the embodiment illustrated, the cup and probe assembly 10 is secured to the process by securing mounting flange 48 to the processor by a fastening member (not shown), such as a screw, would pass through the opening 50 and engage a threaded recess in the processor. In the prior art when the probe assembly 20 was in need of replacement, it was necessary to substantially disassemble the cup and probe assembly 10 from the processor by disconnecting it from the replenishment system. This requires a substantial amount of labor in order to remove cup and probe assembly 10 and replace the probe assembly 20 . Since the probe assembly 20 is directly connected to the replenishment system, this replacement would often result in substantial amounts of air entering the replenishment system through the connecting tube 25 . In addition there would typically be a need to clean the cup member 12 , probe assembly 20 , and surrounding hardware of any residual chemistry that may have spilled.
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 2 - 6 there is illustrated a cup and probe assembly 100 made in accordance with the present invention. In particular, the cup and probe assembly 100 includes a cup 102 having an access opening 104 and an outlet section 106 having a threaded inlet section 108 and an outlet portion 110 for connection to a destination source such as the replenishment system of a typical photographic processor. The inlet section 108 is fluidly connected with the outlet section 110 by passageway 112 . The cup and probe assembly 100 further includes a probe assembly 114 that is one part of a two part valve assembly such as described in the '991 patent previously referred to herein. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the probe assembly 114 comprises a body portion 116 having a lower end 118 having an external threaded section 120 which is designed to mate with a threaded inlet section 108 of cup 102 . The body portion 116 includes a passageway 122 which communicates with a plurality of inlet passages 124 at its upper end 126 . The passageway 122 communicates with the passageway 112 . The probe assembly 114 includes a sealing member 128 that is designed to engage a recess 130 provided in base 132 of cup 102 . In the particular embodiment illustrated, sealing member 128 comprises a rubber O-ring. The probe assembly 114 further includes a cap member 140 which is slidable along body portion 116 , a spring 142 and a retaining member 144 for retaining sealing member 128 in recess 130 and provides a surface against which the lower end 146 of spring 142 exerts a biasing force. The upper end 148 of spring 142 exerts a biasing force against cap member 140 so as to cover inlet passages 124 when the valve assembly is non engaged with respect to the other valve half (not shown). A sealing tip 143 is provided for providing a sealing engagement with the other mating half of the valve assembly (not shown).
[0019] As illustrated by FIG. 6, the cap member 140 has a plurality of lip members 150 which engage a rib/projection 152 on the outer surface 154 of body portion 116 for preventing the cap member 140 from sliding off body portion 116 .
[0020] Referring to FIG. 5, the outer surface 154 of body portion 116 is also provided with a plurality of longitudinal ribs 160 that form longitudinal passageways 162 which retains lip members 150 and guides the cap member 140 as it slides along body portion 116 . The upper end 164 of longitudinal ribs 160 are reinforced and sized so that when cap member 140 is rotated, the lip members 150 will firmly engage upper end 164 of body portion 116 so that the body portion 116 can be screwed in or out of engagement with threaded inlet section 108 of cup 102 . The distance between adjacent longitudinal ribs 160 is preferably such that the lateral sides of the lip member substantially abuts the two adjacent longitudinal ribs 160 . Preferably the outer surface of cap member 140 is provided with a plurality of facets 166 (see FIG. 3) so as to allow the cap member 140 to be easily rotated by hand or through the use of a tool.
[0021] The lower end of outlet section 106 is connected to conduit 170 of the replenishment system of photographic processor. The conduit 170 in the particular embodiment is a plastic tube and is secured to the outlet portion 110 by an appropriate means which in the particular embodiment illustrated is a circular clamp 172 . The cup 102 includes a mounting member 178 having an opening 180 used to mount the flange.
[0022] As can be seen, the probe assembly 114 is threadingly engaged to the cup member 102 . Thus, probe assembly 114 is engaged or disengaged by simply unthreading the probe assembly 114 . Since the probe assembly 114 is simply unthread from threaded inlet section 108 , there is no chance of having air inadvertently entering the system as a result of changing of the probe assembly. Additionally, there is no need to disassemble the cup 102 from the processor or replenishment system as one simply manually, or through the use of the tool, unthreads the old probe assembly and inserts a new replaceable probe assembly.
[0023] The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the scope of the invention, the present invention being defined by the claims set forth herein.
Parts List
[0024] [0024] 10 cup and probe assembly
[0025] [0025] 12 cup member
[0026] [0026] 14 access opening
[0027] [0027] 16 outlet opening
[0028] [0028] 18 base
[0029] [0029] 20 probe assembly
[0030] [0030] 22 body
[0031] [0031] 24 lower end
[0032] [0032] 25 connecting tube
[0033] [0033] 26 mounting member
[0034] [0034] 28 slidable cap member
[0035] [0035] 30 spring
[0036] [0036] 32 projections
[0037] [0037] 34 lip
[0038] [0038] 36 upperend
[0039] [0039] 38 nut
[0040] [0040] 40 threaded section
[0041] [0041] 42 connecting tube
[0042] [0042] 44 clamping member
[0043] [0043] 48 mounting flange
[0044] [0044] 50 opening
[0045] [0045] 58 inlet section
[0046] [0046] 60 outlet section
[0047] [0047] 100 cup and probe assembly
[0048] [0048] 102 cup
[0049] [0049] 104 access opening
[0050] [0050] 106 outlet section
[0051] [0051] 108 inlet section
[0052] [0052] 110 outlet portion
[0053] [0053] 112 passageway
[0054] [0054] 114 probe assembly
[0055] [0055] 116 body portion
[0056] [0056] 118 lower end
[0057] [0057] 120 external threaded section
[0058] [0058] 122 passageway
[0059] [0059] 124 inlet passages
[0060] [0060] 126 upperend
[0061] [0061] 128 sealing member
[0062] [0062] 130 recess
[0063] [0063] 132 base
[0064] [0064] 140 cap member
[0065] [0065] 142 spring
[0066] [0066] 143 sealing tip
[0067] [0067] 144 retaining member
[0068] [0068] 146 lower end
[0069] [0069] 148 upperend
[0070] [0070] 150 lip members
[0071] [0071] 152 rib/projection
[0072] [0072] 154 outer surface
[0073] [0073] 160 longitudinal ribs
[0074] [0074] 162 longitudinal passageway
[0075] [0075] 164 upperend
[0076] [0076] 166 facets
[0077] [0077] 170 conduit
[0078] [0078] 172 circular clamps
[0079] [0079] 178 mounting member
[0080] [0080] 180 opening | A cup and probe assembly for use in a system for transferring a liquid between two sources in a photographic processor. The probe having body portion having a threaded section that mates with a threaded inlet provided on said cup. | 1 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to flash-spinning of polymeric, plexifilamentary, film-fibril strands. More particularly, this invention relates to flash-spinning of polymethylpentene.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] U.S. Pat. No. 3,081,519 to Blades and White describes a flash-spinning process for producing plexifilamentary film-fibril strands from fiber-forming polymers. A solution of the polymer in a liquid, which is a non-solvent for the polymer at or below its normal boiling point, is extruded at a temperature above the normal boiling point of the liquid and at autogenous or higher pressure into a medium of lower temperature and substantially lower pressure. This flash-spinning causes the liquid to vaporize and thereby cool the exudate which forms a plexifilamentary film-fibril strand of the polymer. Preferred polymers typically include crystalline polyhydrocarbons such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
[0003] According to Blades and White, a suitable liquid for flash spinning (a) has a boiling point that is at least 25° C. below the melting point of the polymer; (b) is substantially unreactive with the polymer at the extrusion temperature; (c) should be a solvent for the polymer under the pressure and temperature set forth in the patent (i.e., these extrusion temperatures and pressures are respectively in the ranges of 165 to 225° C. and about 500 to 1500 psia (3447-10342 kPa); (d) should dissolve less than 1% of the polymer at or below its normal boiling point; and (e) should form a solution that will undergo rapid phase separation upon extrusion to form a polymer phase that contains insufficient solvent to plasticize the polymer.
[0004] Commercial spunbonded or flash-spun products have been made primarily from polyethylene plexifilamentary film-fibril strands and have typically been produced using trichlorofluoromethane as a spin agent; however, trichlorofluoromethane is an atmospheric ozone depletion chemical, and therefore, alternatives have been under investigation. There have been many other agents used for flash spinning polyethylene to either minimize or eliminate the potential for ozone depletion. Shin, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,326 discloses one alternative spin fluid, namely, methylene chloride and a co-spin agent halocarbon having a boiling point between −50° C. and 0° C. Kato et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,422 discloses an alternative, specifically, a spin fluid of bromochloromethane or 1,2-dichloroethylene and a co-spin agent of, e.g., carbon dioxide, dodecafluoropentane, etc.
[0005] As noted above, flashspun products have typically been made from polyethylene, however it is desirable to make flashspun products from other polymers, such as polymethylpentene that have the advantage of a higher melting point than polyethylene.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,237 to Shin mentions the use of alcohols with one to four carbons as spin agents for flash spinning polymethylpentene. Also, in a co-pending application assigned to DuPont (Docket No. TK-3315), certain azeotropic mixtures are used as spin agents for polymethylpentene. Regardless, a need exists to find additional solvents suited for polymethylpentene, yet also satisfy the need for non-flammability and zero or extremely low ozone depletion potential.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is a process for the preparation of plexifilamentary film-fibril strands of synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin which comprises flash-spinning at a pressure that is greater than the autogenous pressure of the spin fluid into a region of lower pressure, a spin fluid comprising (a) 5 to 30 wgt. % polymethylpentene, and (b) a spin agent selected from the group consisting of hydrochlorofluorocarbons; hydrocarbons; and chlorinated solvents.
[0008] This invention is also a spin fluid comprising (a) 5 to 30 wgt. % polymethylpentene and (b) a spin agent selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbons; hydrochlorofluorocarbons; and chlorinated solvents.
[0009] This invention is also directed to plexifilamentary film-fibril strands of fiber-forming polymethylpentene having a tenacity of at least 0.5 grams per denier and more preferably having a tenacity of at least 1 gram per denier. Also included are blends of polymethylpentene with polyethylene and polypropylene.
[0010] This invention is also directed to a process for the preparation of microcellular foam fibers from synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin which comprises flash-spinning at a pressure that is greater than the autogenous pressure of the spin fluid into a region of lower pressure, a spin fluid comprising (a) at least 40 wgt. % polymethylpentene and (b) a spin agent selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbons; hydrochlorofluorocarbons; and chlorinated solvents.
[0011] The invention is further directed to a process for the preparation of discrete plexifilamentary fibers (pulp) from synthetic fiber-forming polyolefins.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The accompanying drawings, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention, but not to limit the invention.
[0013] [0013]FIG. 1 is a plot of the cloud-point data for a solution comprised of polymethylpentene in a spin agent of n-pentane.
[0014] [0014]FIG. 2 is a plot of the cloud-point data for a solution comprised of polymethylpentene in a spin agent of dichlorotrifluoroethane (HCFC-123).
[0015] [0015]FIG. 3 is a plot of the cloud-point data for a solution comprised of polymethylpentene in a spin agent of HCFC-123 and trichlorodifluoroethane (HCFC-122) as a co-spin agent.
[0016] [0016]FIG. 4 is a plot of the cloud-point data for a solution comprised of polymethylpentene in a spin agent of dichloropentafluoropropane (HCFC-225).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] It is known that polymethylpentene has a higher melting point than either polyethylene or polypropylene (235° C. versus 140° C. and 165° C., respectively) and as such can provide a flashspun product usable at higher temperatures. Nylon and polyester also have high melting points but polymethylpentene is more suited to flash spinning. At this time, there is not a suitable agent for flash spinning nylon and the spin agents for polyester are very limited. The flashspun polymethylpentene (PMP) of this invention exhibits very good fibrillation, but it is further noted that PMP does not have the strength of polyethylene (PE). However, the plexifilamentary fibers herein made from PMP have shown strength greater than 0.5 gram per denier which is sufficient for many purposes. Strength greater than one gram per denier can be achieved.
[0018] The term “synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin” herein is intended to encompass certain polymers that can be used in the flash-spinning art, e.g., polymethylpentene, polyethylene and polypropylene. A preferred synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin is polymethylpentene. The term “synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin” may also include polymethylpentene blended with either polyethylene or polypropylene. Blends of PMP with both PE and PP can be used. The PE and PP either separately or both together can be present at 10 to 90% of the total weight of the polyolefin.
[0019] The term “polymethylpentene” is intended to embrace not only homopolymers of 4-methylpentene-1 but also copolymers where at least 85% of the recurring units are polymerized units of 4-methylpentene-1. The term “polypropylene” is intended to embrace not only homopolymers of propylene but also copolymers where at least 85% of the recurring units are polymerized units of propylene. The term “polyethylene” is intended to embrace not only homopolymers of polyethylene but also copolymers where at least 85% of the recurring units are polymerized units of ethylene.
[0020] The preferred process for making plexifilamentary materials employs a spin fluid in which the synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin concentration is in the range of 6 to 22 wgt. %. The range may depend somewhat on whether low density or high density spin agents are used. For example, if a high density spin agent, such as a hydrochlorofluorocarbon were used, the wgt. % of polyolefin would be lower. The term spin fluid as used herein means the solution comprising the fiber-forming polyolefin, the spin agent and any co-spin agent that may be present. Unless noted otherwise, the term wgt. % as used herein refers to the percentage by weight based on the total weight of the spin fluid. The spin agent may be selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbons; hydrochlorofluorocarbons; and chlorinated solvents. Some specific examples of spin agents are cyclopentane, dichlorotrifluoroethane (HCFC-123) and n-pentane.
[0021] Co-spin agents can be used to either raise or lower the cloud-point pressure of the spin fluid. To raise the cloud-point pressure, the co-spin agent in the spin fluid must be a “non-solvent” for the polymer or at least a poorer solvent than the primary spin agent. In other words, the solvent power of the co-spin agent of the spin fluid used must be such that if the polymer to be flash-spun were to be dissolved in the co-spin agent alone, typically, the polymer would not dissolve in the co-spin agent, or the resultant solution would have an unacceptably high cloud-point pressure. It is noted that the general term “spin agent” may refer to a primary spin agent when used alone or to the primary spin agent combined with a co-spin agent. Trichlorodifluoroethane (HCFC-122) is an example of a co-spin agent used in the subject invention which lowers the cloud-point pressure.
[0022] The term “cloud-point pressure” as used herein, means the pressure at which a single phase liquid solution begins to phase separate into a polymer-rich/spin liquid-rich two-phase liquid/liquid dispersion. However, at temperatures above the critical point, there cannot be any liquid phase present and therefore a single phase, supercritical solution phase separates into a polymer-rich/spin fluid-rich, two-phase gaseous dispersion.
[0023] In order to spread the web formed when polymers are flash spun in the commercial operations, the flash spun material is projected against a rotating baffle and then subjected to an electrostatic charge; see, for example, Brethauer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,023.
[0024] Pulp of discontinuous plexifilamentary fibers can be made from PMP alone or from PMP blended with PE and/or PP. The pulp of this invention can be produced by disc refining flash spun plexifilaments as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,089 to Gale & Shin. Alternatively, the pulp can be prepared directly from polymer solutions by flash spinning using a device similar to the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,776 to Shah.
[0025] The pulp made by this invention is comprised of plexifilamentary film-fibrils and can have a three-dimensional network structure. However, the pulp fibers are relatively short in length and have small dimensions in the transverse direction. Their average length is less than about 5 mm and their average diameter is less than about 200 micrometers, preferably less than about 50 micrometers. They typically have relatively high surface area; greater than about 1 square meter per gram when determined by the BET method as further explained below.
[0026] Microcellular foams can be obtained by flash-spinning and are usually prepared at relatively high polymer concentrations in the spinning solution, i.e., at least 40 wgt. % synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin. Polymethylpentene is preferred but the synthetic fiber-forming polyolefin may also include polymethylpentene blended with either polyethylene or polypropylene. Blends of PMP with both PE and PP can also be used. Also, relatively low spinning temperatures and pressures that are above the cloud-point pressure can be used. Microcellular foam fibers may be obtained rather than plexifilaments, even at spinning pressures slightly below the cloud-point pressure of the solution. Spin agents used are the same as those noted above for plexifilamentary, film-fibril materials. Nucleating agents, such as fumed silica and kaolin, are usually added to the spin mix to facilitate spin agent flashing and to obtain uniform small size cells.
[0027] Microcellular foams can be obtained in a collapsed form or in a fully or partially inflated form. For many polymer/solvent systems, microcellular foams tend to collapse after exiting the spinning orifice as the solvent vapor condenses inside the cells and/or diffuses out of the cells. To obtain low density inflated foams, inflating agents are usually added to the spin liquid. Suitable inflating agents that can be used include low boiling temperature partially halogenated hydrocarbons, such as, hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons; or fully halogenated hydrocarbons, such as chlorofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons; hydrofluoroethers; inert gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen; low boiling temperature hydrocarbon solvents such as butane and isopentane; and other low boiling temperature organic solvents and gases.
[0028] Microcellular foam fibers are normally spun from a round cross section spin orifice. However, an annular die similar to the ones used for blown films can be used to make microcellular foam sheets.
EXAMPLES
Test Methods
[0029] In the description above and in the non-limiting examples that follow, the following test methods were employed to determine various reported characteristics and properties. ASTM refers to the American Society of Testing Materials, and TAPPI refers to the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.
[0030] The denier of the strand is determined from the weight of a 15 cm sample length of strand under a predetermined load.
[0031] Tenacity, elongation and toughness of the flash-spun strand are determined with an Instron tensile-testing machine. The strands are conditioned and tested at 70° F. (21° C.) and 65% relative humidity. The strands are then twisted to 10 turns per inch and mounted in the jaws of the Instron Tester. A two-inch gauge length is used with an initial elongation rate of 4 inches per minute. The tenacity at break is recorded in grams per denier (gpd). The elongation at break is recorded as a percentage of the two-inch gauge length of the sample. Toughness is a measure of the work required to break the sample divided by the denier of the sample and is recorded in gpd. Modulus corresponds to the slope of the stress/strain curve and is expressed in units of gpd.
[0032] The surface area of the plexifilamentary film-fibril strand product is another measure of the degree and fineness of fibrillation of the flash-spun product. Surface area is measured by the BET nitrogen absorption method of S. Brunauer, P. H. Emmett and E. Teller, J. Am. Chem. Soc., V. 60 p 309-319 (1938) and is reported as m 2 /g.
Test Apparatus for Examples 1-23
[0033] The apparatus used in the examples is the spinning apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,586. The apparatus consists of two high pressure cylindrical chambers, each equipped with a piston which is adapted to apply pressure to the contents of the chamber. The cylinders have an inside diameter of 1.0 inch (2.54 cm) and each has an internal capacity of 50 cubic centimeters. The cylinders are connected to each other at one end through a {fraction (3/32)} inch (0.23 cm) diameter channel and a mixing chamber containing a series of fine mesh screens that act as a static mixer. Mixing is accomplished by forcing the contents of the vessel back and forth between the two cylinders through the static mixer. A spinneret assembly with a quick-acting means for opening the orifice is attached to the channel through a tee. The spinneret assembly consists of a lead hole of 0.25 inch (0.63 cm) diameter and about 2.0 inch (5.08 cm) length, and a spinneret orifice with a length and a diameter each measuring 30 mils (0.762 mm). The pistons are driven by high pressure water supplied by a hydraulic system.
[0034] In the tests reported in Examples 1-23, the apparatus described above was charged with pellets of a polyolefin and a spin agent. High pressure water was used to drive the pistons to generate a mixing pressure of between 1500 and 3000 psig (10,239-20,478 kPa). The polymer and spin agent were next heated to mixing temperature and held at that temperature for a specified period of time during which the pistons were used to alternately establish a differential pressure of about 50 psi (345 kPa) or higher between the two cylinders so as to repeatedly force the polymer and spin agent through the mixing channel from one cylinder to the other to provide mixing and to effect formation of a spin mixture. The spin mixture temperature was then raised to the final spin temperature, and held there for about 15 minutes or longer to equilibrate the temperature, during which time mixing was continued. In order to simulate a pressure letdown chamber, the pressure of the spin mixture was reduced to a desired spinning pressure just prior to spinning. This was accomplished by opening a valve between the spin cell and a much larger tank of high pressure water (“the accumulator”) held at the desired spinning pressure. The spinneret orifice is opened about one to three seconds after the opening of the valve between the spin cell and the accumulator. This period roughly corresponds to the residence time in the letdown chamber of a commercial spinning apparatus. The resultant flash-spun product is collected in a stainless steel open mesh screen basket. The pressure recorded just before the spinneret using a computer during spinning is entered as the spin pressure.
[0035] The experimental conditions and the results for Examples 1-16 are given below in Tables 1-3. It is noted that pressures may be expressed as psig which is pounds per square inch gage which is ˜15 psi less than psia (pound per square inch absolute). The unit psi is considered the same as psia. For converting to SI units, 1 psi=6.9 kPa. When an item of data was not measured, it is noted in the tables as nm.
EXAMPLES 1-10
[0036] In Examples 1-10, samples of TPX DX845 polymethylpentene were obtained from Mitsui Plastics, Inc. (White Plains, N.Y.). Dichlorotrifluoroethane (HCFC-123) was used as the spin agent. The PMP had a melt flow index of 8 g/10 min and a density of 0.835 g/cm 3 and was used at various concentrations.
[0037] Weston 619F, a diphosphite thermal stabilizer from GE Specialty Chemicals, was added at 0.1 wgt. % based on the total weight of the spin agent. Acceptable plexifilamentary fibers were obtained with properties as presented in Table 1. It should be noted that the relatively short mixing time shown reflects the mixing after the desired spin temperature has been reached and that mixing was occurring while the solution was being heated to the spin temperature (typically about 30 minutes).
TABLE 1 PMP Plexifilamentary Fibers Tot Mixing Spinning Properties wt. Back Spinneret, Accum. Twist per Mod Ten E No. N.B. Code % ° C. Min psig mils psig ° C. Den inch gpd gpd % 1 E91514-92 10 190 1 1700 15 × 15 1000 190 43 24.7 4.24 1.1 46 2 E91514-94 10 220 1 x 15 × 15 1500 220 52 21.7 2.47 1.1 46 3 E91514-96 10 200 1 1610 15 × 15 1200 200 47 23.7 2.28 0.8 52 4 E91514-99 10 220 1 2220 15 × 15 1600 220 49 23.1 1.94 0.8 44 5 E91514-100 10 240 1 2600 15 × 15 2000 240 51 22.1 2.1 0.8 47 6 E91514-103 10 240 1 2600 30 × 30 2000 240 144 13.2 3.46 1.1 54 7 E91514-104 8 220 1 2500 30 × 30 1900 220 166 12.3 1.4 0.5 57 8 E91514-105 10 220 1 2200 30 × 30 1600 220 144 13 2.75 1.2 54 9 E91514-106 8 200 1 2050 30 × 30 1450 200 106 15 3.55 1.1 64 10 E91514-110 8 220 1 2500 15 × 15 1900 220 43 24 1.71 0.8 58
EXAMPLES 11-13
[0038] In Examples 11-13, samples of PMP as described in Examples 1-10 were used. Various solvents as shown in Table 2 were used as spin agents.
[0039] Weston 619F, a diphosphite thermal stabilizer from GE Specialty Chemicals, was added at 0.1 wgt. % based on the total weight of the spin agent. Acceptable plexifilamentary fibers were obtained with properties as presented in Table 2.
TABLE 2 PMP Plexifilamentary Fibers Polymer Mixing N.B. Tot. Solvent Back Delta No. Code Wt. % Type ° C. Min psig P 11 P1177 20 HCFC-225 180-250 20 2000 300 4-151 12 P1177 ˜22 80/20 160-250 27 2000 300 4-152 HCFC-123/ HCFC-122 13 P1181 22 n-Pentane 125-250 25 2200 200 5-5 Spinning ACC Properties @ 10 tpi UM. SPIN T gms Mod E P psig psig ° C. load Den gpd Ten % 1050 ˜950 250 40 379 4.2 1.01 50 1300 1200 251 40 502 3.3 1.04 53 1325 1225 250 40 180 2.4 1.2 44
EXAMPLES 14-15
[0040] In Examples 14-15, polymethylpentene as described in Examples 1-10 was blended with ALATHON® high density polyethylene obtained from Lyondell Petrochemical Co., Houston, Tex. The polyethylene had a melt index of 0.75, a number average molecular weight of 27,000 and a molecular weight distribution (MWD) of 4.43. MWD is the ratio of weight average molecular weight to number average molecular weight. The spin agent used was n-pentane. The PMP and PE were blended at various weight percentages of the polyolefin. The total weight percentage of the blended polyolefin in the spin fluid was 20%.
[0041] Weston 619F, a diphosphite thermal stabilizer from GE Specialty Chemicals, was added at 0.1 wgt. % based on the total weight of the spin agent.
TABLE 3 Plexifilaments From PMP/HDPE Blends Polymer Mixing N.B. P/P Solvent Back No. Code Name % Type ° C. Min psig ΔP 14 P11547-96 PMP 25 n-Pentane 180 60 2500 300 PE 75 15 P11547-76 PMP 50 n-Pentane 180 60 2500 300 PE 50 Spinning ACCUM Properties @ 10 tpi · SPIN T gms Mod Ten E P psig psig ° C. load Den gpd gpd % 1400 1300 183 40 322 7.1 2.4 64 1800 1800 181 40 678 5.7 1.77 65
EXAMPLE 16
[0042] Microcellular foam was made in this example by mixing and spinning polymethylpentene at selected pressures and temperatures using the indicated spin agents. The spinneret hole measured 30 mil×30 mil (diameter×length). A sample of TPX DX 845 polymethylpentene was mixed in a spin agent of HCFC-123. The polymethylpentene was present at 60 wgt. % of the spin fluid. The additive used was 0.1 wgt. % of Weston 619F thermal stabilizer based on the weight of the spin agent. Mixing was done at 190° C. for 5 min at 1800 psig (12307 kPa). Spinning took place at a 900 psig (6154 kPa) accumulator pressure with the spinning being done at a lower pressure at 190° C. Acceptable microcellular foam was obtained. | A process for flash spinning polymethylpentene alone or as a blend with polyethylene or polypropylene using various spin agents having essentially zero or very low ozone depletion potential. | 3 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART
[0001] The present invention relates to an image heating apparatus which heats the image on recording medium.
[0002] As examples of an image heating apparatus, there may be listed a fixing apparatus, a glossiness increasing apparatus, and so on. A fixing apparatus is an apparatus which permanently fixes the unfixed image on recording medium, to the recording medium. A glossiness increasing apparatus is an apparatus which increases in glossiness the fixed image on recording medium by heating the fixed image.
[0003] There have been proposed various fixing apparatuses for an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic copying machine and an electrophotographic printer. These fixing apparatuses are for permanently fixing (welding) the unfixed toner image borne on recording medium, to the recording medium with the use of heat.
[0004] One of these fixing apparatuses is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2001-242732. This fixing apparatus employs a fixation belt. This fixation belt is an endless belt, the substrate layer of which is formed of magnetic metal. It is flexible and circularly rotated. The fixing apparatus also has an induction coil for generating heat in the substrate of the fixation belt, and a pressure applying means which presses on the belt to form a nip. The fixing apparatus is structured so that a recording medium on which an image is borne is heated by the heat from the belt while the recording medium is conveyed through the nip. The heat which heats the belt is Joule heat. That is, an alternating magnetic field is generated by flowing high frequency electric current flowed through the induction coil so that Joule heat is generated by the eddy current generated in the metallic substrate layer of the belt by the alternating magnetic field.
[0005] The temperature of the belt is controlled by controlling the amount of electric power supplied to the induction coil so that the belt temperature detected by a temperature sensor remains at a preset level.
[0006] As the temperature sensor, an electrically resistive member (thermistor), the electric resistance of which is inversely proportional to temperature, is employed. Thus, if this electrically resistive member becomes disconnected from the control circuit, the control circuit determines that the temperature of the belt is low; it reaches an erroneous decision. Consequently, the belt will be continuously heated. One of the solutions to this problem is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 11-344898, for example. According to this patent application, the connector of the electrically resistive member is provided with two additional pins. The two pins are connected to each other with an electrical wire, and it is detected whether or not there is a flow of electric current between the two pins. In other words, if the connector is not in connection with the control circuit, no current is detected between the two pins. Thus, when it is detected that there is no current between the two pins, the power supply to the induction coil is interrupted.
[0007] Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2005-209644 discloses another solution to the abovementioned problem. This patent application relates to a heating apparatus, which is based on electromagnetic induction. The heating apparatus employs a fixation roller, which is heated by electromagnetic induction, and of which Curie point is roughly equal to the fixation temperature. According to this application, the heating apparatus is designed so that whether or not a paper jam has occurred because a sheet of recording medium has wrapped round the fixation roller is determined based on the signals outputted by the means for detecting the temperature of the fixing roller, and the signals from the means for detecting the leakage of the magnetic flux (means for detecting whether or not fixation roller temperature has reached Curie point).
[0008] As the flexible and endless fixation belt (metallic belt), which is heated by electromagnetic induction and is circularly moved, increases in cumulative length of usage, it sometimes partially breaks. Obviously, if the flexible belt partially breaks, it becomes impossible to uniformly fix a toner image. In some printing jobs, as many as 1,000 copies must be made. Thus, if the fixation belt becomes damaged immediately before, or immediately after, the start of such a job, it is possible that a very large number of unsatisfactory copies will be outputted; there will be a large amount of waste.
[0009] In the case of the structural arrangement disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2005-209644, the phenomenon that magnetic flux leaks as the temperature of the fixation roller exceeds Curie point, is used to simply detect and report the occurrence of the paper jam which occurs as recording medium wraps around the fixation roller which is heated by magnetic induction. That is, the structural arrangement does not detect the abovementioned damage to the belt. Further, the means for detecting the abovementioned magnetic flux leak from the fixation roller to determine whether or not the temperature of the fixation roller has exceeded Curie point of the fixation roller, faces only a part of the fixation roller. Therefore, the structural arrangement disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2005-209644 cannot detect the breakage which has occurred to the areas of the fixation belt, which do not face the means for detecting the magnetic flux leakage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Thus, the primary object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of waste attributable to belt breakage, by detecting the belt breakage in a timely manner.
[0011] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image heating apparatus comprising a coil for generating a magnetic flux; an endless belt having an electroconductive layer for generating heat by the magnetic flux of said coil wherein a recording material carrying image is heated by heat of said belt; a magnetic flux detecting means disposed opposed to said coil with said belt interposed therebetween and capable of detecting the magnetic flux from said coil, said magnetic flux detecting means including a detection portion capable of detecting such a part of the magnetic flux of the magnetic flux generated by said coil as is from a region corresponding to not less than one half of a heat generating region of said belt with respect to a widthwise direction of the recording material; and prohibition means for prohibiting electric power supply to said coil when an amount of the magnetic flux detected by said magnetic flux detecting means reaches a predetermined amount.
[0012] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention, showing the general structure of the apparatus.
[0014] FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the essential portions of the fixing apparatus.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway schematic plan view of the fixing apparatus.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the fixing apparatus, along a plane ( 4 )-( 4 ) in FIG. 2 .
[0017] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the circuit of the control system.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a graph showing the waveform of the coil voltage, and the waveform of the coil current.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a detailed diagram of the combination of the alternating current detection circuit and direct current detection circuit.
[0020] FIG. 8 is a table showing the details of the various conditions of the fixation belt.
[0021] FIG. 9 is a graph showing the waveform of voltage V 1 detected when the belt is intact.
[0022] FIG. 10 is a graph showing the waveform of voltage V 2 detected when the belt is intact.
[0023] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the fixing apparatus, along a plane ( 4 )-( 4 ) in FIG. 2 , a half (in terms of direction perpendicular to recording medium conveyance direction) of the fixation belt is missing.
[0024] FIG. 12 is a graph showing the waveform of voltage V 1 detected when a half (in terms of direction perpendicular to recording medium conveyance direction) of the fixation belt is missing.
[0025] FIG. 13 is a graph showing the waveform of voltage V 2 detected when a half (in terms of direction perpendicular to recording medium conveyance direction) of the fixation belt is missing.
[0026] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the fixing apparatus, along a plane ( 4 )-( 4 ) in FIG. 2 , in which one half of its belt is missing.
[0027] FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of belt breakage and voltage V 2 .
[0028] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the circuit of the control system of the fixing apparatus in the second embodiment.
[0029] FIG. 17 is detailed diagram of the combination of the alternating current detection circuit and direct current detection circuit.
[0030] FIG. 18 is a graph showing the relationship between Sig 6 and the amount of electric power supplied to drive the coil.
[0031] FIG. 19 is a graph showing the relationship between Sig 6 and referential voltage Vrf.
[0032] FIG. 20 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of belt breakage and Voltage V 2 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Embodiment 1
[0000] (Image Forming Portion)
[0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 having a fixing apparatus 200 , which is an image heating apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, based on electromagnetic induction. This image forming apparatus 100 is an electrophotographic full-color printer. First, the general structure of the image forming portion of the apparatus will be described.
[0034] Designated by referential characters UY (yellow), UM (magenta), UC (cyan), and UK (black) are first-fourth image formation units, respectively, which are arranged in tandem, in the left to right direction of FIG. 1 . Each image formation unit constitutes an electrophotographic image forming system which employs a laser-based exposing method. The four image formation units are identical in structure.
[0035] More specifically, in each of the four image formation units UY, UM, UC, and UK, designated by a referential number 51 is an electrophotographic photosensitive member which is in the form of a drum (which hereafter may be referred to as drum), and is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction indicated by an arrow mark. Designated by a referential number 52 is a primary charge roller, which uniformly charges the peripheral surface of the drum 51 to preset polarity and potential level. Designated by a referential number 53 is a laser-based exposing unit, which forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning the uniformly charged peripheral surface of the drum 51 with a beam of laser light L which the exposing unit 53 emits while modulating the beam of laser light L with picture signals obtained by separating the optical image of an original (or intended image) into the monochromatic optical images of a primary color. Designated by a referential number 54 is a developing device, which develops the electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface of the drum 51 , into a visible image, that is, an image formed of toner. The developing device 54 of the first image formation unit UY contains yellow toner as developer. The developing device 54 of the second image formation unit UM contains magenta toner as developer. The developing device 54 of the third image formation unit UC contains cyan toner as developer. The developing device 54 of the fourth image formation unit UK contains black toner as developer.
[0036] To the control circuit portion 50 (control chip), a print start signal and color separation picture signals of full-color image information are sent out from an external host apparatus (unshown), such as a personal computer, an image reader, a facsimile, and so on. Based on these picture signals, the first image formation unit UY is controlled by the control circuit portion 50 so that a yellow toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the drum 51 with preset control timing. The second image formation unit UM is controlled by the control circuit portion 50 so that a magenta toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the drum 51 . The third image formation unit UC is controlled by the control circuit portion 50 so that a magenta toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the drum 51 . The fourth image formation unit UB is controlled by the control circuit portion 50 so that a black toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the drum 51 .
[0037] The abovementioned toner images on the peripheral surfaces of the drums 51 of the image formation units are sequentially transferred in layers onto the surface of an endless and flexible intermediary transfer belt 56 (which hereafter will be referred to as belt) as an intermediary transferring means, in a primary transfer portion 55 , while the belt 56 is circularly driven. As a result, the four unfixed monochromatic toner images are laid in layers on the belt 56 , effecting (synthesizing) an unfixed full-color toner image on the belt 56 . The toner which failed to be transferred onto the belt 56 , that is, the toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the drum 51 , in each of the image forming units is recovered into the developing device 54 at the same time as an electrostatic latent image is developed, and is reused for development.
[0038] The belt 56 is stretched around, being thereby suspended by, a driving roller 58 , a follower roller 59 which also serves as a tension roller, a backup roller 60 for backing up the belt 56 against the pressure from a secondary transfer roller 62 . The belt 56 is circularly driven in the clockwise direction indicated by an arrow mark at roughly the same velocity as the peripheral velocity of the drum 51 . The belt 56 is positioned so that the portions of the belt 56 , which are in the range between the driving roller 58 and follower roller 59 , are placed in contact, or virtually in contact, with the bottom portion of the drum 54 of each image formation unit, to form a primary transfer portion 55 . Designated by a referential number 57 is a primary transfer roller. There are four primary transfer rollers 57 , which are disposed in the primary transfer portions 55 , one for one, being on the back surface side of the belt 56 , that is, the inward side of the belt loop. During the primary transfer of a toner image, a preset primary transfer bias voltage, which is opposite in polarity to the toner charge, is applied to the primary transfer roller 57 .
[0039] The unfixed full-color toner image, that is, a synthesized full-color image, on the belt 56 is delivered to the second transfer portion 61 by the subsequent rotation of the belt 56 . The second transfer portion 61 is formed by causing the secondary transfer roller 62 to press against the belt backup roller 60 with the belt 56 sandwiched between the two rollers 60 and 62 . In other words, the secondary transfer portion 61 is the nip formed between the second transfer roller 61 and belt backup roller 60 . To this second transfer portion 61 , a sheet of recording medium P (transfer medium) is delivered from a sheet feeding unit 63 with preset control timing, and is conveyed through the second transfer portion 61 . As the sheet of recording medium P is conveyed through the second transfer portion 61 , the unfixed full-color toner image on the belt 56 is transferred (secondary transfer) onto the surface of the recording medium P as if it were peeled away from the belt 56 . During the secondary transfer of the toner image, a preset secondary transfer voltage, which is opposite in polarity to the toner charge, is applied to the second transfer roller 62 .
[0040] The sheet feeding unit 63 holds multiple sheets of recording medium P, which are vertically stacked in the unit 63 . The sheets of recording medium P are fed one by one into the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 , with preset control timing. After being fed into the main assembly, each recording medium P is conveyed to a pair of registration rollers 65 through a sheet path 64 a. While the recording medium P is conveyed to the registration rollers 65 , the registration rollers 65 remain stationary, causing thereby the leading edge of the recording medium P to collide with the nip which the pair of registration rollers 65 forms. Then, the rotation of the registration rollers 65 is started in coordination with the timing with which each of the image formation units UY, UM, UC, and UB begins to form an image. The timing with which the rotation of the registration rollers 65 is started is such that the point in time at which the leading edge of the recording medium P arrives at the secondary transfer portion 61 coincides with the point in time at which the leading edge of the toner images having been transferred onto the belt 56 from the image formation units arrive at the secondary transfer portion 61 .
[0041] After the transfer (secondary transfer) of the toner images onto the recording medium P from the surface of the belt 56 in the secondary transfer portion 61 , the recording medium P is separated from the surface of the belt 56 , and is guided into the fixing apparatus 200 through a sheet path 64 b. The unfixed toner images on the recording medium P are fixed to the surface of the recording medium P by the heat and pressure applied to the unfixed toner images and recording medium P by the fixing apparatus 200 . After being conveyed out of the fixing apparatus 200 , the recording medium P is discharged into a delivery tray 66 through a sheet path 64 c, and is stacked in the delivery tray 66 . Incidentally, the image forming apparatus 100 in this embodiment is of the so-called center reference conveyance type, that is, the apparatus 100 is structured so that while a sheet of recording medium (P) is fed into, and conveyed through, the main assembly of the apparatus 100 , the center line of the sheet of recording medium remains aligned with the center line of the recording medium passage of the apparatus 100 regardless of the size (width) of the sheet of the recording medium.
[0042] Designated by a referential number 67 is a cleaning unit for cleaning the image formation surface of the belt 56 . The toner particles which failed to be transfer onto the recording medium P in the secondary transfer portion 61 , that is, the toner particles remaining on the belt 56 after the secondary transfer, are removed by the cleaning unit 67 .
[0043] When the image forming apparatus 100 is in the black-and-white mode, only the fourth image formation unit UK, that is, the image formation unit which forms a black toner image, is activated to output black-and-white copies.
[0000] (Fixing Apparatus 200 )
[0044] FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the essential portions of the fixing apparatus 200 in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway schematic plan view of the fixing apparatus 200 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the fixing apparatus 200 , along a plane ( 4 )-( 4 ) in FIG. 2 . This fixing apparatus 200 is such a fixing apparatus that employs a fixing belt which is heated by electromagnetic induction.
[0045] In the following description of the fixing apparatus 200 , the upstream and downstream sides are defined with reference to the recording medium conveyance direction.
[0046] Designated by referential numbers 71 and 72 are a fixation belt unit and a pressure belt unit (nip formation member), respectively. The fixation belt unit 71 is stacked on top of the pressure belt unit 72 . The two units 71 and 72 are kept pressed against each other with the application of a preset amount of pressure so that a fixation nip N is formed between the fixation belt 2 of the fixation belt unit 71 and the pressure belt 9 of the pressure belt unit 72 . Designated by a referential number 73 is an induction coil unit as the means for heating the fixation belt 2 by electromagnetic induction. The induction coil unit 73 is on the top side of the fixation belt unit 71 .
[0000] (1) Fixation Belt Unit 71
[0047] Designated by referential numbers 6 and 7 are a pair of rollers of the fixation belt unit 71 . The two rollers 6 and 7 constitute the top rollers of the fixation belt unit 71 , and are disposed in parallel, with the presence of a present distance, on the upstream (entrance) and downstream (exit) sides, respectively. Designated by a referential number 2 is a fixation belt as a belt to be heated. The fixation belt 2 is supported by the abovementioned two rollers 6 and 7 , being stretched between the two rollers. Designated by a referential number 8 is a top pad, which is on the inward side of the fixation belt loop. Each of the top rollers 6 and 7 , that is, the top rollers on the entrance and exit sides, respectively, is rotatably supported by the lengthwise ends of its shaft, by the rear and front walls 74 and 75 of the boxy frame of the main assembly of the apparatus, with the placement of a bearing between the shaft and frame. The top pad 8 is nonrotationally held between the rear and front walls of the boxy apparatus frame, by its lengthwise ends, by the rear and front walls 74 and 75 of the apparatus frame. Further, the top roller 6 , or the top roller on the entrance side, is made to function as a tension roller. More specifically, it is enabled to move in the direction parallel to the direction in which the fixation belt 2 is kept stretched, and is kept under the pressure generated in the direction to stretch the fixation belt 2 . The top roller 7 , or the top roller on the exit side, functions as a belt driving roller. It is rotationally driven at a preset velocity in the clockwise direction indicated by an arrow mark, by the rotational driving force which it receives from a motor M 1 through a driving force transmitting mechanism (unshown). As the top roller 7 is rotated, the fixation belt 2 and the top roller 6 follow the rotation of the top roller 7 ; they are rotated by the rotation of the top roller 7 , in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow mark.
[0048] The fixation belt 2 , in this embodiment, is a flexible endless belt, and has a metallic layer, as a substrate layer, (which is layer in which heat is generated by electromagnetic induction), and a rubber layer. More specifically, the metallic layer is 75 μm thick and is formed of nickel, and the rubber layer is 300 μm thick, and is coated on the outward surface of the metallic layer. The metallic layer (electrically conductive layer) is heated by the eddy current induced in the metallic layer by alternating magnetic field generated by electromagnetic induction.
[0049] In FIGS. 3 and 4 , designated by a referential character A is the width of the fixation belt 2 (belt dimension in the direction perpendicular to recording medium conveyance direction), and designated by a referential character B is the width of the largest recording medium (in terms of the direction perpendicular to recording medium conveyance direction) conveyable through the fixing apparatus, that is, the width of the recording medium passage of the fixing apparatus. In this embodiment, this width B, or the recording medium passage width, is 279 mm, which is the length of A 3 recording paper. The width A of the fixation belt 2 is 370 mm, being wider than 279 mm, that is, the width of the recording medium passage of the fixing apparatus. Designated by a referential character C is the track of a sheet of recording medium, which is narrower than the track of a recording medium of the maximum width, and designated by a referential character D is the width of the area of the recording medium passage, which is outside the track of the recording medium narrower than a recording medium of the maximum width. Designated by a referential character O is a referential line (imaginary line) with which the center line of a recording medium is aligned.
[0050] Designated by referential numbers 4 and 5 are main and subordinate thermistors, respectively, as the means for detecting the temperature of the fixation belt 2 . The main and subordinate thermistors 4 and 5 are located on the inward side of the fixation belt loop, and are in contact with the inward surface of the fixation belt 2 . They are disposed so that they are allowed to perpendicularly move relative to the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the fixation belt 2 is stretched, to remain in contact with the fixation belt 2 . They are electrically resistive members, of which resistance value is inversely proportional to their temperature. The main thermistor 4 is in contact with roughly the center portion of the inward surface of the belt portion which is moving through the top side of the belt loop. More specifically, it is attached to the end portion of an elastic plate 4 a, which is fixed by its base portion to the top pad 8 . Thus, the main thermistor 4 is allowed to displace in the direction perpendicular to direction in which the belt is stretched, to remain in contact with the belt 2 . In terms of the width direction of the fixation belt 2 , the position of the main thermistor 4 roughly corresponds to the center portion of the fixation belt 2 , which corresponds to the center portion of the track of a recording medium with the maximum width. As for the subordinate thermistor 5 , it is also placed in contact with the inward surface of the belt portion which is moving through the top side of the belt loop. More specifically, it is attached to the end portion of an elastic plate 5 a, which is fixed by its base portion to the top pad 8 . Thus, the subordinate thermistor 5 is allowed to displace in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the belt 2 is stretched, to remain in contact with the belt 2 . In terms of the width direction of the fixation belt 2 , the position of the subordinate thermistor 5 corresponds to one of the lateral edges of the recording medium passage, that is, one of the edges of the track of the widest recording medium conveyable through the fixing apparatus 200 .
[0051] Incidentally, the temperature detecting means 4 and 5 may be disposed close to the fixation belt surface, instead of being placed in contact with the fixation belt surface.
[0000] (2) Pressure Belt Unit 72
[0052] Designated by referential numbers 10 and 11 are a pair of rollers of the pressure belt unit 72 . The two rollers 10 and 11 constitute the bottom rollers of the fixing apparatus 200 , and are disposed in parallel, with the presence of a preset distance, on the upstream (entrance) and downstream (exit) sides, respectively. Designated by a referential number 9 is an endless pressure belt. The pressure belt 9 is supported by the abovementioned two rollers 10 and 11 , being stretched between the two rollers. Designated by a referential number 12 is a bottom pad, which is on the inward side of the pressure belt loop. Each of the rollers 10 and 11 , that is, the bottom rollers on the entrance and exit sides, respectively, is rotatably supported by the lengthwise ends of its shaft, by the rear and front walls 74 and 75 of the boxy frame of the main assembly of the apparatus, with the placement of a bearing between the shaft and frame. The bottom pad 12 is nonrotationally held between the rear and front walls 74 and 75 of the boxy apparatus frame, by its lengthwise ends, by the rear and front walls 74 and 75 of the apparatus frame. Further, the bottom roller 10 , or the bottom roller on the entrance side, is made to function as a tension roller. More specifically, it is enabled to move in the direction parallel to the direction in which the pressure belt 9 is kept stretched, and is kept under the pressure generated in the direction to stretch the pressure belt 9 . The bottom roller 11 , or the bottom roller on the exit side functions as a belt driving roller. It is rotationally driven at a preset velocity in the clockwise direction indicated by an arrow mark in FIG. 2 , by the rotational driving force which it receives from a motor M 2 through a driving force transmitting mechanism (unshown). As the bottom roller 11 is rotated, the pressure belt 9 and the bottom roller 10 follow the rotation of the bottom roller 11 ; they are rotated by the rotation of the bottom roller 11 , in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow mark.
[0053] The pressure belt 9 , in this embodiment, is an entirely flexible endless belt, and has a heat resistant resin layer, as a substrate layer, and a rubber layer. More specifically, the heat resistant resin layer is a 50 μm thick and is formed of polyimide, and the rubber layer is 300 μm thick, and is coated on the outward surface of the heat resistant resin layer. The width of the pressure belt 9 is roughly the same as the width of the fixation belt 2 .
[0054] The top entrance roller 6 and bottom entrance roller 10 are kept pressed against each other, with the fixation belt 2 and pressure belt 9 pinched between the two rollers, with the application of roughly 196 N (roughly 20 kg) of force. The top pad 8 and bottom pad 12 are kept pressed against each other, with the fixation belt 2 and pressure belt 9 pinched between the two pads, with the application of roughly 392 N (roughly 40 kg) of force. Further, the top exit roller 7 and bottom exit roller 11 are kept pressed against each other, with the fixation belt 2 and pressure belt 9 pinched between the two rollers, with the application of roughly 294 N (roughly 30 kg) of force. With the provision of this structural arrangement, the portion of the fixation belt 2 of the fixation belt unit 71 , which corresponds to the bottom side of the fixation belt loop, and the portion of the pressure belt 9 of the pressure belt unit 72 , which corresponds to the top side of the pressure belt loop, are kept pressed upon each other, forming thereby the fixation nip N, of which dimension in terms of the recording medium conveyance direction is substantial.
[0000] (3) Induction Coil Unit 73
[0055] The induction coil unit 73 is located on the opposite side of the fixation belt unit 71 from the pressure belt unit 72 . It opposes the outward surface of the fixation belt 2 , with the presence of a preset gap H. It is held to the rear and front walls 74 and 75 of the boxy frame of the apparatus, with the use of a bracket 76 .
[0056] The induction coil unit 73 is provided with an induction coil 1 (which hereafter will be referred to as coil), and a magnetic core 1 a (which hereafter will be referred to as core). The coil 1 is made up of copper wire, of which surface is coated with, for example, a layer of fusible substance and a layer of electrically insulative substance, and is wound several times. The core 1 a is formed of a ferric substance, for example. It may be made up of a single plate of a ferric substance, or multiple plates of a ferric substance. More concretely, in this embodiment, Litz wire is used as the electric wire for the coil 1 of the induction coil unit 73 . The Litz wire is wound (six turns) in a long (in terms of width direction of fixation belt 2 ) and flat spiral pattern, and is covered with the core 1 a. Then, the combination of the coil 1 and core 1 a are covered with electrically insulative resin, being thereby molded into the induction coil unit 73 , which is a long (in terms of width direction of fixation belt 2 ) and flat member. The core 1 a covers the entirety of the opposite side of the coil 1 from the fixation belt 2 , preventing thereby the magnetic field generated by the coil 1 from propagating in the direction other than toward the metallic (nickel) layer of the fixation belt 2 , which is the layer in which heat is generated by electromagnetic induction. The coil 1 is shaped so that its dimension, in terms of the direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction, is greater than the dimension of the track B of a widest recording medium conveyable through the fixing apparatus 200 .
[0000] (4) Fixing Operation
[0057] As the main power source switch of the image forming apparatus is turned on, or as a print start signal is inputted while the image forming apparatus is on standby, the motors M 1 and M 2 are driven, whereby the fixation belt 2 and pressure belt 9 are rotationally driven in the clockwise and counterclockwise direction, respectively, at roughly the same velocity. Further, alternating electric current is flowed between the terminals 18 - 1 and 18 - 2 of the coil 1 from an induction coil driving circuit 26 , generating thereby an alternating magnetic field (magnetic flux). By this alternating magnetic field, heat is generated by electromagnetic induction in the metallic (nickel) substrate layer, as the heat generation layer, of the fixation belt 2 . As a result, the fixation belt 2 becomes heated. As the fixation belt 2 becomes heated, the temperature of the fixation belt 2 is detected by the main and subordinate thermistors 4 and 5 , and the electrical information regarding the temperature of the fixation belt 2 is inputted from the thermistors 4 and 5 into a temperature control circuit 23 as a controlling means. In this embodiment, the temperature controlling circuit 23 controls the manner in which the coil 1 is driven, so that the temperature level detected by the main thermistor 4 remains at 200° C. More specifically, the temperature control circuit 23 controls the temperature of the fixation belt 2 by control the amount of electric power supplied to the coil 1 from the induction coil heating circuit 26 . The temperature of the fixation belt 2 is controlled so that the point of the fixation belt 2 , which corresponds to the main thermistor 4 , remains at 200° C. However, as this point of fixation belt 2 is moved away from the induction coil unit 7 by the circular rotation of the fixation belt 2 , it gradually reduces in temperature. Thus, the temperature of this point of fixation belt 2 will be roughly 180° C. by the time it reaches the interface between the entrance top roller 6 and exit top roller 10 , and will be roughly 170° C. by the time it reaches the interface between the top and bottom pads 8 and 12 . Further, it will be roughly 160° C. by the time it reaches the interface between the exit top roller 7 and exit bottom roller 11 .
[0058] As the temperature of the fixation belt 2 reaches the preset fixation temperature, the recording P, on which an unfixed toner image t is borne (has just been formed), is conveyed to the fixing apparatus 200 from the image formation unit side. As the recording medium P reaches the fixing apparatus 200 , it is introduced into the fixation nip N, while being guided by a guide 3 , with the surface of the recording medium P, on which the toner image t is borne, facing the fixation belt 2 . Then, the recording medium P is conveyed through the fixation nip N, with the surface of the recording medium P, on which the toner image t is borne, kept pressed upon the surface of the fixation belt 2 . As a result, the unfixed toner image t is fixed to the surface of the recording medium P by heat and pressure, turning into a permanently fixed image. After being conveyed through the fixing apparatus 200 , the recording medium P is separated from the surface of the fixation belt 2 , and is conveyed further to be discharged from the apparatus.
[0059] As a substantial number of small recording mediums P, more specifically, recording mediums P of which dimension in terms of the direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction is smaller than the width of the track B of the widest recording medium conveyable through the fixing apparatus 200 , are consecutively conveyed through the fixing apparatus 200 , the area D of the fixation belt 2 , that is, the area of the fixation belt 2 , which is outside the track of the recording medium P being currently used for image formation, gradually increases in temperature. The subordinate thermistor 5 plays the role of monitoring whether or not the temperature of the area D is excessively high. That is, based on the electrical information regarding the temperature, which is inputted from the subordinate thermistor 5 , the temperature control circuit 23 monitors the temperature of the area D. If it determines that the temperature of the area D is excessively high, it executes such a control that is for reducing the temperature of the area D; for example, the control for increasing the recording medium conveyance intervals, control for keeping the induction coil unit 7 turned off during the recording medium intervals, and so on.
[0000] (5) Detection of Fixation Belt Breakage, and the Like
[0060] An antenna 3 is a magnetic flux detecting means, with which the fixing apparatus 200 is provided to detect the breakage (whether or not a part of fixation belt has torn off) and/or tearing of the fixation belt 2 . The antenna 3 is a magnetic flux detecting means, which generates electric current therein as it is exposed to alternating magnetic flux. The antenna 3 is disposed so that it opposes the coil 1 of the induction coil unit 73 , with the presence of the fixation belt 2 between the antenna 3 and coil 1 . It extends in the width direction of the fixation belt 2 , and its length is no less than half the width of the heat generating portion of the fixation belt 2 . It is desired, however, that the range across which the loop antenna 3 extends matches roughly the entirety of the track of the widest sheet of recording medium (in terms of the direction perpendicular to recording medium conveyance direction) conveyable through the fixing apparatus 200 . Referring to FIG. 4 , this antenna 3 is looped in a manner to surround hatched areas A- 1 ( 3 -F- 1 ) and A- 2 ( 3 -F- 2 ). The material for the antenna 3 is electric wire coated with insulating substance which is resistant to a temperature level of at least 250° C. As alternating magnetic flux moves through the areas A- 1 and A- 2 , alternating voltage and alternating current are induced in the loop antenna 3 .
[0061] Referring to FIG. 4 , as long as the entirety of the loop antenna 3 remains shielded from the magnetic field generated by the coil 1 , by the fixation belt 2 having the metallic layer as the electromagnetic inductive heat generating layer, the magnetic field induced by the coil 1 does not reach the loop antenna 3 , and therefore, alternating voltage and current do not occur in the loop antenna 3 .
[0062] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control system which includes the abovementioned loop antenna 3 . The temperature control circuit 23 is in contact with the main and subordinate thermistors 4 and 5 , through a connector 17 (electrically connective means, which can be disconnected). The temperature control circuit 23 outputs control signals to the induction coil driving circuit 26 (coil driving power source), so that the fixation temperature level detected by the main thermistor 4 is maintained at 200° C., which is the target temperature for the fixation belt 2 . Sig 5 is the ON/OFF signal. That is, when Sig 5 is at the high level, it means that the circuit 26 is to be turned on. A signal Sig 6 is the signal for specifying the amount of the electric power to be supplied to drive the coil 1 .
[0063] The antenna 3 is in connection with the control system through a pair of connectors 16 and 17 . The connector 16 has two terminals 16 - 1 and 16 - 2 . The terminal 16 - 1 is in connection with a power source 15 , of which voltage relative to GND is 3.3 V, and the terminal 16 - 2 is in connection with an alternating current detection circuit 21 and a direct current detection circuit 22 (Sig 1 ). This alternating current detection circuit 21 is a means (electric power detecting means) for checking whether or not the voltage which occurs in the antenna 3 , or the amount of current which occurs in the antenna 3 , exceeds a preset value.
[0064] If one or both of the outputs Sig 2 and Sig 3 of these circuits 21 and 22 , respectively, become high, the output Sig of NOR 24 of a logic circuit becomes low (output Sig 4 becomes high only when both outputs Sig 2 and Sig 3 become low). When the output Sig 4 is low, an OFF signal is given to the induction coil driving 26 (Sig 7 ), regardless of the status of the ON/OFF signal Sig 5 , which the temperature control circuit 23 outputs through AND 25 of the logic circuit.
[0065] The NOR 24 and AND 25 constitute a protection circuit (inhibiting means) which interrupts the driving of the coil 1 by the induction coil driving circuit 26 as the power source for driving the coil 1 (interrupt power supply to coil 1 ), regardless of the belt temperature, in response to the detection by the alternating current detecting means.
[0066] The above described antenna 3 , alternating current detection circuit 21 , and protection circuit, make up the means which detects whether or not a part of the fixation belt 2 has torn off (and/or simply torn), and inhibits power from being supplied to the coil 1 .
[0067] If Sig 1 inputted into the alternating current detection circuit 21 includes alternating voltage, Sig 2 , which is the output signal of the alternating current circuit 21 , becomes high in signal level. If the signal 1 contains DC voltage, Sig 3 , which is the output signal of the direct current detection circuit 22 becomes low in signal level.
[0068] When the induction coil driving circuit 26 is outputting its maximum amount of power, the voltage between the coil terminal 18 - 1 and 18 - 2 , and the current which flows between the coil terminal 18 - 1 and 18 - 2 , are as shown in FIG. 6 . That is, the voltage and current are different in phase, and power factor is roughly 0.36. Designated by a referential number 19 is an inductive component, which is 46 pH in inductance. Designated by a referential number 20 is a resistive component, which is 3 Ω in resistance. The combination of these components is equivalent in impedance to the apparatus including the fixation belt 23 when the frequency of the signal is 27 kHz.
[0069] FIG. 7 is a detailed diagram of the combination of the alternating current detection circuit 21 and direct current detection circuit 22 , shown in FIG. 5 , and the constants of the circuits 21 and 22 .
[0000] (5-1) Normal Condition
[0070] The “normal condition” of the fixation belt 2 means that it has not occurred that a part of the fixation belt 2 is torn off and/or simply torn backward in terms of belt movement direction. In other words, it means that the fixation belt 2 is perfect across its entire areas. When the fixation belt 2 is in the normal condition, the entirety of the functional area of the loop antenna 3 is shielded from the coil 1 by the fixation belt 2 having the metallic layer as the layer in which heat is generated by electromagnetic induction, as shown in FIG. 4 . Therefore, the magnetic field generated by the coil 1 does not reach the loop antenna 3 . Thus, alternating voltage and current do not occur in the loop antenna 3 .
[0071] Next, the conditions in which the alternating current detection circuit 21 and direct current detection current 22 are when the fixation belt 2 is under the normal condition will be described. The column of FIG. 8 , which is named Condition 1 , shows the details of the conditions. When the fixing apparatus 200 is in the condition shown in FIGS. 2-4 , the connectors 16 and 17 are in the normally connected state, and the voltage V 1 of Sig 1 in FIG. 7 is DC voltage and is 3.3 V. The waveform of the voltage V 1 is as shown in FIG. 9 . The voltage inputted into the positive terminal of a comparator 35 is 0 V, because a condenser 27 blocks direct current voltage.
[0072] The comparator 35 is such a circuit that outputs a high level signal if the input to its positive terminal is greater than the input to its negative terminal. The waveform of the high level signal outputted by the comparator 35 is shown in FIG. 10 . In this embodiment, the voltage Vref, which is inputted into the negative terminal of the comparator 35 is set to 0.3 V. Therefore, the comparator 35 outputs a low level signal to Sig 2 . Further, DC voltage is applied to the base of a transistor 39 through a resistor 37 . Therefore, the transistor 39 turns on, and therefore, the level of Sig 3 at the collector of the transistor 39 becomes low. The induction coil driving circuit 26 is controlled based on Sig 5 and Sig 6 from the temperature control circuit 23 .
[0000] (5-2) Abnormal Condition (Part of Fixation Belt has Torn Off and/or Torn Backward)
[0073] FIG. 11 shows the fixing apparatus 200 , of which fixation belt 2 has torn off (part of fixation belt 2 is missing). When the fixing apparatus 200 is in this condition, there is the fixation belt 2 (which includes substrate formed of nickel) between the area A- 1 of the antenna 3 and the coil 1 , preventing thereby the alternating magnetic field which the coil 1 generates, from reaching the area A- 1 of the antenna 3 . However, there is no fixation belt 2 (of which substrate is formed of nickel) between the area A- 2 of the antenna 3 and the coil 1 . Therefore, the alternating electric field generated by the coil 1 reaches the area A- 2 of the antenna 3 . Thus, alternating voltage and current occur between the terminals 16 - 1 and 16 - 2 of the antenna 3 .
[0074] If roughly half the fixation belt 2 , in terms of its width direction, is missing, and the connecter 17 is in the normally connected state, the magnetic field generated by the coil 1 reaches the antenna 3 , generating alternating voltage, of which amplitude is 1 V, in the antenna 3 . Thus, the combination of 3.3 V of DC voltage, and the AC voltage, of which amplitude is 1 V, appears in Sig 1 . The waveform of this voltage is shown in FIG. 12 . Further, in this case, Sig 1 is alternating voltage, and therefore, current flows through condenser 27 ( FIG. 7 ). This alternating current is separated by the diodes 28 and 30 , based on the direction in which it flows, and the condenser 29 is charged. The condenser 29 discharges this charge through a resistor 32 . However, the time constant of this discharge is overwhelmingly longer than the period of 27 kHz. Therefore, the discharge becomes roughly 1 V of DC voltage. The waveform of this DC voltage is shown in FIG. 13 . Also in this case, the voltages on the positive and negative sides of the comparator 35 are 1 V and 0.3 V, respectively. Thus, the voltage of the comparator 35 is at the high level, and the output Sig 4 of NOR 24 is at the low level. Because Sig 7 is at the low level regardless of the state of Sigs 5 and 6 , the induction coil driving circuit 26 functions to stop the driving of the coil 1 .
[0075] If the driving of the coil 1 is stopped by the function of the protection circuit 21 and 22 as described above, the control circuit 50 ( FIG. 1 ) functions as the inhibiting means for stopping the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus, including the fixing apparatus 200 , as quickly as possible. Then, it displays a message, such that a damage (damages including tearing) has occurred, or that the connecter 17 becomes disconnected, as will be described later, and prompts a user to take an appropriate measure.
[0076] Therefore, it does not occur that the image forming operation is continued even though the fixation belt 2 has partially or entirely torn off, more specifically, the entirety or a part of the fixation belt 2 is missing (including being partially torn); it does not occur that the coil 1 is wastefully driven.
[0077] Further, in order to prevent the output of the comparator 35 from reverting to the low level, the diode 41 latches the high level of the output of the comparator 35 to the positive input level of the comparator 35 . This state can be cleared by turning off the DC power source 15 , of which voltage is 3.3 V, and then, turning it on again.
[0078] Condition 3 in FIG. 8 is a condition that the connector 17 has become disconnected. In this case, Sig 1 is 0 V, and therefore, the transistor 39 is off, and Sig 3 is high because of 3.3 V supplied through a resistor 40 . Therefore, Sig 4 , which is the output signal of NOR 24 is at low level. Further, Sig 7 is at the low level regardless of the status (level) of Sig 5 and Sig 6 outputted from the temperature control circuit 23 . Therefore, the induction coil driving circuit 26 functions to stop the driving of the coil 1 . The control circuit 50 ( FIG. 1 ) stops the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus, inclusive of the fixing apparatus 200 , as quickly as possible.
[0079] Therefore, it does not occur that a printing operation is continued even though the connector 17 is not in connection with the temperature control circuit 23 , that is, even through the thermistors 4 and 5 are not in connection with the temperature control circuit 23 . In other words, it does not occur that a printing operation is continued even though the driving the coil 1 is being driven with no connection between the thermistors 4 and 5 , and the temperature control circuit 23 .
[0080] Therefore, it does not occur that because the connectors of the main thermistor 4 are disengaged (have become disengaged), that is, because the main thermistor 4 is not in connection with the temperature control circuit 23 , the temperature of the belt 2 is erroneously detected (it is determined to be lower than target level). Therefore, it does not occur that the belt 2 is heated to a temperature level higher than 200° C.
[0081] Next, the values, to which the amount by which the belt 2 has torn or torn off must increase before it is detected that the belt 2 has torn or torn off when the damage to the belt 2 has been gradually increasing, will be described in detail.
[0082] FIG. 14 shows the fixing apparatus 200 , in which a part of the edge portion of fixation belt is missing (has torn off). In the drawing, a referential character Lx stands for the distance between the right-hand end of the antenna 3 and the right-hand edge of the belt 2 , and this distance Lx is used as the amount by which the belt 2 is missing in terms of its width direction. FIG. 15 shows the relationship between the changes in the distance Lx and the changes in the detected voltage V 2 . The reason why three lines extend from the origin is that this relationship is affected by the amount of power supplied to drive the coil 1 . That is, the three lines represent the relationship between the Lx and V 2 which results when the amount of power supplied to drive the coil 1 is largest, is half the largest amount, and one quarter the largest amount, one for one; they show that the detected output voltage V 2 is proportional to the amount of power supplied to drive the induction coil 1 . More specifically, when Lx is in a range of 0-L 1 , the detected voltage V 2 increases in proportion to Lx. When Lx is in a range of L 1 -L 2 , V 2 does not change, because the loop antenna 3 is shaped to make room for the thermistor 4 , and therefore, the portion of the antenna 3 , which corresponds to the position of the thermistor 4 , is negligibly small in size. When Lx is greater than L 2 , the detected voltage V 2 increases, because the portion of the antenna 3 , which corresponds to Lx, is substantial in size.
[0083] As described above, the detected voltage V 2 is compared to 0.3 V by the comparator 35 . Therefore, if Lx becomes larger than La, in FIG. 15 , while the coil 1 is driven by the maximum amount of power, the comparator 35 reverses in function, and functions to stop the driving of the coil 1 , as it does if a half of the belt 2 , in terms of its width direction, becomes critically damaged or completely lost while the coil 1 is driven with the maximum amount of power.
[0084] Similarly, if Lx becomes larger than Lb while the coil 1 is driven with half the maximum amount of power, the comparator 35 reverses in function, functioning therefore to stop the driving of the coil 1 .
[0085] Further, if Lx becomes larger than Lc while the coil 1 is driven with half the maximum amount of power, the comparator 35 reverses in function, functioning therefore to stop the driving of the coil 1 .
Embodiment 2
[0086] In the first embodiment, in order for the belt damage to be detected to stop the driving of the coil 1 , the amount of the belt damage has to be inversely proportional to the amount of power used to drive the coil 1 . Referring to FIG. 16 , in this embodiment, Sig 6 , which sets the amount by which power is supplied to drive the coil 1 , is inputted into the alternating current detection circuit 21 .
[0087] Referring to FIG. 17 , Sig 6 is used as the voltage separated by the voltage divider circuit made up of resistors 33 and 34 to generate Vref which is to be inputted into the negative input terminal of the comparator 35 . The relationship between Sig 6 and the amount of power used to drive the coil 1 is shown in FIG. 18 .
[0088] FIG. 19 shows the relationship between Vref, that is, the voltage which is obtained by dividing Sig 6 by the voltage dividing circuit made up of the resistors 33 and 34 and is inputted into the negative input terminal of the comparator 35 , and Sig 6 .
[0089] Therefore, Vref, that is, the voltage inputted into the negative input terminal of the comparator 35 , is set in proportion to the amount of power supplied to the coil 1 . For example, when the amount of power supplied to the coil 1 is the maximum, Vref is 3.3 V. When it is half the maximum amount, Vref is 1.65 V. Further, when it is quarter the maximum amount, Vref is 0.825 V. Transposing these voltage values onto the vertical axis of FIG. 15 (which is for describing first embodiment) yields FIG. 20 . That is, even when the amount of power supplied to drive the coil 1 is half or quarter the maximum amount, as Lx becomes larger than La, the output of the comparator 35 changes from the low level to the high level. That is, the amount by which the belt 2 must break in order for the breakage of the belt 2 to be detected, remains the same regardless of the amount of power supplied to drive the coil 1 .
[0090] While the invention has been described with reference to the structures disclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth, and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of the following claims.
[0091] This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 159653/2006 filed Jun. 8, 2006 which is hereby incorporated by reference. | An image heating apparatus includes a coil for generating a magnetic flux; an endless belt having an electroconductive layer for generating heat by the magnetic flux of the coil wherein a recording material carrying image is heated by heat of the belt; a magnetic flux detecting means disposed opposed to the coil with the belt interposed therebetween and capable of detecting the magnetic flux from the coil, the magnetic flux detecting means including a detection portion capable of detecting such a part of the magnetic flux of the magnetic flux generated by the coil as is from a region corresponding to not less than one half of a heat generating region of the belt with respect to a widthwise direction of the recording material; and prohibition means for prohibiting electric power supply to the coil when an amount of the magnetic flux detected by the magnetic flux detecting means reaches a predetermined amount. | 6 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to nozzles for beverage dispensers and more particularly relates to modular multi-flavor dispensing nozzles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Current post-mix beverage dispenser nozzles generally mix a stream of syrup, concentrate, bonus flavor, or other type of flavoring ingredient with water by shooting the stream down the center of the nozzle with the water flowing around the outside of the syrup stream. The syrup stream is directed downward with the water stream as the streams drop into the cup. The nozzle may be a multi-flavor or a single flavor nozzle. One known dispensing nozzle system is shown in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,651 to Whigham et al., entitled “Nozzle for Post Mix Beverage Dispenser”, incorporated herein by reference.
A multi-flavor nozzle may rely upon a water flush across the bottom of the syrup chamber to clean the part and to prevent color carry over in subsequent beverages. Flavor carryover also may be a concern. This water flush, however, may not be effective with all types of syrups. As a result, there still may be some carryover from one beverage to the next. This concern is particularly an issue if the nozzle is first used for a dark colored beverage and then a clear beverage is requested.
Other issues with known nozzles include their adaptability for fluids with different viscosities, flow rates, mixing ratios, and temperatures. For example, beverages such as carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, juices, coffees, and teas all may have different flow characteristics. Current nozzles may not be able to accommodate multiple beverages with a single nozzle design and/or the nozzle may be hard-plumbed for different types of fluid flow. As a result, modification of the over-all beverage dispenser may be difficult for different types of beverages.
There is a desire therefore for an improved multi-flavor beverage dispenser nozzle. The nozzle should be easy to use and should be reasonably priced with respect to known dispensing nozzles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention thus provides a dispensing nozzle for mixing a first fluid and one or more second fluids to form a third fluid. The nozzle may include a first fluid pathway and a number of replaceable second fluid modules surrounding at least in part the first fluid pathway.
Exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include the second fluid modules having a number of outlet holes. About six (6) to about thirty (30) outlet holes may be used. The outlet holes may be circular in shape with a diameter of about 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.08 inches (about 2 millimeters). The outlet holes also may be triangular in shape with a similar area. The outlet holes may have lengths of about 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.25 inches (about 6.35 millimeters). The outlet holes may have angles from the horizon of about thirty degrees (30°) to about ninety degrees (90°). The outlet holes may be angled to mix the second fluid into the first fluid.
The first fluid may include water. The second fluid may include syrup, concentrate, a bonus flavor, or other flavoring ingredients. The third fluid may include a cold beverage and the number of outlet holes may include a first predetermined orientation. The third fluid may include a hot beverage and the number of outlet holes may include a second predetermined orientation. The replaceable second fluid modules may include a first module with a first predetermined flow orientation and a second module with a second predetermined flow orientation.
A further exemplary embodiment of the present invention may provide a dispensing nozzle for mixing a water stream with one of a number of syrup streams. The nozzle may include a water module for providing the water stream. The water module may include a stream director for the water stream. The nozzle also may include a number of syrup modules surrounding the water module for directing one of the syrup streams towards the stream director and the water stream.
The stream director may include a number of ribs. The ribs may define a number of channels. A divider may be positioned within the channels. The stream director may include a water flow end and a syrup target end. The syrup modules may include a first module with a first predetermined flow orientation and a second module with a second predetermined flow orientation. The dispensing nozzle further may include a main body with a water pathway for the water stream. The main body may include means for replaceably attaching the water module and the syrup modules thereto. The syrup modules may include a bonus flavor module or a module for another flavoring ingredient.
A further exemplary embodiment of the present invention may provide a dispensing nozzle for mixing a water stream with one of a number of syrup streams. The dispensing nozzle may include a main body with a pathway for the water stream. A water module may be replaceably attached to the main body. The water module may include a stream director for directing the water stream as the stream leaves the water module. A number of syrup modules may be replaceably attached to the main body. The syrup modules may surround the water module for directing one of the syrup streams towards the stream director. The syrup modules may include a number of different flow configurations.
An exemplary method of the present invention may provide for mixing a water stream from a water module with a syrup stream from one of a number of syrup modules to form one of a number of beverage types. The method may include the steps of selecting the beverages types, determining the flow characteristics of each of the beverage types, providing a syrup module to accommodate the determined flow characteristics, surrounding at least in part the water module with the provided syrup modules, and flowing the water stream from the water module and the syrup stream from one of the syrup modules.
These and other features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments in connection with the drawings and the claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing nozzle of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a further perspective view of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is top plan view of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the main body of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 7 is a further perspective view of a main body of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the water module of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the water module.
FIG. 10 is a further perspective view of the alternative embodiment of the water module of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a syrup module of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 12 is a further perspective view of the syrup module of the dispensing nozzle of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an outlet portion of the syrup module.
FIG. 14 is a further perspective view of the outlet portion of the syrup module.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the outlet portion of the syrup module.
FIG. 16 is a further perspective view of the alternative embodiment of the outlet portion of the syrup module.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the figures in which like parts represent like elements throughout the several views, FIGS. 1-5 show an example of a dispensing nozzle 100 of the present invention. The dispensing nozzle 100 may be used with any type of conventional post-mix beverage dispenser, including multi-flavor beverage dispensers. The present invention is not limited with respect to the type of beverage dispenser.
The dispensing nozzle 100 may include three main components, a main body 110 , a water module 120 , and a plurality of syrup modules 130 . The main body 100 and the water module 120 may be separate or unitary elements. Other elements also may be used. Each of the elements of the dispensing nozzle 100 may be made out of a thermoplastic, metals, or similar types of materials. For example, thermoplastics such as Zytel (nylon resin) sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours of Wilmington, Del. may be used for cold beverage applications. Similarly, thermoplastics such as Radel (Polyethersulfone) sold by BP Amoco Polymers of Chicago, Ill. may be used for hot or cold applications. Likewise, other types of thermoplastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or similar materials also may be used. The material preferably may be food grade.
An example of the main body 110 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 . The main body 110 may be directly connected to the water circuit of a conventional beverage dispenser (not shown). The main body 110 may include a body element 140 . The body element 140 is shown to be circular but may take any convenient shape. The body 140 may define a water pathway 150 therethrough. Again, the water pathway 150 is shown as circular but may take any convenient shape. The water pathway 150 may be attached directly to the water circuit of the beverage dispenser. More than one pathway 150 may be used. For example, one pathway 150 may be used for still water and one pathway 150 may be used for soda water (carbonated water). We use the term “water” herein to refer to either or both still and/or soda water.
The main body 110 may have several flanges 160 attached to the body 140 . Although three (3) flanges 160 are shown, any number of flanges 160 or other type of attachment means may be used. The flanges 160 each may include a central aperture 170 so as to attach the main body 110 to the beverage dispenser via screws or other types of connection means. The main body 110 also may include a number of grooves 180 positioned within the body 140 . The grooves 180 in this example are largely “T”-shaped, although any convenient shape may be used. The grooves 180 permit the attachment of the syrup modules 130 as will be described in more detail below. The main body 110 also may include a number of protrusions 190 . The protrusions 190 in this example are largely button-shaped, although any convenient shape may be used. The protrusions 190 permit the attachment of the water module 120 as will be described in more detail below. The main body 110 also may have a circular indent 200 or a similar structure positioned along the body 140 . The circular indent 200 may be filled with an O-ring 210 or a similar structure so as to provide a watertight seal with the water module 120 .
FIG. 8 shows an example of the water module 120 . The water module 120 may include an upper cylinder 220 . The upper cylinder 220 is shown to be circular but may take any convenient shape. The upper cylinder 220 may be substantially hollow. The upper cylinder 220 may define more than one internal chamber depending upon, for example, the number of water pathways 150 used. The upper cylinder 220 may include a number of indentations 230 . The indentations 230 may be sized to accept the protrusions 190 of the main body 110 such that the water module 120 may be attached to the main body 110 . The indentations 230 are shown as substantially L-shaped such that the water module 120 may be twisted into position. Any other convenient shape may be used. Any other type of attachment method may be used.
The upper cylinder 220 also may have an outlet 240 . The outlet 240 may be substantially circular in shape and extend around the inner perimeter of the upper cylinder 220 . The outlet 240 may include a number of outlet holes 250 that extend within the upper cylinder 220 to the exterior of the water module 120 . The number, size, shape, and length of the outlet holes 250 may vary. In this example, the water module 120 may include about twelve (12) to about sixty (60) outlet holes 250 with each outlet hole 250 being about 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.25 inches (about 6.35 millimeters) in diameter and 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.25 inches (about 6.35 millimeters) in length. The outlet holes 250 may be straight or angled.
Positioned beneath the upper cylinder 220 may be a number of ribs 260 . The ribs 260 may form pairs of ribs so as to define substantially U or V-shaped channels 270 adjacent to each or several of the outlet holes 250 . Each channel 270 may accommodate one or a number of the outlet holes 250 . Each rib 260 may have an upper portion 280 and a lower portion 290 . The upper portion 280 of each rib 260 or pairs of ribs 260 may function largely to stabilize the flow of plain water and/or reduce the water velocity and subsequent foaming with respect to soda water. The lower portion 290 of each rib 260 or pair of ribs 260 largely may function as a syrup target as will be explained in more detail below. Positioned within each channel 270 may be a divider 300 . The divider 300 may divide the channel 270 adjacent to each of or several of the outlet holes 250 so as to provide further stabilization to the water flow. The divider 300 may only extend along the upper portion 280 of the ribs 260 . The lower portion 290 of the ribs 300 thus allows several water streams to merge while acting as the syrup target.
In this embodiment, the ribs 260 may have a thickness of about 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.125 inches (about 3.175 millimeters). The ribs 260 may extend from the upper cylinder 220 by about 0.75 inches (about 19 millimeters) to about 1.75 inches (about 44.5 millimeters) The divider 300 may have a similar thickness and may extend about half the distance from the upper cylinder 220 . Any convenient size or shape may be used.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show an alternative embodiment of the water module 120 . In this embodiment, the water module 120 may include a number of ribs 310 with approximately twice the number of channels 270 as was described above with the ribs 260 . In this case, the channels 270 therein are about half as wide. The dividers 300 may not be used in this embodiment. The upper portion 280 of the ribs 300 thus also acts to stabilize the plain water flow and to reduce the water flow velocity and foaming in the soda water flow in a manner similar the ribs 260 .
FIGS. 11-14 show an example of one of the syrup modules 130 . Each module 130 may include a main body portion 320 and an outlet portion 330 . Each main body portion 320 may include an upper cylinder 340 . The upper cylinder 340 may be connected directly to a syrup circuit within a conventional beverage dispenser. The upper cylinder 340 may include a barb 350 so as to provide a watertight connection to the syrup circuit. The upper cylinder 340 also may include a connection element 360 . The connection element 360 allows the syrup module 130 to be positioned within the grooves 180 of the main body 110 . In this case, the connection element 360 is substantially T-shaped so as to be positioned within a similarly shaped groove 180 within the main body 110 . The connection element 360 , however, may take any convenient shape. Alternatively, the syrup modules 130 may be attached to the water module 120 .
The main body 320 also may include an expansion chamber 370 . The expansion chamber 370 may be substantially hollow. The expansion chamber 370 may provide for substantially smooth syrup flow through the outlet portion 330 .
FIGS. 13 and 14 show one embodiment of the outlet portion 330 . The outlet portion 330 may include a number of outlet holes 380 . The number, size, shape, length, and angle of the outlet holes 380 may vary greatly and may be customized according to the nature of the syrup or other fluid intended to be used therein. The pressure of the fluid flow therein also may vary the design of the holes 380 . Although the outlet holes 380 are shown as circular, any convenient shape may be used. The outlet holes 380 may range in number from about six (6) to about thirty (30). The outlet holes 380 may have a diameter of about 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.08 inches (about 2 millimeters). The length of the outlet holes 380 also may vary. The outlet holes 380 may have a length of about 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.25 inches (about 6.35 millimeters). The outlet holes 380 preferably are angled such that the syrup is shot at the lower portion 290 or the target area of the ribs 260 . The angle of the outlet holes 380 may range from thirty degrees (30°) to about ninety degrees (90°) from the horizon. It is important to note that the size, shape, orientation, and other characteristics of the outlet holes 380 may vary greatly from the examples herein.
The outlet 330 also may include a skirt 390 . The skirt 390 may extend the width of the outlet 330 and extend below the outlet holes 380 by about 0.03 inches (about 0.76 millimeters) to about 0.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters).
FIGS. 15 and 16 show an alternative embodiment of the outlet 330 . In this embodiment, the outlet includes a number of triangularly shaped outlet holes 400 . The number, size, shape, length, and angle of the outlet holes 400 also may be varied. Each of the outlet holes 400 may have a similar area to that of the outlet holes 380 described above.
In use, the main body 110 is connected to the beverage dispenser with the water pathway 150 connecting to the water circuit. The main body 110 may be secured via screws or similar types of fastening means passing through the central aperture 170 of the flanges 160 . The water module 120 then may be positioned on the main body 110 by aligning the indentations 230 of the upper cylinder 340 with the protrusions 190 of the main body 110 . The water module 120 thus may be easily installed or removed.
A number of the syrup modules 130 may then be positioned on the main body 110 . Any number of syrup modules 130 may be used. In the examples of FIGS. 1-5 , five (5) syrup modules 120 may be used. In this embodiment, up to six (6) modules may be used. The syrup modules 130 may be connected to the main body 110 by sliding the connection element 360 within the grooves 180 of the main body 110 . The upper cylinder 340 of each syrup module 130 may then be attached to a syrup circuit of the beverage dispenser via the flange lip 350 .
Each syrup module 130 may have a differently configured outlet 330 . The number, size, shape, length, and angle of the outlet holes 380 therein may vary according to the viscosity or other flow characteristics of the syrup or other fluid therein. The outlet holes 380 also may vary according to whether the beverage is to be served hot or cold. For example, the angle of the outlet holes 380 may be varied to improve mixing or foam height or to control color carry over. One dispensing nozzle 100 thus may accommodate beverages of different flow characteristics and temperature and may easily be modified for any desired use. A syrup module 130 configured with an outlet 330 for a first type of flow characteristic may easily be replaced with a syrup module 130 with an outlet 330 configured for a second type of flow characteristic. The syrup modules 130 also may be used with a bonus flavor, i.e., a vanilla or a cherry flavor additive, or any other type of flavoring ingredient. Other possibilities include sugar, other sweeteners, cream, and any other type of additive.
By way of example only, a carbonated soft drink may use about seventeen (17) outlet holes 380 with diameters of about 0.044 inches (about 1.12 millimeters). The outlet holes 380 may have about a thirty-seven degree (37°) angle from the horizon. The outlet holes 380 for a bonus flavor may extend at approximately eighty-five degrees (85°) downward.
When a beverage is ordered from the beverage dispenser, the water circuit and the syrup circuits therein are activated. The water proceeds through the water module 120 via the upper cylinder 220 . The water then proceeds through the outlet holes 250 of the outlet 240 and travels down along the channels 270 of ribs 260 . The upper portion 280 of the ribs 260 may stabilize the plain water flow and reduce the water flow velocity and subsequent foaming with respect to soda water. The water may flow at about one (1) ounce to about six (6) ounces per second (about 29.6 milliliters to about 177.4 milliliters per second). Any convenient flow rate may be used.
While the water is flowing along the ribs 260 , syrup flows from one of the syrup circuits of the beverage dispenser to one of the syrup modules 130 . The syrup enters the upper cylinder 340 and passes into the expansion chamber 370 . The syrup then flows through the outlet 330 via the specifically sized, shaped, numbered, and angled outlet holes 380 . The syrup may flow at about 0.5 ounces to about two (2) ounces per second (about 14.8 milliliters to about 59.2 milliliters per second). The flow rate will depend upon the nature of the syrup or other fluid. Any convenient flow rate may be used.
The syrup passes through the outlet holes 380 at an angle such that the syrup is shot at the lower portion 290 of the ribs 260 . The ribs 260 and the channels 270 help reduce the tangential velocity of the syrup and direct the syrup downward towards the consumer's cup. The syrup thus penetrates the water stream so as to provide good mixing with the water stream. Specifically, the use of the lower portion 290 of the ribs 260 helps promote good mixing such that the fluid stream has the appropriate uniform appearance with respect to color. Further, because the syrup flow is not in the center of the nozzle 100 as in known designs, it is less likely that stray droplets of syrup will be forced or sucked into the water stream in subsequent discharges.
Because the syrup modules 350 are replaceable and interchangeable, the syrup modules 130 may be easily exchanged to accommodate different types of beverages with respect to viscosity, fluid flow characteristics, and temperature. Likewise, the syrup modules 130 and the water module 120 also may be easily removed for cleaning and/or repair. The dispensing nozzle 100 thus provides the user with a vastly improved beverage dispenser system that may be easily modified.
It should be apparent that the foregoing relates only to the preferred embodiments of the present invention and that numerous changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. | A dispensing nozzle for mixing a first fluid and one or more second fluids to form a third fluid. The nozzle may include a first fluid pathway and a number of replaceable second fluid modules surrounding at least in part the first fluid pathway. | 1 |
Our invention relates to pattern recognition and, more particularly, to arrangements for automatically identifying speech patterns.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In communication, data processing and similar systems, it is often desirable to use audio interface arrangements. Speech input and synthesized voice output may be utilized for inquiries, commands and the exchange of data and other information. Speech type interfacing permits communication with data processor type equipment from remote locations without requiring manually operated terminals and allows concurrent performance of other functions by the user. The complexity of speech patterns and variations therein among speakers, however, makes it difficult to obtain accurate recognition. While acceptable results have been obtained in specialized applications restricted to particular individuals and constrained vocabularies, the inaccuracy of speaker-independent recognition has limited its utilization.
In general, speech recognition arrangements are adapted to transform an unknown speech pattern into a sequence of prescribed acoustic feature signals. These feature signals are then compared to previously stored sets of acoustic feature signals representative of identified reference patterns. As a result of the comparison, the unknown speech pattern is identified as the closest matching reference pattern in accordance with predetermined recognition criteria. The accuracy of such recognition systems is highly dependent on the selected features and the recognition criteria. The comparison between the input speech pattern feature sequence and a reference sequence may be direct. It is well known, however, that speech rate and articulation are highly variable.
Some prior art recognition schemes employ dynamic programming to determine an optimum alignment between patterns in the comparison process. In this way, the effects of differences in speech rate and articulation are mitigated. The signal processing arrangements for dynamic time warping and comparison are complex and time consuming since the time needed for recognition is a function of the size of the reference vocabulary and the number of reference feature templates for each vocabulary word. As a result, speaker-independent recognition for vocabularies of the order of 50 words is difficult to achieve in real time.
Another approach to speech recognition is based on probabilistic Markov models that utilize sets of states and state transitions based on statistical estimates. Speaker-dependent recognition arrangements have been devised in which spectral feature sequences are generated and evaluated in a series of hierarchical Markov models of features, words and language. The feature sequences are analyzed in Markov models of phonemic elements. The models are concatenated into larger acoustic elements, e.g., words. The results are then applied to a hierarchy of Markov models, e.g., syntactic contextual, to obtain a speech pattern identification. The use of concatenated phonemic element models and the complexity involved in unrestricted hierarchical Markov model systems, however, requires substantial training of the system by the identified speakers to obtain a sufficient number of model tokens to render the Markov models valid. It is an object of the invention to provide improved automatic speech recognition based on probabilistic modeling that is not speaker-dependent and is operable at higher speed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing object is achieved by storing a set of .[.prescribed.]. acoustic features of reference speech patterns and selecting a sequence of the reference pattern .[.prescribed.]. acoustic features to represent an input utterance. Templates are stored for each reference speech pattern used in recognition. Each template includes signals representative of a constrained hidden Markov model having a preselected number of states which is independent of and preferably much smaller than the number of phonemic elements in the reference speech patterns. The sequence of .[.prescribed.]. acoustic features representative of the utterance is combined with the Markov model signals of each reference template to generate signals representative of the similarity of the utterance to the reference speech patterns. Advantageously, the number of states may be selected to be substantially smaller than the number of reference pattern .[.prescribed.]. acoustic feature signals in the acoustic feature signal sequence for the shortest reference pattern. As a result of the small number of states, the recognition processing with hidden Markov model template signals is faster and has substantially lower storage requirements without reducing recognition accuracy.
The invention is directed to a speech recognition arrangement that includes storing a set of signals each representative of a .[.prescribed.]. acoustic feature of said plurality of reference patterns and storing a plurality of templates each representative of an identified spoken reference pattern. The template for each spoken reference word comprises signals representative of a first state, a last state and a preselected number of intermediate states between said first and last states of a constrained hidden Markov model of said spoken reference pattern. The number of Markov model states is independent of the number of acoustic feature elements of the identified spoken reference patterns. The template further includes a plurality of first type signals each representative of the likelihood of a .[.prescribed.]. acoustic feature being in a predetermined one of said states and a plurality of second type signals each representative of the likelihood of a transition from one of said states to another of said states of said template. Responsive to an unknown utterance, a sequence of the stored .[.prescribed.]. acoustic feature signals representative of the utterance is formed. The sequence of .[.prescribed.]. feature signals representative of the utterance and the constrained hidden Markov model signals of the reference word template are combined to produce a third type signal representative of the likelihood of the unknown utterance being the spoken reference pattern. The third type signals are compared to identify the utterance as the reference pattern. .Iadd.In a specific embodiment of the invention, the acoustic feature signals representative of reference speech patterns are prescribed to be vector-quantized representations of the speech patterns. .Iaddend.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a constrained hidden word Markov model such as used in the invention;
FIG. 2 depicts a general flowchart illustrating the invention;
FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a speech recognizer circuit illustrative of the invention;
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are more detailed flowcharts illustrating portions of the operation of the speech recognizer circuit of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 7 shows a trellis diagram that illustrates the operation of the circuit of FIG. 3.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
As is well known in the art, a hidden Markov model may be used to evaluate a sequence of observations O 1 , O 2 , . . . , O T where each observation is a discrete symbol of a finite number of symbols. The sequence of observations may be modeled as a probabilistic function of an underlying Markov chain having state transitions that are not directly observable. FIG. 1 is illustrative of such a model.
In FIG. 1, there are N, e.g., 5 states and M, e.g., 64 output symbols. The transitions between states is represented by a transition matrix A=[a ij ]. Each a ij term is the probability of making a transition to state j given that the model is in state i. The output symbol probability of the model is represented by a matrix B=[b j (O t )], where b j (O t ) is the probability of outputting symbol O t , given that the model is in state j. The hidden Markov model may be used to derive a set of reference pattern models, one for each pattern in the vocabulary set and to classify a sequence of observations as one of the reference patterns based on the probability of generating the unknown observations from each reference pattern model.
In speech recognition, the input speech pattern is analyzed to generate a sequence of acoustic features. Each feature may be a linear prediction coefficient vector or other acoustic features well known in the art. The generated feature vectors are compared to a finite set of previously stored LPC feature signals and transformed into a sequence of vector quantized LPC signals representative of the input speech pattern. Each of the quantized feature signals is one of a finite set of M symbols that may be used in the hidden Markov model. In the recognition mode, the quantized LPC vector feature sequence for an utterance, e.g., a word or phrase, forms the observation sequence O and the probability of O having been generated by a reference pattern model K, e.g. a word or phrase of a vocabulary set, is formed in accordance with
P(O|M)=P.sub.i.sbsb.1 b.sub.i.sbsb.1 (O.sub.1)a.sub.i.sbsb.1.sub.i.sbsb.2 b.sub.i.sbsb.2 (O.sub.2) . . . a.sub.i.sbsb.T-1.sub.i.sbsb.T b.sub.i.sbsb.T (O.sub.T) (1)
where i 1 , i 2 , . . . i T is the maximum likelihood sequence of Markov model states and O 1 , O 2 , . . . , O T is the observed sequence. Equation 1 may be written in terms of the forward partial probability φ t (i) defined as
φ.sub.t (i)=P(O.sub.1 O.sub.2 . . . O.sub.t and maximum likelihood sequence ending in state i at time t|K) (2)
φ t+1 (j) can then be evaluated as ##EQU1## for
1≦j≦N
and
max{1, j-2}≦i≦j
where ##EQU2## so that Equation 1 becomes
P(O|K)=P=φ.sub.T (N) (4)
After the probability signal for each reference pattern model has been generated, the input speech pattern may be identified as the reference pattern model corresponding to the highest probability signal.
FIG. 2 shows a general flow chart that illustrates the operation of a hidden Markov model speech recognizer in accordance with the invention. When the recognizer is available (box 205), the input speech pattern is converted to a sequence of digital signals representative thereof as per box 210. The speech representative digital signals (box 210) are then transformed into a time frame sequence of linear predictive feature signals (box 215). While the signals generated by the operation of box 215 correspond to the acoustic features of the input speech pattern, the signals therefrom are not constrained to a finite set. Operation box 220 is effective to compare the speech pattern acoustic features to a finite set of linear predictive feature vectors and select the closest corresponding stored vector for each speech pattern feature signal. In this manner, a vector quantized feature signal from a predetermined finite set is obtained for every successive frame t of the speech pattern. The vector quantized feature signal is then the observation input to the hidden Markov model processing in frame t.
A set of predetermined models is stored. A single model is provided for each reference pattern in the recognizer vocabulary. The reference pattern model includes a state output symbol signal matrix for each model state and a transition probability signal matrix corresponding to all possible transitions between states for the reference pattern model. The reference pattern models are selected sequentially as indicated in box 225 and the probability that the LPC vector quantized feature sequence of the input speech pattern is obtained from the selected reference word model is generated and stored (box 230). After the last reference pattern model has been selected and the probability signal therefor produced, the maximum of the probability signals is selected and a signal identifying to the best reference pattern is transferred to a utilization device such as a data processor or a control system.
In accordance with the invention, the hidden Markov model for each reference pattern has the number of states, e.g. 5, limited to be less than the number of feature signal time frames in the reference pattern and is constrained so that state 1 is always the first frame initial state, only a prescribed set of left-to-right state transitions are possible, and a predetermined final state is defined from which transitions to other states cannot occur. These restrictions are illustrated in the state diagram of FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 1, state 1 is the initial state, state 5 is the final or absorbing state, and the prescribed left-to-right transitions are indicated by the directional lines among the states.
According to the state diagram of FIG. 1, it is only possible to reenter state 1 via path 111, to proceed to state 2 via path 112, or to proceed to state 3 via path 113 from state 1. In general, transitions are restricted to reentry of a state or entry to one of the next two states. We have found that these restrictions permit rapid and accurate recognition of speech patterns. The generation of the identified utterance reference pattern models for the recognizer are not restricted to the speech patterns of one identified speaker but may be derived from utterances of many different speakers so that the speech recognition is speaker independent.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 3 shows a general block diagram of a speech recognizer illustrative of the invention. The circuit of FIG. 3 is adapted to recognize speech patterns applied to electroacoustic transducer 300 and to provide prescribed control signals to utilization device 380 responsive to the identified pattern. In FIG. 3, filter and sampler circuit 310 receives an electric analog signal from transducer 300 and is operative to lowpass filter the signal so that unwanted higher frequency noise is removed. The cutoff frequency of the filter may be set to 3.2 kHz. The filtered signal is then sampled at a 6.7 kHz rate as is well known in the art.
The sampled signal is supplied to analog-to-digital converter 320 in which each successive sample is transformed into a digitally coded signal representative of the magnitude of the corresponding sample. The sequence of coded signals is applied to LPC feature signal generator 330. As is well known in the art, generator 330 temporarily stores the digital coded signal sequence, groups them into successive overlapping frames of 45 ms duration and produces a set of P linear prediction parameter signals for each frame. Each set of these LPC signals is representative of acoustic features of the corresponding frame. It is to be understood, however, that spectral or other acoustic feature signals may be utilized by those skilled in the art.
Feature generator 330 is also operative to detect the endpoint of the input speech pattern applied to transducer 300 on the basis of an energy analysis of the feature signal sequence. The endpoint detection arrangement may be the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,532 issued to L. R. Rabiner et al on Sept. 30. 1975. Alternatively, other well known endpoint detection techniques may be used. The feature generator may comprise a microprocessor such as the type MC68000 manufactured by Motorola, Inc. having the permanently stored set of instructions listed in Fortran language in Appendix A hereto in a read only memory (ROM) to control feature signal generation and endpoint detection.
Upon detection of a speech pattern endpoint in feature generator 330, control signal ST is enabled and sent to recognition processor 340 to initiate its operations. The recognition processor may comprise a type MC68000 microprocessor described in the publication MC68000 16 Bit Microprocessor User's Manual, second edition, Motorola Inc., 1980. The operation sequence of processor 340 is controlled by the permanently stored instruction set contained in program ROM 355. These instructions are set forth in the Fortran language listing of Appendix B hereto.
Acoustic feature signal store 370 receives the frame sequence of LPC coefficient signals representative of the input speech pattern from generator 330 and stores the feature signals in addressable frame sequence order for use by recognition processor 340. Prototype signal store 365 contains signals representative of a set of predetermined LPC prototype feature signals which cover the range of expected LPC feature signals in the input search pattern. These prototype signals provide a finite set of symbols for Markov model processing.
Markov Model Store 360 contains a set of coded signals corresponding to the hidden word Markov models of the possible reference patterns for the unknown utterance applied to transducer 300. Each Markov model comprises a set of signals, a ij , corresponding to the probability of transitions between model states and signals b j (O t ) corresponding to the output symbol probability in each state. The output symbols O t , one for each speech pattern frame t, correspond to the prototype signals in store 365. Each of stores 360 and 365 may comprise a read only memory addressable by processor 340. ROMs 360 and 365 permanently store the model and prototype signals. Store 370 may be a random access memory addressable by processor 340. RAM store 350 is utilized as an intermediate memory for the signal processing operations of the recognition processor, and interface 345 provides a communication interface between the recognition processor and the devices in FIG. 3. Bus 345 may comprise the type HBFA-SBC614 backplane manufactured by Hybricon Corporation. Alternatively, processor 340, bus 345, control memory 350 and RAM 355 may be the type 0B68K1A MC68000 /MULTIBUS signal board computer manufactured by Omnibyte Corporation, West Chicago, Ill. A Q bus arrangement could also be utilized.
The circuit of FIG. 3 may be utilized to recognize many different types of patterns. For purposes of illustration, an arrangement for recognizing digits, e.g., of a telephone number or credit card number, is described. Assume an utterance of the digit "nine" is applied to transducer 300. In accordance with boxes 207 and 210 of the flow chart of FIG. 2, the input speech pattern is filtered and sampled in Filter and Sample Circuit 310 and transformed into digital signal form in A/D converter 320. The sequence of digital coded signals are supplied to the input of Feature Signal Generator 330 in which LPC coefficient feature signals are produced for the successive frames of the speech pattern "nine" as per box 215. The generated LPC feature signals are transferred to Acoustic Feature Signal Store 370 as addressed by frame index t via line 332. Decision box 218 is entered in each frame to determine whether the endpoint of the pattern has been reached. Upon detection of the endpoint, signal ST is generated in the feature signal generator and sent to recognition processor 340.
Responsive to signal ST, processor 340 is placed in its vector quantization mode during which the LPC feature signals in store 370 are quantized to the prototype signals in ROM 365 as per operation box 220. The quantization mode is shown in greater detail in the flow chart of FIG. 4, and the permanently stored instruction codes for the vector quantization mode of control program memory 355 are listed in Appendix B. Referring to FIG. 4, LPC feature signal frame index t in processor 340 is initially reset to 0 as per box 401. Loop 403 is then entered to initialize the setting of the prototype index m. In loop 403, frame index t is incremented (box 405) and the incremented frame index is compared to the last frame (T) of the input speech pattern (box 410). Until t>T, box 415 is entered so that the current frame input speech pattern LPC feature signal U t in store 370 is addressed by processor 340 and transferred therefrom to RAM 350. The signal representative of the minimum distance between the prototype signal and feature signal (D min ) is initially set to infinity (box 420) and the prototype index m is set to 0 in processor 340 (box 425). Box 430 is then entered in which the prototype index m is incremented in processor 340. The incremented index m+1 is then compared to the last index M=64 as per box 435.
At this time, the current prototype signal in store 365 is addressed and transferred to RAM 350 via the recognition processor (box 440). The process of determining the prototype signal R m that most closely corresponds to the current speech pattern feature signal U t may then be started in processor 340. The processor is conditioned to iteratively generate the well known Itakura distance metric signal of the form ##EQU3## for each prototype signal where a is an LPC vector from U t , a is an LPC vector from R m and V is the autocorrelation matrix from R m .
Initially, distance metric signal d(U t ,R m ) and the feature index signal p are set to zero as per box 445 and 450. Distance signal forming loop 452 is then entered and for each feature index the distance signal is incremented in accordance with ##EQU4## as per operation box 455. Index signal p is incremented in processor 340 (box 460) and box 455 is re-entered via decision box 465 until p>P where P is the final feature index signal. The distance signal is converted to logarithmic form (box 468) and is then compared to D min in decision box 470. In the event that the current prototype distance signal is equal to or greater than D min , box 430 is re-entered without changing D min . Otherwise, the prototype index signal m is stored as representative of the speech pattern quantized signal for frame t and the distance signal for prototype m is stored as D min in RAM 350. Box 430 is then re-entered. When m>M in box 435, O t =m is then selected as the closest corresponding quantized signal and loop 403 is entered at box 405 so that the next frame quantization can be initiated.
When speech pattern frame index t becomes greater than the final speech pattern frame T as per box 410, a sequence of quantized signal indices, O 1 ,O 2 , . . . , O t , . . . O T has been produced for the speech pattern in processor 340 and stored in RAM 350. The speech pattern corresponding to the utterance of "nine" may, for example, have 36 frames and one of 64 possible prototype signals is chosen for each frame. In this way, the speech pattern is converted into a sequence of quantized signals of a finite set. Every quantized signal index O t corresponds to a set of P linear prediction coefficients that represents the quantized acoustic feature of a frame of the speech pattern. For an utterance of the digit "nine" by an unidentified speaker, the sequence of quantized feature signals may be those listed in Table 1.
TABLE 1______________________________________ Frame Quantized No. Signal t O.sub.r______________________________________ 1 14 2 14 3 13 4 9 5 1 6 25 7 26 8 28 9 28 10 28 11 29 12 29 13 19 14 19 15 34 16 34 17 50 18 51 19 52 20 52 21 52 22 51 23 51 24 40 25 46 26 57 27 57 28 57 29 57 30 57 31 57 32 47 33 17 34 3 35 18 36 42______________________________________
After quantization is completed, processor 340 exits the quantization mode and enters its Markov model evaluation mode of boxes 225, 230 and 235 in FIG. 2. The permanently stored instructions for the Markov model evaluation mode are listed in Fortran language in Appendix C hereto. During the model evaluation mode, the Markov models for the set of reference patterns, e.g., digits, 0,1,2, . . . , 9, are successively selected. Every model comprises an A matrix of the transition probability signals and a B matrix of symbol output probability signals. The A matrices for the digits 0, 5 and 9 are shown by way of example, in Tables 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Asterisks represent transitions that are prohibited by the model and are evaluated as zero.
TABLE 2______________________________________Digit 0A MatrixState i 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________ j1 .821 * * * *2 .143 .801 * * *3 .036 .199 .800 * *4 * .000 .079 .880 *5 * * .122 .120 1.000______________________________________
TABLE 3______________________________________Digit 5A MatrixState i 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________ j1 .852 * * * *2 .136 .932 * * *3 .013 .067 .800 * *4 * .000 .054 .922 *5 * * .146 .078 1.000______________________________________
TABLE 4______________________________________Digit 9A MatrixState i 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________ j1 .793 * * * *2 .106 .939 * * *3 .100 .061 .690 * *4 * .000 .142 .930 *5 * * .168 .070 1.000______________________________________
Each of the A matrix tables is a 5×5 matrix representative of the probabilities of all transitions among the five states of the model of FIG. 1. As indicated in Tables 2, 3 and 4, only left-to-right transitions in FIG. 1 which do not have * or zero values are possible as per the constraints of the model. B matrices for the digits 0, 5 and 9 are shown in Tables 5, 6 and 7, respectively. Each column entry in Table 5 represents the probability of a particular prototype signal in the corresponding state for utterances of the digit "zero".
TABLE 5______________________________________Statem 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________ 1 .059 .011 .001 .001 .015 2 .025 .001 .015 .001 .004 3 .001 .001 .001 .001 .048 4 .007 .001 .001 .103 .001 5 .002 .001 .001 .001 .007 6 .046 .001 .001 .001 .003 7 .001 .001 .001 .059 .001 8 .001 .001 .001 .018 .001 9 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00410 .006 .028 .014 .008 .00811 .001 .001 .001 .001 .10112 .012 .001 .001 .001 .00113 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02514 .007 .001 .001 .001 .00715 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00816 .007 .001 .001 .001 .00617 .031 .159 .001 .001 .01018 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00919 .028 .001 .001 .076 .00620 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02121 .005 .105 .011 .019 .00322 .001 .001 .001 .001 .09023 .078 .019 .001 .001 .00124 .063 .001 .017 .001 .00125 .001 .001 .001 .001 .09026 .054 .001 .001 .001 .00227 .002 .001 .137 .029 .00828 .001 .007 .001 .001 .01029 .011 .035 .001 .001 .00130 .002 .001 .001 .001 .00131 .021 .001 .169 .013 .00132 .001 .001 .001 .001 .03033 .015 .155 .001 .001 .00134 .040 .001 .014 .021 .00435 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02136 .026 .002 .001 .001 .00337 .004 .040 .032 .001 .00138 .110 .011 .060 .003 .00239 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00440 .005 .001 .001 .022 .06241 .001 .001 .001 .001 .03342 .001 .003 .042 .017 .00143 .044 .062 .001 .001 .00144 .001 .001 .001 .001 .04445 .066 .058 .012 .001 .00146 .002 .002 .006 .305 .00147 .001 .001 .001 .001 .03448 .022 .027 .001 .001 .00149 .019 .001 .001 .001 .00150 .016 .005 .001 .001 .04751 .017 .006 .132 .223 .00952 .035 .006 .003 .001 .00153 .015 .010 .022 .004 .00454 .001 .001 .001 .003 .09055 .011 .141 .001 .001 .00656 .001 .001 .001 .001 .04557 .028 .001 .268 .006 .00158 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02059 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00660 .011 .069 .001 .001 .01661 .001 .001 .001 .003 .00662 .004 .001 .001 .028 .00563 .004 .001 .001 .001 .00164 .016 .001 .001 .001 .002______________________________________
TABLE 6______________________________________Statem 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________ 1 .005 .003 .002 .001 .020 2 .001 .001 .001 .001 .005 3 .001 .001 .001 .014 .001 4 .001 .001 .001 .001 .001 5 .001 .001 .004 .001 .023 6 .001 .001 .001 .001 .009 7 .001 .001 .001 .001 .001 8 .001 .001 .001 .001 .001 9 .001 .002 .010 .038 .00410 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00411 .001 .001 .012 .001 .01112 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00113 .001 .004 .001 .038 .00114 .001 .010 .004 .001 .03115 .001 .098 .001 .001 .00116 .004 .001 .075 .001 .00417 .016 .001 .001 .001 .01418 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00119 .001 .001 .002 .077 .02220 .001 .396 .019 .009 .00121 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02922 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00123 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00124 .001 .001 .001 .001 .01225 .001 .102 .001 .060 .00126 .001 .001 .001 .001 .01027 .001 .001 .003 .001 .01228 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00129 .098 .001 .001 .001 .12530 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00131 .001 .001 .005 .001 .04832 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00133 .003 .001 .001 .001 .02634 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02635 .001 .032 .096 .441 .00136 .001 .001 .001 .001 .01737 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00738 .001 .001 .001 .001 .06839 .001 .001 .066 .066 .00140 .003 .001 .360 .128 .01341 .001 .005 .001 .001 .00142 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00143 .591 .001 .001 .001 .13644 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00145 .003 .001 .001 .001 .01246 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00447 .003 .242 .001 .003 .00148 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02549 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00850 .036 .012 .149 .004 .04751 .001 .001 .001 .001 .05852 .009 .001 .001 .001 .00553 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02154 .003 .028 .009 .001 .00155 .064 .001 .001 .001 .02956 .003 .012 .133 .001 .00157 .001 .001 .001 .001 .02158 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00159 .001 .005 .003 .072 .00160 .112 .001 .001 .001 .05361 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00162 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00963 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00164 .001 .001 .001 .001 .004______________________________________
TABLE 7______________________________________Statem 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________ 1 .013 .001 .049 .001 .009 2 .004 .001 .001 .001 .009 3 .001 .009 .001 .016 .001 4 .006 .001 .001 .001 .017 5 .001 .022 .153 .060 .019 6 .001 .001 .026 .001 .011 7 .010 .001 .001 .001 .008 8 .001 .001 .001 .001 .006 9 .001 .051 .050 .010 .00310 .084 .001 .001 .001 .03011 .001 .028 .014 .010 .00112 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00313 .001 .010 .001 .015 .00114 .001 .018 .069 .001 .00215 .001 .015 .001 .103 .00116 .001 .007 .230 .047 .00117 .004 .001 .020 .001 .00818 .005 .015 .004 .001 .00119 .054 .001 .001 .002 .00620 .001 .092 .001 .147 .00121 .035 .001 .064 .001 .02422 .001 .032 .003 .005 .00123 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00624 .018 .001 .001 .001 .02025 .001 .001 .004 .052 .00126 .010 .001 .001 .001 .01127 .001 .011 .006 .001 .00428 .024 .001 .001 .001 .00829 .001 .001 .039 .001 .04530 .004 .001 .001 .001 .00231 .002 .001 .004 .001 .03832 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00233 .006 .001 .001 .001 .03034 .052 .001 .019 .001 .01935 .001 .184 .001 .039 .00136 .108 .001 .001 .001 .08537 .010 .001 .001 .001 .02938 .025 .001 .048 .001 .03139 .001 .236 .011 .025 .00140 .001 .059 .029 .054 .01341 .001 .002 .001 .001 .00142 .008 .001 .001 .001 .01743 .002 .001 .001 .001 .01444 .001 .011 .001 .020 .00145 .004 .001 .001 .001 .01646 .034 .001 .001 .001 .03247 .001 .001 .001 .180 .00148 .001 .001 .001 .001 .04149 .050 .001 .001 .001 .01950 .001 .083 .033 .001 .01051 .201 .001 .001 .001 .13552 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00353 .014 .001 .010 .001 .01154 .030 .001 .001 .018 .00555 .004 .001 .001 .001 .01256 .001 .016 .015 .146 .00257 .040 .001 .001 .001 .10158 .006 .001 .001 .001 .00159 .001 .053 .001 .007 .00160 .001 .002 .062 .001 .00661 .044 .001 .001 .001 .01662 .048 .003 .001 .001 .00863 .001 .001 .001 .001 .00164 .010 .001 .001 .001 .035______________________________________
There are 64 prototype probabilities in each state column so that the matrix size is 5×64. Tables 6 and 7 corresponding to digits "five" and "nine" are arranged in similar manner.
As indicated in the flow chart of FIG. 2, the Markov models stored in ROM 360 are retrieved therefrom in succession as addressed by pattern index k. For each model, a signal representative of the probability that the speech pattern quantized feature signal sequence matches the model is formed. The probability signal forming arrangements are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. In general, a Markov model is first selected. For the speech pattern to be recognized, the model is evaluated frame by frame with the quantized signal sequences O 1 ,O 2 , . . . , O t , . . . O T as the input. Upon completion of the evaluation for the last speech pattern frame, a signal corresponding to the maximum probability that the speech pattern quantized signal sequence was derived from the model is generated.
The restrictions of the left-to-right, hidden work Markov model used in the circuit of FIG. 3 requires that the initial state for frame t=1 be only state 1 in FIG. 1 and that the log probability signal in the initial state be
φ.sub.1 (1)=ln(b.sub.1 (O.sub.1)) (7)
The φ 1 (1) value is derived from the m=14 entry of the state 1 column of the B matrix for the digit. The log probability signals φ 1 (i), i=2, 3, 4 and 5 for frame t=1 are set to -∞ since these states are not permitted in the model. The ln (φ 2 (j)) signals are then formed for frame t=2 in accordance with ##EQU5## for max {1,j-2}≦i≦j using the transition probability signals in the A matrix for the digit, and the symbol probability signals in the B matrix corresponding to the second speech pattern frame quantized signal index m of Table 1. For each destination size j of speech pattern frame 2, the maximum log probability signal φ 2 (j) is stored. The log probability signals for the successive states in the frame sequence are then generated using the A and B matrix signals of the digit model and the frame sequence of quantized speech pattern signal indices t. After the processing of the last frame T, the maximum log probability signal is obtained for the digit model from the final state 5 in which transitions to other states are not allowed. State 5 is the absorbing state. The signal processing for the set of digits is performed successively and the largest of the maximum log probability signals as well as the corresponding digit identification signal is retained in storage. Upon completion of model processing for digit "nine", the speech pattern is identified as the digit identification code for the retained maximum log probability signal.
The Markov model processing of boxes 225, 230, 235 and 240 of FIG. 2 are performed by processor circuit 340 are shown on the flow chart of FIG. 5. Initially, box 501 is entered from box 220 on termination of the quantization mode. The log maximum probability signal is set to its minimum value -∞ and the selected reference pattern index k* is set to -1. The reference pattern index k is reset to -1 (box 505) and incremented to 0 (box 507). The current reference pattern index k is then compared to the final index value K as per box 510. Since k=0 at this time, box 515 is chosen and the A and B matrix signals for the k=0 digit, i.e., "zero", are addressed and are transferred from reference pattern Markov model signal store 360 to RAM 350 via processor circuit 340 (box 515). The log probability signal for the digit zero, ln P 0 is then generated as per box 520. As aforementioned, the ln P 0 signal represents the probability that the quantized input speech pattern is obtained from the Markov model for digit zero. The flow chart of FIG. 6 shows the detailed arrangements of the ln P k signal formation.
In FIG. 6, signal φ 1 (1) is set to ln (b 1 (O 1 )) (box 601) corresponding to the m=14 signal of column 1 in the B matrix of Table 5. The source state index i is set to 1 (box 605) and incremented (box 607). Until i>N, final state 5, ln φ 1 (i) for i=2,3, . . . N is set to -∞. The set of φ 1 (1), φ 1 (2), . . . φ 1 (5) signals are stored in RAM 350. These φ 1 (i) correspond to the constraint that the Markov model starts in its first state in the first speech pattern frame. FIG. 7 shows a trellis-type diagram illustrating the sequence of states of the Markov model for the successive input speech time frames 1, 2, 3 and 4. Column 710 corresponds to the first frame in which the speech pattern quantized index signal is O 1 =14. Columns 720, 730 and 740 represent the second, third and fourth frames, respectively. The Markov states are listed in ascending order in each column. As shown in FIG. 7, only state 1 is possible in the first time frame.
After the first time frame φ 1 (i) signals are formed, boxes 615 and 620 are entered in succession so that the input speech time frame index t is set to 1 and incremented. Since time frame index t is not greater than the final time frame T (decision box 625), destination state index i is set to zero as per box 630. Destination index j is incremented to 1 in box 635 and compared to the final state N=5 (decision box 640). In accordance with the constraints of the hidden word Markov model shown in FIG. 1, only transitions to the next two successive states are possible. Consequently, source state index i is set to zero (box 650) and incremented to 1 (box 652) to corresponding to the Markov model restrictions. β, the maximum φ 2 (i), is initially set to -∞ (box 650).
The incremented source state index i is compared to the current destination state index j=1 as per box 654 and signal forming box 660 is entered for speech pattern time frame t=2, source state index i=1 of the previous frame and destination state index j=1. Signal α in box 660 corresponds to the path from state 1 in column 710 (t=1) to state 1 in column 720 (t=2) and its value is obtained by summing previously generated signal φ 1 (1) and ln (a 11 b 1 (O 2 )). Signal index O 2 is the quantized speech pattern signal for frame t=2 in Table 1; signal a 11 is obtained from the A matrix signals of Table 2 in column i=1 and row j=1 and b(O 2 ) is obtained from the m=14 entry of the state 1 column of the zero digit B matrix of Table 5. At this time α=-10.2, β is set to this value as per boxes 665 and 670. Source state index incrementing (box 652) is then reentered so that i becomes 2.
Since source state index i is now greater than destination state index j=1, φ 2 (1) is set to β (boxes 654 and 656) and destination state index j is incremented to 2 (box 635). Source state index i is reset to 0 and incremented to 1 in boxes 650 and 652. The α signal for t=2, i=1, j=2 indices is formed in box 660. In this way, the path from column 710 state 1 to column 720 state 2 is traversed in FIG. 7. The t=2, i=1, j=2 value of α replaces the β=-∞ signal (boxes 665 and 670).
When signal α is formed for t=2, i=2 and j=2, it is less than β since φ 1 (2)=-∞. Consequently, β is not changed in box 670. Source state index i is then incremented (box 652). Incremented index i=3 is now greater than i=2 and φ 2 (2) is set at the β value obtained for t=2, i=1 and j=2 (box 656). Similarly, φ 2 (3) is set to the α signal for t=2, i=1 and j=3 as indicated in FIG. 7. The φ 1 (i) signals for i>1 were set to -∞. Consequently, signals φ 2 (j) for j>3 are set to -∞. Tables 8, 9 and 10 list the φ 1 (j) log probability signals for the Markov model states in each time frame t.
TABLE 8______________________________________StateFrame 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________1 -5.0 * * * *2 -10.2 -13.9 -15.3 * *3 -17.3 -19.0 -20.4 -24.7 -21.04 -24.4 -26.2 -27.6 -29.9 -26.65 -27.4 -30.9 -34.7 -37.0 -30.96 -34.6 -36.3 -37.7 -44.1 -33.37 -37.7 -43.5 -44.8 -47.2 -39.48 -44.8 -44.6 -48.0 -54.3 -43.99 -51.9 -49.7 -53.1 -57.5 -48.510 -59.1 -54.9 -58.3 -62.6 -53.111 -63.8 -58.5 -63.5 -67.8 -59.612 -68.4 -62.1 -67.1 -73.0 -66.113 -72.2 -69.2 -70.6 -72.2 -71.114 76.0 -76.4 -77.8 -74.9 -76.215 -79.4 -83.3 -82.3 -78.9 -81.716 -82.8 -88.1 -86.8 -82.9 -86.617 -87.2 -90.1 - 93.1 -90.0 -88.118 -91.4 -94.3 -92.5 -91.6 -92.819 -95.0 -98.5 -98.7 -98.7 -99.720 -98.5 -102.1 -104.3 -105.8 -106.621 -102.1 -105.6 -107.8 -112.9 -113.322 -106.3 -109.2 -107.4 -111.9 -114.623 -110.6 -113.5 -109.7 -111.5 -114.224 -116.1 -119.5 -116.8 -115.4 -114.525 -121.5 -125.0 -124.0 -119.4 -117.326 -125.3 -130.4 -125.6 -124.6 -124.327 -129.1 -134.2 -127.1 -129.9 -131.228 -132.9 -138.0 -128.6 -134.8 -136.129 -136.6 -141.7 -130.2 -136.3 -137.730 -140.4 -145.5 -131.7 -137.9 -139.231 -144.2 -149.3 -133.3 -139.4 -140.732 -151.3 -153.1 -140.4 -142.7 -138.733 -155.0 -155.1 -147.6 -149.8 -143.334 -162.1 -162.3 -154.8 -156.9 -146.435 -169.3 -169.4 -162.0 - 164.0 -151.136 -176.4 -175.5 -165.4 -168.2 -158.0______________________________________
TABLE 9______________________________________StateFrame 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________1 -7.0 * * * *2 -14.1 -13.5 -16.8 * *3 -21.2 -19.1 -23.2 -22.9 -25.64 -28.3 -25.3 -26.4 -26.3 -30.75 -33.8 -31.3 -32.9 -33.3 -32.26 -40.9 -33.6 -40.1 -36.2 -39.27 -47.6 -40.7 -43.3 -43.3 -43.48 -54.8 -47.7 -50.3 -50.3 -50.39 -61.9 -54.7 -57.3 -57.3 -57.310 -69.0 -61.7 -64.4 -64.4 -64.211 -71.5 -68.3 -71.4 -71.4 -66.312 -74.0 -74.9 -78.0 -78.5 -68.313 -81.1 -81.9 -83.9 -81.1 -72.214 -88.2 -89.0 -90.3 -83.8 -76.015 -95.3 -96.0 -97.5 -90.8 -79.616 -102.4 -103.0 -104.7 -97.8 -83.217 -105.9 -107.5 -106.8 -103.5 -86.318 -113.0 -114.5 -114.0 -110.5 -89.219 -117.9 -121.5 -121.2 -117.6 -94.420 -122.8 -126.9 -128.3 -124.6 -99.721 -127.8 -131.8 -134.2 -131.7 -105.022 -134.9 -136.7 -139.1 -138.7 -107.823 -142.0 -143.7 -146.2 -145.7 -110.724 -148.0 -150.8 -147.4 -147.9 -115.025 -154.0 -157.0 -148.6 -150.0 -119.426 -160.7 -163.0 -155.8 -157.0 -123.327 -167.5 -169.7 -163.0 -164.1 -127.128 -174.2 -176.4 -170.2 -171.1 -131.029 -180.9 -183.1 -177.3 -178.2 -134.830 -187.6 -189.8 -184.5 -185.2 -138.731 -194.3 -196.6 -191.7 -192.2 -142.532 -200.3 -197.8 -198.9 -198.2 -149.433 -204.6 -204.8 -206.1 -205.2 -153.734 -211.7 -211.8 -213.2 -209.6 -160.635 -218.9 -218.8 -220.4 -216.6 -167.536 -226.0 -225.8 -227.6 -223.7 -174.5______________________________________
TABLE 10______________________________________StateFrame 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________1 -6.9 * * * *2 -14.1 -13.2 -11.9 * *3 -21.3 -17.8 -19.2 -18.1 -20.64 -28.4 -20.9 -22.6 -22.8 -26.55 -33.0 -27.9 -26.0 -29.8 -29.16 -40.2 -34.7 -31.9 -30.9 -34.67 -45.0 -41.7 -39.3 -37.9 -38.18 -49.0 -48.7 -46.6 -44.9 -43.09 -52.9 -55.7 -53.9 -51.9 -47.810 -56.9 -62.1 -61.2 -59.0 -52.711 -64.0 -66.1 -62.4 -66.0 -55.812 -71.2 -73.1 -66.0 -71.3 -58.913 -74.4 -80.1 -73.3 -74.0 -63.714 -77.5 -83.5 -80.7 -80.2 -68.615 -80.7 -86.7 -83.8 -87.2 -72.516 -83.9 -89.9 -87.0 -92.7 -76.417 -91.1 -88.6 -89.6 -95.9 -81.018 -92.9 -95.6 -96.9 -98.5 -83.119 -100.1 -102.1 -102.2 -105.5 -88.920 -107.2 -109.1 -109.3 -111.1 -94.821 -114.4 -116.1 -116.5 -118.1 -100.722 -116.3 -123.1 -123.7 -125.1 -102.723 -118.1 -125.4 -125.5 -132.1 -104.724 -125.3 -123.2 -123.9 -130.4 -109.125 -132.4 -126.1 -127.8 -128.8 -113.426 -135.9 -133.1 -135.2 -135.8 -115.727 -139.3 -140.1 -142.5 -142.8 -118.028 -142.8 -147.1 -148.6 -149.9 -120.329 -146.2 -152.0 -152.0 -156.9 -122.630 -149.7 -155.4 -155.5 -160.9 -124.931 -153.1 -158.9 -158.9 -164.4 -127.232 -160.3 -162.3 -162.4 -162.6 -134.133 -166.0 -169.3 -166.5 -169.6 -138.934 -173.2 -173.0 -173.8 -172.6 -145.835 -178.8 -177.2 -179.7 -179.6 -152.836 -183.9 -184.2 -186.9 -186.6 -156.9______________________________________
Row 2 of Table 8 lists the values for φ 2 (1), φ 2 (2), φ 2 (3), φ 2 (4) and φ 2 (5) obtained in the Markov model signal processing indicated in FIG. 6 for the second speech frame.
The second speech frame processing is completed when destination state j becomes greater than the final state N=5 in decision box 640. At that time, speech frame index t is incremented to 3 (box 620) and the processing of φ 3 (j) signals is initiated in box 630. As shown in FIG. 7, the possible transitions in speech pattern frame t=3 include transitions from state 1 of frame 2 (column 720) to states 1, 2 and 3 of frame 3 (column 730), from state 2 of frame 2 (column 720) to states 2, 3 and 4 of frame 3 (column 730), and from state 3 of frame 2 (column 720 to states 3, 4 and 5 of frame 3 (column 730). The processing of φ 3 (j) signals is performed as described with respect to the prior speech pattern time frames in accordance with Equation 8. In frame t=3 and succeeding frames, however, there may be more than one source state for each destination state. In FIG. 7, for example, state 2 of column 730 may be reached from states 1 and 2 of column 720 and state 3 of column 730 may be reached from states 1, 2 or 3 of column 720. For each destination state, the maximum α signal generated is retained as the φ 3 (j) signal through the operations of boxes 665 and 670. With respect to state 2 of column 730, ##EQU6## The φ 3 (1), φ 3 (2), φ 3 (3), φ 3 (4) and φ 3 (5) signals obtained in the t=3 frame are listed in the third row of Table 8 and the φ 4 (j) signals resulting from frame t=4 frame processing are listed in the fourth row of Table 8.
The signal processing shown in FIG. 6 for the successive speech frames is performed in accordance with the constraints of the hidden word Markov model to obtain the maximum probability of the input speech pattern "nine" being derived from the model A and B matrix signals for the digit "zero" for each state in each speech pattern time frame. After α is obtained for indices t=36, i=5 and j=5, the processing of the last time frame (T=36) is completed through boxes 665, 670, 652, 654 and 656. The φ T (N)=158.0 signal for the final state N=5 is then generated (box 656). This signal represents the maximum log probability that the speech pattern is derived from the digit zero Markov model and is listed in the last position of the final row (t=36) in Table 8.
When frame t becomes greater than the last speech pattern frame T=36, box 628 is entered from decision box 625 and the maximum probability signal for "zero" is stored. Box 507 of FIG. 5 is then reentered and the Markov processing for the digit "one" is initiated. Tables 9 and 10 illustrate the Markov model processing for the digits five and nine, respectively.
As indicated in boxes 525 and 530, after the max log probability signal for each digit is formed, it is compared to the largest of the preceding digit probability values and only the largest value and its identity code k* are stored. When processing for digit zero is terminated, ln P max is set to -158.0 (Table 8) and k* is set to 0 as per box 530. The ln P k signals for the digit set obtained in the arrangement of FIG. 3 for the input speech pattern "nine" are those for the final absorbing state 5 in frame t=36.
______________________________________ digit k ln (P.sub.k)______________________________________ 0 -158.0 1 -160.4 2 -184.9 3 -158.8 4 -186.0 5 -174.5 6 -175.3 7 -160.4 8 -168.9 9 -156.9______________________________________
Consequently, ln P max and k* are unchanged from digit zero until the maximum log probability signal for the digit "nine" model is compared to ln P max in decision box 525. As a result of the comparison box operation, box 530 is entered. The ln P max signal is set to -156.9 and k* is set to 9. At the end of the Markov model evaluation mode, the stored maximum probability signal is -156.9 and the selected digit k*=9.
The just described digit recognition arrangement may be utilized to recognize a series of utterances of letters, digits or words as in a telephone or credit card number. After the selection of the reference model with the maximum probability signal P(O|K) as per box 240 in FIG. 2, a reference index signal is generated (box 245) and transmitted to utilization device 280 which may be a telephone switching arrangement or a business transaction data processor. Decision box 205 is then entered so that the next speech pattern of the spoken input may be processed. The arrangement of FIG. 3 may be extended to recognize other speech patterns such as phrases or sentences by selecting appropriate Markov model reference templates. In contrast to prior Markov model speech recognition arrangements in which models of small speech elements are used, e.g., phonemes our invention utilizes a single model of the entire reference pattern, e.g., word, phrase to identify an utterance as a reference pattern. Advantageously, the number of states required for recognition is reduced, difficulties in concatenating phonemic or other elemental speech segment models are avoided and speaker-independent operation is achieved from available data bases. The Markov model templates stored in ROM 360 are generated from utterances of identified speech patterns that may be from any source and from different speakers. Patterns from readily available data banks of recorded utterances may be used to generate Markov models for the speaker for the speaker-independent recognition arrangement of FIG. 3.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a particular illustrative embodiment, it is to be understood that various modifications in form and detail may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.
______________________________________APPENDIX A______________________________________C ENERGY BASED ENDPOINT DETECTOR SUBROUTINE ENDPTS(E,IS,IE)CC E=ENERGY OF FRAMEC IS=1 IF WORD HAS STARTED, 0 OTHERWISEC IE=1 TO INDICATE END OF WORDC EMIN=1.E6C IF (E.GT.EMIN.AND.IS.EQ.O) IS=1 IF(IS.EQ.1.AND.E.LT.EMIN) IE=1C RETURN ENDC LPCENG--CALCULATE LPC AND ENERGY FOR A GIVEN SPEECH FRAMEC SUBROUTINE LPCENG(S,NL,U,IP,N) DIMENSION S(300),U(200,10),R(10),PAR(10), APREV(10)CC S=SPEECH ARRAYC NL=NO OF SAMPLES FOR LPC AND ENERGY ANALYSISC U=MATRIX OF LPC COEFFICIENTS WITH ENERGY STORED IN LAST POSITIONC IP=NO OF COEFFICIENTS (LPC + ENERGY) PER FRAMEC N=CURRENT FRAME NUMBERCC WINDOW SPEECH SAMPLES BY HAMMING WINDOWC DO 10 J=1,NL 10 S(J)=S(J)*(0.54-0.46*COS((6.24318*(J-1)/(NL-1))CC MEASURE AUTOCORRELATION OF WIN- DOWED FRAMEC DO 20 J=1,IP-1 R(J)=0. DO 15 K=1,NL-J+1 15 R(J)=R(J)+S(K)*S(K+J-1) 20 CONTINUECC SAVE LOG ENERGYC U(N,IP)=10.*ALOG10(R(1))CC CALCULATE LPC COEFFICIENTSC J=1 RES=R(J) 30 PAR(J)=0 J1=J-1 IF(J1.LT.1)GO TO 50 DO 40 K=1,J1 IJ=J-K+1 40 PAR(J)=PAR(J)+APREV(K)*R(IJ) 50 PAR(J)=(-PAR(J)-R(J+1))/RES 55 A(J)=PAR(J) J1=J-1 IF(J1.LT.1) GO TO 70 DO 60 K=1,J1 IJ=J-K 60 A(K)=APREV(K)+PAR(J)*APREV(IJ) 70 RES=(1.-PAR(J)*PAR(J))*RES DO 80 L=1J 80 APREV(L)=A(L) J=J+1 IF(J.LE.IP-2) GO TO 30CC CONVERT TO REFERENCE FORMATC APREV(1)=1. DO 90 J=1.IP-2 90 APREV(J+1)=A(J) DO 100 J=1,IP-1 I1=IP+I-J A(J)=APREV(J) DO 10 K=2,I1 K1=K+J-1 110 A(J)=A(J)+APREV(K)*APREV(K1) 100 CONTINUE A(IP-1)=APREV(IP-1) DO 120 J=1,IP-1 IF(J.EQ.1)U(J,I)=A(J) IF(J.NE.1)U(J,I)=2.*A(J) 120 CONTINUEC RETURN END______________________________________
______________________________________APPENDIX B______________________________________C VECTOR QUANTIZER DIMENSION R(9), U(9) INTEGER T, 0(75), P LOGICAL STCC SET UP CONSTANTSC P=9 M=64 N=5CC WAIT FOR RECOGNIZER TO BE AVAILABLE;C ST IS TRUE WHEN INPUT IS FINISHEDC 100 IF(.NOT.ST)GO TO 100CC BEGIN MAIN LOOP TO QUANTIZE EACH FRAMEC DO 2 LT=1,TCC GET A FRAME OF ACOUSTIC FEATURESC IDEV=370 CALL GETDAT(IDEV,LT,P,U) DMIN=1.0E75CC BEGIN SECONDARY LOOP TO FIND BESTC PROTOTYPE VECTORC DO 2 LM=1,MCC GET A PROTOTYPE VECTORC IDEV=365 CALL GETDAT(IDEV,LM,P,R) DUR=0.0CC BEGIN INNER LOOP TO COMPUTE DISTANCEC DO 1 LP=1,P 1 DUR=DUR+U(LP)*R(LP) DUR=ALOG(DUR)CC TEST FOR MINIMUM DISTANCEC IF(DUR.IT.DMIN)O(LT)=LM 2 CONTINUE______________________________________
______________________________________APPENDIX C______________________________________C MARKOV MODEL EVALUATIONC COMPUTE THE PROBABILITIES OF ALLC OF THE MODELSC CALL MODPROB(M,N,T,O)CC MAKE RECOGNIZER AVAILABLEC ST=.FALSE. GO TO 100 ENDCC SUBROUTINE TO COMPUTE MODEL PROBABILITIESC SUBROUTINE MODPROB(M,N,T,O) DIMENSION A(5,5), B(64,5) INTEGER T,O(T) PMAX=-1.0E75CC MAIN LOOP TO COMPUTE MODEL PROBABILITIESC DO 1 K=0.9CC GET MARKOV MODELC IDEV=360 CALL GETDAT(IDEV,K,N*(N+M),A,B)CC COMPUTE LOG PROBABILITY OF MODEL KC CALL VA(M,N,T,A,B,O,PK)CC CHECK FOR LARGEST PROBABILITYC IF(PK.LE.PMAX) GO TO 1 PMAX=PK KSTAR=K 1 CONTINUECC SEND SIGNAL TO UTILIZATION DEVICEC CALL USEND(KSTAR) RETURN ENDCC SUBROUTINE TO CALCULATE LOG PROBABILITYC OF A MODELC SUBROUTINE VA(M,N,T,A,B,O,PK) DIMENSION A(N,N), B(M,N), PHI(75.5) INTEGER T, O(T)CC LOOP TO INITIALIZE PARTIAL LOGC PROBABILITIESC PHI(1,I)=ALOG(B(0(1),1)) DO 1 I=1,N 1 PHI(1,I)=-1.0E75CC MAIN LOOP TO CALCULATE PARTIAL LOGC PROBABILITIESC DO 3 LT=2,TCC INTERMEDIATE LOOP FOR DESTINATION STATESC DO 3 J=1,N BETA=-1.0E75CC SET UP CONSTRAINT ON TRANSITIONSC IST=MAXO(1,J-2)CC INNER LOOP TO COMPUTE BEST SOURCE STATEC DO 2 I=IST,J ALPHA=PHI(LT-1,I)+ALOG(A(I,J)*B(O(LT)J)) IF(ALPHA.GT.BETA)BETA=ALPHA 2 CONTINUECC STORE BEST INTERMEDIATE PROBABILITYC 3 PHI(LT,J)=BETACC STORE MODEL PROBABILITYC PK=PHI(T,N) RETURN END______________________________________ | A speech recognizer includes a plurality of stored constrained hidden Markov model reference templates and a set of stored signals representative of prescribed acoustic features of the said plurality of reference patterns. The Markov model template includes a set of N state signals. The number of states is preselected to be independent of the reference pattern acoustic features and preferably substantially smaller than the number of acoustic feature frames of the reference patterns. An input utterance is analyzed to form a sequence of said prescribed feature signals representative of the utterance. The utterance representative prescribed feature signal sequence is combined with the N state constrained hidden Markov model template signals to form a signal representative of the probability of the utterance being each reference pattern. The input speech pattern is identified as one of the reference patterns responsive to the probability representative signals. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a metering device for metering and feeding liquids to be mixed, in particular for metering and feeding chemical components which are capable of reacting according to precise stoichiometric ratios, for example, to form polyurethane mixtures to be fed into a mold.
It is well known to feed stochiometrically proportioned quantaties of liquids which react chemically together, for example, a polyol and an isocynate, to a high-pressure mixing head, in which the jets of chemical components are impinged together in a mixing chamber where they are mixed and then fed into a mold; it is also known to provide means for varying and controlling the feeding of one or more components to allow them to be mixed in the correct stochiometric ratios.
Among the various feeding systems currently known, reference is made here to the systems which make use of "absolute" pumping units, that is to say, in the form of cylinders in which a plunger or piston is made to reciprocate in a chamber in order to move, with its stroke, a precise pre-established quantity or volume of liquid; feeding and metering units of this kind are illustrated for example in the IT-A- No. 23119 A/85 of the same applicant, in the DE-A- No. 3309964, in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,234 or in the U.S. Pat No. 3,642,175. In all these known devices, the metering units are hydraulically actuated by a source of fluid under pressure and are controlled by means of complex hydraulic or electric systems in order to ensure that the components are fed and mixed in the necessary stoichiometric quantities. However, the use of hydraulic or electric systems for controlling the quantities of liquid fed, which operate in relation to a constantly-sensed physical quantity such as the forward velocity of the plungers of the metering unit, the flow rates and so on, gives rise to margins of error in the metering which depend upon the control system used and which, in any case, call for subsequent operations and adjustments in order to obtain and keep the flow rates in the desired stoichiometric ratios.
From U.S. Pat. No. 2,890,836 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,175, there are also known mixing devices, which make use of volumetric pumps or positive pumping devices, interconnected mechanically together; the U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,175 refers to a device for making protective coverings in which the control of the stoichiometric reaction ratios between the components is less critical than in the case of molding mechanical articles having characteristics which must be strictly controlled; consequently, the use of volumetric pumps, with nonabsolute relative efficiencies, even though they are mechanically correlated, does not solve the problem of strict control of the stoichiometric mixing ratios due to the fact that the efficiencies of the pumps differ from one another and may vary with use.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,175, two feeding cylinders are operated in opposition to each other by means of a rocking rod to feed one component, at a time, at low pressure, into a mixing chamber containing an impeller. If the proposed solution were to be used for feeding several components simultaneously into a high-pressure mixing head, it would require an extremely complicated structure and the use of particular expedients to withstand the considerable stress generated by the chemical components which are usually fed at pressures equal to or over 200 bars.
The result would be an expensive and extremely cumbersome device. Furthermore, a problem common to all the known devices, and especially to those which make use of hydraulically-operated piston pumps, resides in the control of the stoichiometric ratios for the mixing of the various components, which must be carried out with means that are extremely easy to set, which do not require any further adjustment, and which are smooth-running and reliable.
A further problem arising in the known devices concerns the use of means for controlling the plungertype feeding metering units, with which it is possible to achieve a constantly correlated displacement of the plungers of all the feeding units, which are not negatively affected by the parameters of the system, and with which it is also possible to vary the stoichiometric ratios for feeding one or more components, with extremely simple and highly reliable means, so as not to give rise to additional causes of error.
Consequently, the scope of this invention is to provide a device for metering and feeding liquids, as referred to, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, which is both extremely simple in structure and highly reliable, and which ensures a constant instantaneous control of the quantities fed and of the stoichiometric ratios between the chemical components to be mixed.
A further scope of this invention is to provide a device of the aforementioned type, which can be actuated by a drive motor which has an extremely low energy consumption and installed power, while at the same time ensuring excellent performances and the pressures necessary for feeding the various components to be mixed.
A still further scope of this invention is to provide a device for metering and feeding reactive chemical components to be mixed in a high-pressure mixing head, which is structurally simple and inexpensive, providing performances equal to those obtained with the previously used devices.
By using mechanical control means, according to this invention, which are mechanically interconnected directly to each other, to control metering units of the piston or plunger type capable, that is, of providing an absolute dosage of the chemical components, in which the volume of liquid displaced by the plunger during its forward stroke corresponds at all times to the exact quantity of liquid delivered, it is possible to achieve a precise and constant control of the ratios between the components and to obtain a mixture of components in the correct stoichiometric ratio, which remains constant and independent of any operating parameter of the device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first embodiment of the invention, a metering unit is provided for a device for feeding and metering liquid components in a high-pressure mixing head, which is characterized by the fact of comprising in combination: a metering device having a chamber defined by cylindrical walls, said chamber having at least one aperture for the flow of a component, a plunger member movable in said chamber and guide means for guiding the plunger, said guide means being axially aligned with said metering chamber; a lead screw control device to reciprocate the plunger in the metering chamber and through the guide member, and means for preventing the lead screw from rotating during the sliding movement of said plunger. According to a further embodiment of the invention, a device is provided for metering and feeding chemical components to be mixed in a high-pressure mixing head, comprising at least a first and a second metering unit for feeding the individual components to be mixed, each metering unit comprising a chamber and a reciprocable plunger movable in said chamber, said chamber being connected to a tank containing a component and, respectively, to an inlet conduit for the component in the mixing head, and control means for simultaneously moving the plungers of said metering units, in which the plunger of each metering unit is connected to a respective lead screw control device and in which the screw control devices are interconnected by means of a mechanical gearing operated by a driving motor.
The mechanical gearing interconnecting the worm screw devices optionally comprises adjusting means for varying the transmission ratio for at least one of the aforesaid worm screw devices, and consequently for varying the ratios between the fed quantities of the components to be mixed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described in greater detail hereunder, with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of the device according to this invention, for metering and feeding two chemical components to a high-pressure mixing head;
FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a feeding and metering unit, forming part of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In FIG. 1 a mixing head 10, of the high-pressure type, is fed with two chemical components to be mixed before being fed into a mold. The components to be mixed are contained in respective tanks 11 and 12 each of which is connected by a system of ducts 13, 14, 21, 22, 23 and 24 to the mixing head 10 and to a respective feeding and metering unit 15, 16, an embodiment of which is shown in detail in FIG. 2. References 17, 18 indicate pumping units for recycling the components, while references 19, 19' and 20, 20' indicate a set of valves for controlling the flow of components from the tanks 11, 12 to the metering units 15, 16 and the mixing head 10 through the duct system shown.
Each metering unit 15 and 16, in the schematic representation of FIG. 1, is therefore connected by means of ducts 21, 22 to an inlet conduit for the component in the mixing head 10, and is respectively connectable to the ducts 23, 24 in order to recycle the components to their respective tanks.
Each metering unit 15, 16 for feeding the components to be mixed is of the plunger type and comprises a plunger or piston 25 axially sliding in a chamber 26 of greater diameter having peripheral walls so that the plunger 25 and chamber 26 together constitute a so-called "absolute pump" in which the quantity of liquid dispensed is, at all times, closely related to the stroke of the same plunger, that is to say, to the volume of liquid displaced.
The plunger 25 of each metering unit 15 and 16, as shown in the detail of FIG. 2, is directly connected to a mechanical control device 27 of the lead screw type, in which the mechanical control devices themselves, for example the shafts of the worm screws, are interconnected or interlocked together by a mechanical gearing 28 which in turn connected to a power unit which, in this specific case, is represented in the form of a single electric motor 29. The combination of the mechanical gearing 28 with the worm control type devices 27, in this specific case, carries out various different correlated functions and precisely: a driving function for transmitting the movement from the motor 29 to the plungers 25 to the two metering units, the function of determining the stochiometric ratios for the chemical components, the function of interlocking one metering unit to the other for constantly maintaining the ratios between the forward speeds of the plungers, which, in combination with a plunger-type metering unit, permits instantaneous and constant reciprocal interlocking between the units 15 and 16 and, therefore, absolute assurance of maintaining stoichiometrical ratios related to mechanical parameters which remain unchanged and unaffected by other structural or functional parameters of the system. The mechanical gearing 28 can be of the constant transmission ratio type, in which case if it is required to modify the stoichiometric mixing ratios, that is to say, the metered quantities, it is necessary to modify the gearing itself by replacing one or more gearing members or, as shown schematically, the gearing 28 could be of the adjustable type, by providing for example an adjustable revolution variator 30 connected to the gear 31 for the worm screw of one of the metering units 15, and optionally, a second adjustable revolution variator 32, connected directly or indirectly like the first one, to the shaft of the worm screw of the other metering unit 16.
A particular embodiment of the feeding and metering unit assembly with its relative worm screw control device is shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. This solution proves to be particularly suitable for reducing the overall dimensions and power loss to a minimum; moreover, the plunger is suitably guided and kept centered throughout its entire stroke. As shown, the feeding and metering unit in FIG. 2 comprises a cylindrical chamber 33a defined by an outer wall 33 having an aperture 34 at its fore end. Sliding within the chamber 33a is a plunger 35 which in turn consists of a hollow cylindrical body closed at its fore end and having an external diameter slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the chamber 33a. The plunger 35 is axially aligned with and slides within a through hole 36a in a guide block or body 36 to which the metering chamber 33a is secured, for example, welded; the body 36 is provided with an aperture 37 which communicates with the rear end of the metering chamber 33a, and respectively with a set of gaskets 39 and ducts for circulation of a sealing fluid. The plunger 35 is secured, for example, screwed onto a connecting element 40 sliding within a hollow cylindrical body 41 secured to the block 36 and disposed coaxially to the metering chamber 33a, on the opposite side of the latter; the element 40 is provided with a through hole 40a. Inside the guide cylinder 41 is a worm screw control device comprising a worm screw 42 rotatingly supported coaxially to the cylinder 41 and passing through the hole 40a in the element 40. An extension 43 of the worm screw 42 is rotatingly supported, by means of thrust bearings 44, by an end plate 45 closing the cylinder 41, a portion 43a of said extension protruding from the end plate 45 on which protruding portion 43a is keyed a gear 31 of the mechanical gearing 28. The screw 42 is supported and kept centered at its other end by means of a rotating and sliding member such as, for example, a bush 46 rotatingly supported by an extension shank 47 of the screw 42, by means of roller bearings 48. Since the bush 46 is situated in correspondence with the hole 36a in the body 36, it serves as a supporting and centering element for the screw 42, and at the same time also carries out the additional function of guiding and centering the plunger 35 of the aforementioned metering unit.
The reciprocating movement of the plunger 35 is obtained by means of a lead screw 49 which is fixed, for example, screwed onto the end of the connecting element 40 opposite that of the plunger 35. The lead screw 49 is preferably of the ball bearing type being provided with suitable grooves for circulation of the balls. In order to prevent the plunger 35, the element 40 and the lead screw 49 from rotating during their longitudinal movement, retaining means have been provided comprising, for example, a pin or a screw 51 protruding from one side of the element 40 and sliding along a lateral groove 52 in the wall of the cylinder 41; it is obvious however that other solutions are possible without prejudice to the innovatory features of this invention. The aforementioned device operates as follows: the mixing chamber of the head 10 is initially closed, the plungers 25 of the two metering units 15, 16 are all pushed forward in their respective metering chambers 26, while each component is made to circulate through the system of valves and ducts 13, 19, 21, 20, 23 and 14, 19', 22, 20', 24 in the device. By means of the motor 29 and the gearing 28, the screws 42 of both the metering units 15 and 16 are made to move, thus causing the plungers 25 to move backwards simultaneously and the metering chambers 26 to fill up with their respective components to be mixed. When the plungers have reached the end of their stroke, this condition is detected by special sensors, not shown; the tow metering units are now full and the mixing of the components can now begin. Consequently, after having suitably actuated the valves 19, 20, 19', 20' in the recycling and feeding ducts 13, 14, 23 and 24, to prevent backflow of the components, and after having first brought the components in the metering chambers up to the required pressure, by reversing the control of the plungers 25 of the metering units, the mixing chamber of the head 10 opens and the plungers are made to move forward simultaneously at the desired speed by an amount corresponding to part of or the entire stroke of the metering chambers, thereby feeding the components simultaneously into the head 10 in the controlled quantities which are kept constant and in precise stochiometric ratios for the entire mixing time. After having completed a mixing operation, the plungers are made to stop and the movement reversed in order to fill the metering chambers as described previously whenever they are completely empty, or to make them move forward again for a subsequent mixing operation whenever the chambers 16 still contain sufficient quantities of components to be mixed. During each feeding or mixing cycle, thanks to the structural and operating features of the described device, that is to say, thanks to the combination of mechanically-interlocked plunger-type absolute metering devices actuated mechanically by means of a worm -lead screw control member, it is possible to control with the utmost accuracy both the quantities fed and the exact stoichiometric mixing ratios, with considerably lower and even negligible tolerances compared to those obtained with the known systems. This control and reliability of the stochiometric mixing ratios is achieved constantly throughout the entire mixing operation; moreover, by suitably selecting the transmission ratios, and the pitches of the worm screws and the connecting gearings, it is possible to obtain accurate doses of even very small quantities, where even slight differences in feeding the components could very easily give rise to the formation of faulty products. | A metering device for feeding liquids, in particular chemical components for the production of polyurethane mixtures in a high-pressure mixing head.
The device comprises at least a first and a second metering unit of the type having a cylindrical chamber in which a plunger slides to displace a pre-established volume of liquid during its stroke and to feed it to the mixing head. The plunger is connected to a worm screw control device, in which the worm screw control devices of the metering units are interconnected by a mechanical drive actuated by a driving motor; one or more revolution variators can be disposed in the mechanical interconnecting transmission in order to vary the ratios between the speeds of the plungers and, therefore, the quantities metered in relation to the stochiometric ratios between the liquids to be mixed. | 1 |
[0001] The instant disclosure claims the filing-date benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/502,566, filed Aug. 11, 2006, which claimed the filing date benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/819,011, filed Jul. 7, 2006, the specification of both applications are incorporated herein in their entirety.
[0002] The disclosure generally relates to a modular frame and a covering therefor. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the modular frame is a free-standing structure which can be positioned independently or it can be combined with other similar structures to provide a larger span of coverage.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Conventional frame tents, party tents, vestibule tents and common rental tents are readily assembled and disassembled frame structures which incorporate conventional slip fit elements for legs, perimeter and roof support pieces. Supporting legs of conventional tents are spaced at increments of 10 to 20 feet, around the perimeter, along with the related gable, hip or pyramid components needed to support the tent top. These multi-component assemblies provide the structural elements for supporting the fabric tops of these shelters.
[0004] Frame tents are normally restricted to an interior span of less than fifty feet wide due to structural requirements. This is because the large span roofs require additional support and cannot be free-standing. Accordingly, tents larger than 50 feet are classified as pole, bail ring tents, clear span beam or truss structures. Conventional large tents require either a center pole (for supporting the roof fabric), a special extrusion material (to be used as a clear-span beam supporting the roof fabric), or multiple structural pieces (for forming a clear-span truss supporting the roof fabric). The multiple structural pieces form the base for tensioning the fabric top between the structural elements.
[0005] Pole or bale ring tents require many perimeter support legs, commonly spaced between 5 feet to 15 feet for tensioning the top; while clear span beams or trusses units require multiple purlin spacers to maintain alignment and structural integrity of the support frame and commonly are spaced at varying distances up to 20 feet. The roofs of such tents normally extent above the perimeter frame a distance equal to 25 percent of the width of the tent for frame and pole tents, while structures may extend 25 percent, or more, of the width of the tent from the ground. A standard 20 foot by 20 foot frame tent may have as many as 59 structural elements plus the top; while the quantity of pieces required to setup larger tents increases in both quantity and length of pipes or extruded beams.
[0006] The conventional large tent structures also have a roof member which directly supports the center or a portion of the roof. The roof member has been an essential part of the conventional tent structures especially when the tent's size increases requiring larger roof-top material. The roof members are typically positioned inside the tent thereby interrupting the space under the roof of the tent.
[0007] The conventional large tents are also heavy, inefficient and costly to produce and maintain. Because of the many structural parts, they provide difficult and time-consuming assembly and disassembly. Moreover, the weight of the fabric-top limits the span of the tent. Accordingly, there is a need for a free-standing structural system that addresses these deficiencies.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0008] In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a free-standing structure which includes an eight-sided roof perimeter; at least four geodesic structures extending from four sides of the eight-sided roof perimeter and supporting the perimeter; and at least four legs, each leg structurally corresponding with one of the at least four geodesic structures for upholding the free-standing structure.
[0009] In another embodiment, the disclosure relates to a modular free-standing structure comprising: a plurality of support members forming a roof support structure and defining a roof perimeter for the free-standing structure; a roof fabric covering the roof support structure; a plurality of load transfer structures upholding certain of the support members and transferring the weight of the roof support structure; a plurality of legs for receiving the weight of the roof support structure and upholding the free-standing structure, the plurality of legs defining a footprint perimeter for the free-standing structure; wherein the footprint perimeter is larger than the roof perimeter.
[0010] In still another embodiment, the disclosure relates to a free standing modular structure comprising a plurality of support members forming an eight-sided perimeter for receiving a roof cover; a plurality of geodesic structures, each geodesic structure sharing at least one support member with the eight-sided perimeter to define a geodesic area for receiving a geodesic cover; and a plurality of legs, each leg structurally corresponding with one of the plurality of geodesic structures, the plurality of legs defining a footprint area for the modular structure; wherein the footprint area is substantially equal to a sum of a roof cover area and the geodesic areas.
[0011] In still another embodiment, the disclosure relates to a method for providing a free-standing coverage for an obstruction-free area, the method comprising providing a support perimeter for receiving a roof cover; providing a plurality of geodesic corner structures to extend from the support perimeter and to receive a geodesic cover; and freestanding the roof cover by connecting each of the geodesic corner structures to a leg member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The embodiment of the disclosure will be discussed in referenced to the following non-limiting and exemplary drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a modular frame according to one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an exemplary modular frame having the roof fabric assembled to the top of the frame pipe;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of the modular structure shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of the disclosure having parabolic shaped top where the fabric top is attached to the bottom of the frame pipe;
[0017] FIG. 5 shows a joint for connecting two members;
[0018] FIG. 6 shows a three-way joint for connecting three members;
[0019] FIG. 7 represents a three-way joint which has different angles for connecting three members;
[0020] FIG. 8 shows an exemplary base plate adapted to receive two legs;
[0021] FIG. 9 shows an modular frame adapted to combine with similar frames to form a larger structure;
[0022] FIG. 10 shows the modular frame of FIG. 9 with a parabolic shaped roof cover assembled thereon;
[0023] FIG. 11 shows the combination of several modular frames as shown in FIG. 9 ;
[0024] FIG. 12 shows the top modular assembly top plate 1200 as demonstrated in the assembly of FIG. 11 ;
[0025] FIG. 13 is a schematic representation of the structure shown in FIG. 11 with a top cover assembled thereon;
[0026] FIG. 14 is a schematic representation of the structure shown in FIG. 11 with a parabolic shaped top cover assembled thereon; and
[0027] FIG. 15 is a schematic representation of a modular frame with support members 1510 and 1520 of varying length.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] An embodiment of the disclosure relates to a wide-span modular free-standing structure. The modular structure combines the structural components of the fabric top with the structural elements of the support frame, eliminating the need for the additional roof-support bracing. While the top may have many geometric forms, in one embodiment the top is substantially octagonal. The octagonal top frame along with geodesic comers provides converge to the supporting legs with the built in parabolic shaped top. It also provides the necessary flowing curvature for water removal, while integrating structural tensioning of the top from the perimeter structural frame forms the base tent unit.
[0029] The octagonal perimeter frame of equal or unequal side dimensions provides support only at the four comers, thereby providing clear side openings, based upon the tent size, from 10 feet to 40 feet or larger. Due to structural requirements for snow or wind loadings, an interior wire cable system may be optionally added, along with a cable to fabric top tensioning rod to offset the loading needs. A tent according to one embodiment of the disclosure can incorporate conventional slip fit design elements for the octagonal perimeter frame, geodesic comers and the vertical legs.
[0030] The structural components (base plates, frame pipe fittings, pipes and modular assembly elements) can be constructed from any structural material products, including but not limited to steel, aluminums, plastics and composite products (i.e., carbon fiber) and alloys. The parabolic-shaped top can be constructed from any fabric which has structural supporting characteristics and can have either sewn or welded joints. Sidewalls or partition walls can be either attached to the fabric or side frame members and constructed from any fabric which has structural supporting characteristics and can have either sewn or welded joints. These walls can be attached with VELCRO® type connectors, zippers or webbing.
[0031] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a modular frame according to one embodiment of the disclosure. To ease description, the structure of FIG. 1 is shown without a roof top. Referring to FIG. 1 , the free-standing modular frame 100 includes base-plate. The base-plate defines a footprint which is the perimeter of the structure. That is, by drawing an imaginary line between the adjacent base-plates, a footprint for the structure can be determined. The base-palate 110 is shown to have several connections points for securing the structure to the ground. The connection points can be sized to receive an anchor or the like. Base plate 110 may have an integrated structure to receive one or more legs 101 . For example, FIG. 1 also shows base plate 112 adapted to support two legs 102 . Each leg couples (or connects) to a geodesic corner structure 120 . The geodesic corner structure 120 comprises of at least three structural members coupled to each other to substantially form a triangle. The geodesic corner structure 120 may be adapted to receive more than one leg as shown in the geodesic structure 122 . While the geodesic corner structure is shown as having three members forming a triangle, the principles disclosed herein are not limited thereto. Indeed, a corner structure not resembling the triangular shape shown in FIG. 1 , for example a parabolic structure can be used without departing from the principles of the disclosure.
[0032] Structural support members 130 connect the geodesic structures to each other and can be seen as interposed between two adjacent geodesic structures. The connection of the support members and the geodesic structures forms perimeter 35 , which in the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 5 , is octagonal. Parameter 135 provides a frame for receiving the roof-top material for the modular tent.
[0033] FIG. 1 also shows cross-members 105 and 106 connecting support members 130 to each other. Cross-members can be tension wires, bars, rods or any other conventional structural mean. As shown in FIG. 1 tension wires 105 and 106 meet at center point 107 . While not shown in FIG. 1 , a support bar can be placed at the center point 107 between the top tension wire 105 and the bottom tension wire 106 or above both wires ( 105 and 106 ) to the underside of the fabric top, to create a peak at the center of the modular structure 100 . Once parameter 135 is covered by a roof-top material, the peak at center 107 will help repel water and debris. Thus, a peak is provided without the need to have a separate roof-support member that disrupts the space inside the structure. FIG. 1 also shows footprint 150 which is the surface area defined by foot-prints 110 (and 112 ).
[0034] While the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 shows cross-members 105 and 106 connecting support members 130 which are opposite to each other, the principles disclosed herein are not limited thereto and can apply to cross-members which couple (or connect) adjacent support members.
[0035] It should be noted that because FIG. 1 is a plan view of a modular frame, the perimeter 135 may appear smaller than the foot-print of the modular frame. However, as will be demonstrated in side-view FIG. 3 , such is not the case.
[0036] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an exemplary modular frame having the roof fabric assembled to the top of the modular frame pipe thereon. Referring to FIG. 2 , modular frame 200 is shown with legs 101 supporting geodesic corner structure 120 . A roof fabric 210 covers the top surface of the structure formed by the plurality of support members 130 and geodesic corner structures 120 . The roof fabric can be extended to cover the space supported by each geodesic corner structure as is shown by regions 215 . In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 , additional tension wires 220 adjoin opposite comers. The implementation of tension wires 220 is optional. In an alternative embodiment, the tension wires are support rods configured to provide a small slope or a slant by raising the center point 225 slightly above the support members 130 . Such configuration enables the modular frame to shed water and debris. This top can be used to cover an individual wide span modular free standing structure or incorporated to cover the same frame, reconfigured to form a larger modular component interior clear span frame tent.
[0037] FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of the modular structure shown in FIG. 1 . In FIG. 3 , base-plate 112 receives legs 102 . Each leg 102 connects to geodesic corner structure 120 through a different joint 310 , 312 . Additional joints 314 and 316 define the geodesic corner structure 120 . Bars 330 , 332 and 334 can be fabricated from any conventional material including, aluminum, titanium, steel, carbon fiber, etc.
[0038] Because FIG. 3 is a side view, it can be readily seen that the coverage area of the roof top supported by roof parameter 135 is substantially similar to that the of the foot-print perimeter of the modular structure. In one embodiment, the size of the parameter 135 is substantially the same as the parameter defined by the base-plates 110 . In another embodiment, the surface area of the foot-print is substantially equal to the surface area of the roof combined with the surface area of the geodesic portions.
[0039] FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of the disclosure having parabolic top 410 . Parabolic-shaped top 410 can be made of any conventional material having structural value including, for example, vinyl, PVC, canvas, etc. The parabolic-shaped top extends to cover the geodesic portions 415 . The parabolic-shaped top can be attached to the bottom side of the modular frame and can have a parabolic shape which creates a curvature from the center of the top to the comers, providing for drainage and debris removal. This parabolic-shaped top also provides a structural bracing of the modular frame to reduce lateral movement from the wind.
[0040] FIG. 5 shows the exemplary joint 500 which can be use in connection with the principles disclosed herein. Joint 500 generally has an elbow shape and may form a right-angle. Opening 510 can be sized to receive a leg, a part of the geodesic structure or cross members. An optional notch 520 is formed on each side of the joint to receive a complementary ball or release mechanism. From the member which is received by the joint.
[0041] Similarly, FIG. 6 shows a three-way joint for connecting three members. Again, notches 620 can be optionally formed to secure an adjoining member with a complementary ball or release mechanism. FIG. 7 represents the three-way joint of FIG. 6 from a different angle. A similar numbering scheme is used in FIG. 7 to identify the various portion of the three-way joint.
[0042] FIG. 8 shows an exemplary base plate adapted to receive two legs. Base plate 800 is shown to have four holes 805 formed therein. Holes 805 can be devised to receive an anchor bolt securing the base plate to the ground. Receiving tubes 810 can also be integrated to base plate 800 . Each receiving tube 810 can releasably receive, for example, a leg of the modular frame 100 as shown in FIG. 1 . Opening 812 can be sized to accommodate the appropriate members while rejecting others. Notch 814 is formed in the receiving tubes 810 to releasably engage a structural member or a leg having a complementary release or attachment mechanism. Cavity (or marker) 815 can be positioned centrally within the base plate to identify the tent frame size and provide a reference point for laying out the base plates prior to assembling the structural components.
[0043] According to one embodiment of the disclosure several modular frames can be combined to form a larger structure. FIG. 9 shows a modular frame adapted to combine with similar frames to form a larger structure. Referring to FIG. 9 , three of base plates 905 are positioned on the ground and adapted to receive two legs 910 each. In addition, each of base plates 905 supports a geodesic corner structure 920 . Geodesic corner structure 925 is coupled to leg 915 which ends in base plate 917 . Geodesic corner structure 925 as well as leg 915 and base plate 917 are rotated to point up-ward and away from the ground.
[0044] FIG. 10 shows the modular frame of FIG. 9 with roof cover 1010 assembled thereon. It can be readily seen that cover 1010 extends to cover geodesic corner structure 925 which is turned upward.
[0045] When creating a larger interior clear span modular frame tent, four of the basic Modular Frames can be grouped together. Three of the geodesic corner and leg assemblies of each modular frame, are assembled normally; while the fourth is reversed, with the geodesic comers and leg assembly pointed upward. The four center geodesic comers and leg assemblies are attached to the Top Modular Assembly Base plate 1200 , which allow the structural forces from the center to be balanced against each other when assembled. Due to structural requirements for snow or wind loadings, an interior wire cable system may be added between the octagonal frames. Opening the center of the Modular Assembled tents, in distances of 20 feet to 80 feet or larger, allows the larger clear spanned area to be available, while maintaining the larger clear side openings. This configuration of Modular Frames to create larger structures without special beam or truss span components, thereby reducing the quantity of perimeter legs while obtaining the larger clearance spaces and reducing the time needed to set up these larger tents.
[0046] FIG. 11 shows the combination of several modular frames as shown in FIG. 9 . Namely, FIG. 11 shows the combination of modular frames 110 , 1104 , 1106 and 1110 . At the point where each two modular frames join (e.g., frames 110 and 1106 ) the legs can be supported by a specially-adapted base plate 1120 which can accommodate 2 or more legs or use the standard leg base plate connected adjacent to each other. Additional joiner elements (not shown) that couple other members (e.g., legs) of the coupled frames may optionally be used. As shown in FIG. 11 , each frame 1102 , 1104 , 1106 and 1110 will have one geodesic corner structure and leg turned upward. The upwardly-facing geodesic corner structures and legs for each of the modular frames can be joined at the center to form center peak 1130 . Peak 1130 provides a means for shedding water and other debris and provides structural stability. To provide additional structural stability, the legs from the joinder of the geodesic corners can be coupled through top plate 1135 or similar devices. Further structural rigidity can be provided by optionally assembling tensions wires 1140 and 1145 which connect support members 1112 , 1114 , 1116 and 1118 .
[0047] Cross members 105 are also shown in FIG. 11 . These cross members can be tension wires separated by a spacer (not shown) such that the top tension wire is slightly elevated over the bottom tension wire. Thus, each of the modular frames 1102 , 1104 , 1106 and 1110 , when covered by a roof material will have a slight peak for shedding water.
[0048] FIG. 12 shows top plate 1200 as demonstrated in the assembly of FIG. 11 . In FIG. 12 , top plate 1200 includes several receiving tubes 1210 . Each receiving tube 1210 is sized to releasably receive a leg member associated with a modular frame of the structure. Top plate 1200 also shelters the opening at top of peak 1130 (see FIG. 11 ).
[0049] FIG. 13 is a schematic representation of a modular structure 1300 including the structure shown in FIG. 11 with a top cover assembled thereon. The top cover in this schematic is attached to the top of the modular frame assembly pipe. The modular frame 1300 can be devise so as to minimize seams 1310 . Alternatively, seam covers (not shown) can be provided to obviate water leakage.
[0050] FIG. 14 is another schematic representation of the structure shown in FIG. 11 with a top cover assembled thereon. The top in the representation of FIG. 14 is a parabolic top which can be attached to the underside of the modular frame pipe. The openings between the modular frame parabolic tops is closed with a joint cover (not shown) to obviate water leakage.
[0051] It can be seen that the embodiments disclosed herein provide a structural frame that, among other: (1) reduces the visual obstruction of standard tent roofs; (2) reduces the length of pipe components required to construct a frame tent; (3) reduces assembly and disassembly time; and (4) increases the width size of slip joint frame constructed tents.
[0052] The embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary in nature and are not intended to limit the scope of the principles disclosed and/or claimed herein. Other embodiments which are not specifically described herein can be made in accordance with the principles of the disclosure and within the scope of these principles. | In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a free-standing structure which includes an eight-sided roof perimeter; at least four geodesic structures extending from four sides of the eight-sided roof perimeter and supporting the perimeter; and at least four legs, each leg structurally corresponding with one of the at least four geodesic structures for upholding the free-standing structure. | 4 |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/197,110, filed Feb. 16, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,674, now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/831,218, filed Feb. 7, 1992, now abandoned.
PARTIAL WAVIER OF COPYRIGHT
All of the material in this patent application is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and of other countries. As of the first effective filing date of the present application, this material is protected as unpublished material.
Portions of the material in the specification and drawings of this patent application are also subject to protection under the maskwork registration laws of the United States and of other countries.
However, permission to copy this material is hereby granted to the extent that the owner of the copyright and maskwork rights has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and maskwork rights whatsoever.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS
The following application of common assignee contains at least some drawings in common with the present application, and is believed to have an effective filing date identical with that of the present application, and is hereby incorporated by reference: Ser. No. 07/834,122, filed Feb. 7, 1992, entitled "Portable Computer with Plug-in Diagnostic Display Capability" (DSC-250), now abandoned.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present application relates to portable computer systems.
The innovations disclosed in the present application provide computer systems (especially very small portable personal computers) which have advantageous new capabilities for update and/or restoration of system software. To better explain the significance and advantages of these innovations, the following paragraphs will review some technological context. This technological context is not necessarily prior art, but is intended to help in pointing out the disclosed inventions.
Laptop and Smaller Computers
Portable personal computers were introduced in the early 1980s, and proved to be very useful and popular. As this market has developed, it has become increasingly clear that users strongly desire systems to have small volume, small weight, physical durability, and long battery-powered lifetime. Thus, small portable computers ("laptop" computers) have proven extremely popular during the late 1980s. Users continue to demand more features, longer time between recharges, and lower weight and volume. This combination of demands is difficult to meet. Moreover, in about 1990, another smaller generation of portable computers, referred to as "notebook" computers, began to appeal; and even smaller computers are now appearing. These smaller form factors have only exacerbated the difficulty of the above tradeoffs.
As small portable computers have developed, the quality of the keyboard input has declined. The quantities of mass storage available on portables have steadily increased, but the cost per byte of the necessary ruggedized drives continues to be far above that of that of the drives normally used. This disparity seems likely to continue. Similarly, although some small portables use nonvolatized solid-state memory to replace disk drives, the cost per byte of such nonvolatized memory is likely to continue to exceed that of conventional mass storage devices.
As small portable computers become ever more common, an increasing number of users prefer to use two computers: one for their desktop, and one more for the road.
One problem which arises is loss of file coherency: when a user edits a file on his secondary machine, he must transfer that file back to his primary machine before he again edits the same file on the primary machine.
A closely related problem is one of backup: portable computers are inherently more susceptible than desktop computers to accident, loss, and theft.
Laptops normally have a severely limited set of external ports. This limitation is imposed by several factors: first, each external connector takes up precious square inches of surface area. Second, each external connector is a point of vulnerability to electrostatic-discharge-induced component failure. Third, each external connector is a possible point of entry for dirt and moisture. Fourth, in calculating the worst-case power budget for a system, the possible power required by all connectors must be considered.
Layers of Software and Firmware Structure
In order to mediate between application programs and the underlying hardware, several layers of software and firmware structure are used. To better show the context of the invention, these layers will be described below in greater detail.
Startup Software (POST. Bootstrap. etc.)
A computer system normally includes a number of complex hardware components (chips and subsystems). When power is first applied to a computer (or when the user triggers a reset after the system has locked up), the various hardware elements (chips and subsystems) will each have their own internal procedures (reset procedures) to regain a stable and known state. However, at some point (if the hardware is intact), these reset procedures will have ended, and at this point the CPU performs various important overhead tasks under software control. This phase of operation is generally referred to as "POST" (Power-On-Self-Test).
After POST, a "bootstrap" program is run, to permit the CPU to begin execution of other software. For robustness, the POST and bootstrap software is normally stored in a read-only memory. The bootstrap program launches the CPU on execution of the primary operating system software; the primary operating system can then be used by the user to launch an application program, either manually or automatically.
Bootstrap Programs
Any computer system must have some way to begin program execution after a cold start. The hardware architecture of a microprocessor (or other CPU) will normally provide for a "reset" operation, which places all of the hardware circuits in a known electrical state; but it is still necessary to start the CPU on execution of a desired program. For example, in the very early days of computing, some computer systems would be manually configured to read in a "bootstrap loader" program at startup. This bootstrap program was a simple program which loaded in, and started execution of, another sequence of instructions, which were the beginning of the desired program. Bootstrap programs are often referred to simply as "boot" software.
To give a more recent example, the Intel® 80×86 microprocessors, after a hardware reset, will always attempt to begin program execution from a specific memory address. Thus, if a branch (or conditional branch) instruction is found at this address, the microprocessor will continue its program execution from whatever address is specified.
Thus, this initial target address is the entry point for every session of use. This address is normally used to enter execution of programs which must be run every time the computer is used.
"Basic Input/Output System" Software (BIOS)
The "basic input/output system" (BIOS) software contains frequently-used routines for interfacing to key peripherals, for interrupt handling, and so forth. For system robustness, the BIOS software itself is normally packaged in nonvolatile memory with other key pieces of overhead software, such as POST, boot, and configuration management routines, as well as a pointer to launch the computer into the operating system software. (Thus, the term "BIOSH" is often used more broadly, to refer to this whole collection of basic system routines in ROM or EPROM.)
In many types of modern personal computers (and in all "IBM-compatible" personal computers), a key part of the system software is a "basic input/output system" (BIOS) program. The BIOS program contains frequently-used routines for interfacing to key peripherals, for interrupt handling, and so forth.
For system robustness, the BIOS software is normally packaged in a read-only-memory. In fact, it is normally packaged together with the startup software mentioned above. Thus, nowadays the term "BIOS" is often used, somewhat more broadly, to refer to this whole collection of basic system routines.
BIOS Upgrades
If the BIOS software were to become corrupted, the computer could become unusable. Thus, the BIOS software has conventionally been stored in read-only memory (ROM). When the microprocessor attempts to access the initial target address, it reads out software from the BIOS ROM.
In 1980 there was only one source for IBM-compatible BIOS software, and that was from IBM. However, during the 1980s, as IBM-compatible personal computers became more popular, modified versions of IBM-compatible BIOS ROMs were developed, and IBM-compatible BIOS ROMs were offered by multiple vendors. As of 1991, BIOS software is often modified to implement system-dependent. features, especially in low-power systems.
Improvements in BIOS software mean that sometimes it will be desirable to implement a BIOS upgrade. Dedicated users have successfully pried out and replaced ROM chips, but most users would not want this degree of hands-on contact.
Some attempts have been made in the past to provide capability for updating the basic system software. See, e.g., Bingham, D. B., "Achieving flexible firmware," 1978 MIDCON Technical Papers at 20/3/14 (1978), which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Rewritable BIOS in Flash EPROM
Commonly-owned patent application Ser. No. 707,121, filed May 29, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,267, and entitled Method and Apparatus for Updating and Restoring System BIOS Functions While Maintaining BIOS Integrity (DC-200), which is hereby incorporated by reference, disclosed a computer system in which the basic system software can be electrically rewritten. This system uses an electrically-erasable EPROM, and provides some significant safeguards against data corruption.
Customized BIOS and BIOS Extensions
The BIOS in IBM-compatible computers is accessed by interrupts, but the vectors for those interrupts can be diverted to other addresses (by overwriting an address pointer in system RAM). This capability significantly expands the flexibility of the BIOS, and programmers use it very frequently.
However, while the capability to divert BIOS vectors is useful, it is not sufficient to address many needs. Changes to the interrupt-handling vectors will not affect other portions of the BIOS. Computer designers have found it highly desirable to prepare (or obtain) customized BIOS routines to fully exploit the advantage of their systems. For example, such customized BIOS routines are commonly necessary in very-low-power portable systems, to implement power-saving features which maximize battery lifetime. BIOS customization has increasingly been recognized as an important element in rapidly developing a reliable advanced system.
Operating System Software
The application software will normally interface to an operating system (such as DOS, DOS+Windows™ operating system OS/2, UNIX® operating systems of various flavors, or UNIX® Plus X-Windows operating system). The operating system is a background software program which provides an application programming interface (API) for use by the application software. Thus, the programmers writing application software can write their software to fit the API, rather than having to find out and fit the peculiarities of each particular machine.
Diagnostics and Utility Programs
In recent years, many personal computer manufacturers have expanded their product lines. This has dramatically increased the difficulty of supporting an entire product line in terms of the standard software products that a manufacturer may choose to include or sell with its computers.
Examples are diagnostic programs, operating system software and utility software. It is increasingly necessary to provide a means for such software to identify the individual machines and their unique features, without having to be rewritten each time a new product is introduced.
Furthermore, it may be difficult or undesirable to implement even similar features in exactly the same way, since each design has different constraints in terms of cost and each will incorporate the knowledge gained by building the previous product. The problem gets worse as a product line ages. It is desirable to continue to support older products with newer versions of software, and it is also desirable for older versions of software to run unmodified on newer platforms. One solution to this problem is to write the software to the common subset of functions supported by all platforms. However, this, does not allow the manufacturer to differentiate his product from the competition. Consequently, it is desirable for each individual machine to have the capability to identify its own unique feature set to such software, while at the same time providing the individualized means for carrying out those functions.
The Need for Robust Diagnostic Procedures
Like all complex systems, computers sometimes fail. Since so many independent software and hardware elements are interrelated, the failure modes can be quite complex.
Normally, the internal state of a computer is not directly perceptible, but is translated into an externally perceptible state by a properly functioning system. However, when a major malfunction occurs, the externally visible state of the machine may cease to reflect the internal state. A well-designed computer architecture should provide robust low-level diagnostic signals, so that major faults can be traced.
For example, in common "IBM-compatible" machines, the POST code will not only write to the display, but will also produce audible signals and noises by which an experienced user (or technician) can roughly gauge the machine's progress through the boot process. Most machines also have LEDs which can be driven selectively, under software control, to provide some minimal amount of diagnostic information.
Some tower-configuration personal computers shipped by Dell™ Computer have included a 4-character LCD display, to provide a robust diagnostic display even if the normal display was disabled for any reason.
Computer with Temporary Override of Nonvolatile Boot Memory
The present application discloses a computer system with a special connector into which a field-installable boot card can be inserted, to override the internal nonvolatile boot memory which holds the basic system software. The special connector includes all control signals for the boot memory, as well as the relevant address lines which are used by the CPU to read the boot memory. Moreover, the motherboard is wired, in a special hardware relationship, so that the connections on the field-installable boot card can disable the boot memory on the motherboard, and force the computer to boot from the memory on the boot card. This permits a technician, in the field, to temporarily override the internal nonvolatile memory which holds the basic system software. This permits recovery of a system in which the basic system software has been corrupted.
Preferably the motherboard boot memory is a flash EPROM, and can be rewritten, by setting appropriate jumpers on the boot card, after the computer has booted from the boot card. This permits easy restoration of a system in which the basic system software has been corrupted.
The special connector is preferably located on the motherboard, separately from the normal I/O connectors, and is accessible through a removable cover.
In the presently preferred embodiment, this special connector can also preferably be used for temporary attachment of a diagnostic display card.
Booting and Running from the Boot Card
Once the boot card is inserted into the special connector, the computer can be rebooted (e.g. by turning its power off and on). With jumper on the boot card in its first position, the motherboard boot memory will be disabled (due to the signal on line ROMDISABLE), and the boot memory on the boot card will respond to all attempted accesses to the motherboard boot ROM.
Typically the boot memory on the boot card is used simply to store an updated copy of the same software (POST, boot, and system software) which is normally stored in the motherboard boot memory. Thus, when the computer is restarted with the boot card attached, it will boot normally. As part of the boot process, the computer copies the contents of the boot memory into system RAM.
Restoring the Motherboard Boot Memory
Preferably the main boot memory is a rewritable nonvolatile memory (such as a flash EEPROM). Thus, even if the data in the main boot memory is corrupt, it can be rewritten. After the computer has been booted from the boot card, a programmation routine can be launched to rewrite the motherboard (flash EEPROM) boot memory from the boot memory copy in system RAM. (Note that this requires disabling the boot card's boot memory, so that the address space in the main boot memory is again made accessible.) For block erasure and reprogrammation of the flash memory, a high voltage is necessary. The presently preferred embodiment uses a DC-DC converter to generate a 12 Volt level for this.
Computer Adapted for Temporary Diagnostic Display
The special motherboard connector, in the presently preferred embodiment, can also be used for insertion of a diagnostic module, which provides a visible diagnostic output. This connector is preferably located, separately from the normal I/O connectors, on the motherboard, and is accessible through an easily removable cover.
In the small portable computer system of the presently preferred embodiment, the diagnostic display card includes a 4-character LED display which can be driven by BIOS routines. This card can be stacked with a removable field-installable BIOS card in the same motherboard connector. Thus, without requiring any additional external connectors on the exterior, this portable computer system includes the capability for extremely robust diagnostic procedures, which can be used despite failure of the display.
This invention is believed to be particularly useful in small portable computers, where space is at a premium. However, it should be noted that this invention can also be applied to larger computers.
Many types of test ports have been used in computers. In general, a test port contains enough lines to let a test equipment station exercise the system bus, and the primary components of the main system board, in order to ascertain where a fault has occurred. The special connector used in the presently preferred embodiment contains some features in common with prior test ports, but with a difference: the system software, in computers according to the disclosed invention, contain special code to output status codes, through the special connector, onto a diagnostic display if one is attached. The diagnostic display is NOT used in normal operation, and does not replace any part of the operation of the normal display: instead, the diagnostic display provides a robust diagnostic "scope" into the operation of the motherboard and the system software. This diagnostic view permits errors to be diagnosed even if the main display is absent, broken, or temporarily disabled by a system error condition.
Use of Special Connector for High-Speed Programmation of Nonvolatile System-Software Memory
A contemplated alternative use of the motherboard connector slot is for high-speed programmation of the flash memory, during manufacturing. This capability is not used in the presently preferred embodiment, but can readily be implemented.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show important sample embodiments of the invention and which are incorporated in the specification hereof by reference, wherein:
FIGS. 1A and 1B are parts of a single Figure which shows important connections of the innovative test header on the motherboard of the portable computer system of the presently preferred embodiment.
FIGS. 2A-1, 2A-2, and 2A-3 are parts of a single Figure which shows the wiring of the preferred embodiment of the innovative boot-memory-bypass card disclosed herein.
FIG. 2B shows the wiring of the preferred embodiment of the innovative diagnostic-display card disclosed herein.
FIG. 2C shows the external appearance of the preferred embodiment of the innovative diagnostic-display card disclosed herein.
FIGS. 3A-3E show the detailed structure, and FIG. 4 shows the physical appearance, of the preferred embodiment of the notebook computer disclosed herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with particular reference to the presently preferred embodiment. However, it should be understood that this class of embodiments provides only a few 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 delimit any of the various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others.
Overall Architecture
The presently preferred embodiment has been implemented on several different computer systems. The primary disclosed embodiment relates to the Dell 320N computer. This is a notebook computer, with an external closed size of about 8.5×11×2 inches.
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the notebook computer 100, of the presently preferred embodiment, in the open position. This computer is a notebook computer, which includes a compact keyboard and screen in a rugged plastic case with a battery power supply. Visible elements include case 802, cover 804, hinges 806, display screen 810, keyboard 820, floppy disk drive 830, and dust cover 803 (which covers the receptacle for the rechargeable battery pack).
This computer, in the presently preferred embodiment, is a Dell 320N™, notebook computer, containing an Intel 386SX microprocessor 300 running at 20 MHz. (Hardware details and options of this computer, in the presently preferred embodiment, are extensively described in readily available Dell™ product literature, which is hereby incorporated by reference.) However, this model is merely one example of the hardware environments in which the inventions have been demonstrated to work.
FIGS. 3A-3E show the detailed structure of the preferred hardware embodiment.
In the presently preferred embodiment, an HT21 chip 310, from Headland Technologies, is used to provide a variety of peripheral support functions to the main microprocessor. These include bus management, memory management, interrupt control, and DMA control. Serial port management and keyboard interface, and other I/O management functions, are provided by a VTI 82C186 combination chip 350. Of course, other implementations of support logic and glue 2-5 logic can be used if desired, within this well-known architecture.
FIGS. 3A-3E show the detailed structure of the preferred hardware embodiment.
This computer is a notebook computer, which includes a compact keyboard and screen in a rugged plastic case with a battery power supply.
FIG. 3A gives an overview of the principal electronic components of hardware architecture.
Microprocessor 300, in the presently preferred embodiment, is a 386SX processor running at a 20 MHz clock rate. This microprocessor accesses bus 311, and memory 312, through controller 310. Bus and memory controller 310, in the presently preferred embodiment, is an HT21 chip from Headland Technologies. This chip provides a variety of peripheral support functions to the main microprocessor, including bus management, memory management, interrupt control, and DMA control.
Bus 311, in the presently preferred embodiment, is an ISA bus. Memory 312, in the presently preferred embodiment, is DRAM, as discussed below.
Video controller 330 is, in the presently preferred embodiment, a VGA chip, and is connected to additional components as shown in FIG. 3C below. This is implemented as a WD 90C20 VGA controller chip, in the presently preferred embodiment; but of course other components can optionally be used instead.
Power Management Controller 320 is a microcontroller, in the presently preferred embodiment, and is connected to additional components as shown in FIG. 3D below.
Hard disk drive 340, in the presently preferred embodiment, is a ruggedized 21/2 IDE drive, such as the Conners Peripherals 242 40 MB 2.5" hard disk. 2-5 (Other sizes are also available.)
Serial port management and keyboard interface, and other I/O management functions, are provided, in the presently preferred embodiment, by a VTI 82C186 combination chip 350. (Of course, other implementations of support logic and glue logic can be used if desired, within this well-known architecture.) Combination I/O Controller 350 is connected to additional components as shown in FIG. 3E below.
FIG. 3B shows additional details of the connections of microprocessor 300 and bus controller 310. The microprocessor 300 is connected in parallel with a socket for an optional numeric co-processor 302 (e.g. a 387SX chip). Bus controller 310 receives two oscillator inputs. A 40 MHz crystal-controlled oscillator 319 provides a signal which is divided down to provide the clock for microprocessor 300. A 32 MHz crystal-controlled oscillator 318 provides a signal which is divided down to provide the clock for bus 311.
The standard component of memory 312 is one megabyte of DRAMs, 8 bits wide. Sockets are provided for optional expansion memory 314 (1M×8 or 2M×8), and for optional expansion memory 316 (2M×8). Both of these optional expansion memories are connected in parallel with memory 312 (except for slightly different address line connections).
Flash EEPROM 360 provides a rewritable boot memory. (The operation of this memory is described in detail in commonly owned application Ser. No. 707,121, filed May 29, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,267(DC-200), Method and Apparatus for Updating and Restoring System BIOS Functions While Maintaining BIOS Integrity which is hereby incorporated by reference.) When the flash memory 360 must be programmed, DC-DC converter 362 generates a 12-Volt programming voltage from the 5-Volt supply.
The hardware system of the presently preferred embodiment uses only three circuit boards for all components other than the power supply. The components shown in FIGS. 3B and 3E are included on a common circuit board. However, FIGS. 3C and 3D show components which are on an I/O (bottom) circuit board 321 or inside the screen housing 333.
FIG. 3C shows additional details of the connections of the video controller 330. A 14.318 MHz crystal-controlled oscillator 331 provides a reference frequency to video controller 330 and to bus controller 310. The video controller provides video output to inverter 334 and LCD display panel 336. (This is a Sharp VGA flat panel display, in the presently preferred embodiment, but of course other displays can be substituted.) A connection is also provided, in the presently preferred embodiment, for an external CRT monitor 332, which, if connected, can also be supplied with video signals from video controller 330.
FIG. 3D shows additional details of the connections of the power management microcontroller 320. In the presently preferred embodiment, this is a National Semiconductor COP888CF series microcontroller, which is connected to receive various inputs for power-monitoring. An ASIC 322 provides interface logic, including sequential logic, for interfacing the microcontroller 320 to the system bus 311. An 8 MHz crystal-controlled oscillator 323 provides a clock signal to microcontroller 320 and interface chip 322. An SRAM 324 (which may be 8K×8 or 32K×8) is also accessed through the interface chip 322. This provides local memory which the microcontroller 320 can use. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/655,889, filed Feb. 14, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,711, and entitled "Portable Computer with BIOS-independent Power Management" (DC-172), provides extensive detail concerning power management microcontroller 320 and ASIC 322. This application is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIG. 3E shows additional details of the connections of the combination I/O controller 350. This chip receives clock inputs from an 18.432 MHz crystal-controlled oscillator 351B, and from a 32 KHz crystal-controlled oscillator 351A. This chip, in the presently preferred embodiment, is a VTI 106; but of course a variety of other combination I/O management chips are available from Headland, Chips & Technologies, and other vendors, and other such chips can optionally be designed in.
I/O controller 350 is connected to receive input from mouse port 386.
I/O controller 350 is also connected to receive input from built-in keyboard 380, or from an external keyboard when one is plugged into external keyboard port 384.
I/O controller 350 is also connected to communicate with an internal modem 354, if one is installed.
I/O controller 350 is also connected to communicate, through RS232 interface 352, with a serial port connector (not shown).
I/O controller 350 is also connected to communicate, through multiplexer 374, with printer (parallel) port 390. Note that multiplexer 374 also, in the presently preferred embodiment, permits the floppy disk controller 372 to send and receive floppy disk interface signals over the parallel port connector 390. This novel feature permits an external floppy drive to be connected to the printer port connector 390.
Floppy disk controller 372 interfaces to bus 311, and receives a clock signal from 24 MHz oscillator 371. Floppy disk controller 372 is a standard controller for a 31/2" floppy disk drive 370, which, in the presently preferred embodiment, is an Epson 3.5" floppy disk drive unit.
The computer 100 also contains a conventional power supply circuitry (not shown), with connections for banks of rechargeable batteries. (Additional details of the power supply circuitry and battery connections are shown in application DC172, referenced above, and hereby again incorporated by reference.)
Accessible Test Port Connector on Motherboard
There are two main boards in the computer system of the presently preferred embodiment, although only one of them is visible from outside. This board (the "top board") is easily accessible through the cover shown above the left side of the keyboard, between the keyboard and display, in FIG. 4.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are parts of a single Figure which shows important connections of the innovative special connector (header) on the motherboard of the portable computer system of the presently preferred embodiment. Note that this connector uses only 40 pins, in the presently preferred embodiment. Signals brought out through this connector include several special lines, as well as power, ground, and bus address and data lines SA(O)SA(16) and SD(0)-SD(7). Line ROM12V was intended to be a control for programmation of the flash EPROM. This line operates at 5 V, but drives a gate on the motherboard which will connect a 12 V supply to the erase pin of the flash chip.
Line 512V is a software output (from the GCS registers) which permits software to actuate erasure of the flash memory.
Line CPUHRQ is the standard processor hold request.
Line RSTCPU is the main reset input into the CPU.
Line SM is the decoded write for the SmartVu.
Line HLDA is a standard ISA signal.
(Line TP519 is merely a test point.)
Lines MEMR* and MEMW* are standard ISA bus lines.
Lines BLE* and BHE* are standard ISA bus lines (used for bank-select).
Note that line ROMDISABLE is normally held low by 100Ω resistor R23. However, if the boot card is inserted, line ROMDISABLE is connected to power. Similarly, line FLUKEROM* is normally held high by 10KΩ resistor R61, but can be pulled down by an inserted card.
Line LCSROM* generally corresponds to a normal chip-enable line for the on-motherboard ROM: address decode logic would drive this line when the microprocessor attempts to access an address within the ROM's address space. However, the present invention interposes additional hard-wired logic, to permit the on-board ROM to be bypassed. Signal LCSROM* is ORed with signal ROMDISABLE by gate U24, to produce a signal PRE ROMCE*. This signal is ANDed with signal FLUKEROM* in gate U43, to produce the actual chipenable signal ROMCE* which is connected to the on-motherboard ROM.
Boot Card for Test Port
The Apollo Flash Shunt Module is a service tool which is intended to allow a technician to boot up an Apollo unit when the on-board Flash BIOS has been corrupted.
Detailed Use: The following can be performed any time when it would be necessary to temporarily disable the on-board Flash BIOS, such as when a BIOS upgrade process got disturbed and the BIOS was corrupted.
The Flash Module has been designed to plug onto the JFLK connector located under the service bay door on the Apollo notebook. This will logically place the plug-on module in parallel with the on-board Flash BIOS.
To use the Flash Shunt with the Flash.exe program, install the shunt card onto JFLK with jumpers J1 and J2 installed on the "Shunt Flash" position. Booting up the Apollo now will execute the BIOS from the plug-on card. Execute the "Flash" program from the DOS prompt. Let the program run up to the point of being prompted to program on-board Flash.
Change the plug-on jumpers to the MBD FLASH position before you let the program erase the flash. If you do not change the jumpers at this time, the message for not being able to set 12 volts will appear. Let the program finish upgrading the on-board BIOS.
The JSMVU connector is for plugging the Dell Smartvu module onto the Flash Shunt module since the JFLK connector would not be accessible during this operation.
Circuitry of Boot Card
FIGS. 2A-1, 2A-2, and 2A-3 are parts of a single Figure which shows the wiring of the preferred embodiment of the innovative boot-memory-bypass card disclosed herein.
Reprogrammable Nonvolatile Memory on Boot Card
For convenient updating, the memory on the boot card is itself rewritable. However, jumper protection prevents accidental writing of this memory.
Diagnostic Card Circuitry
FIG. 2B shows the wiring of the preferred embodiment of the innovative diagnostic-display card disclosed herein. The display itself is preferably a simple array of four 7-segment LED character displays. Note that a power LED is also provided, to show the user when the card is plugged in and receiving power.
FIG. 2C shows the external appearance of the preferred embodiment of the innovative diagnostic-display card disclosed herein. The 4-character LED display is the large module near the center of the card, and the power-on LED is near the bottom right of the Figure orientation shown.
Note that the 82C106 chip has a chip-select line which is used, in the presently preferred embodiment, to enable the SmartVu display.
Stacked Combination with Boot Card
Note that the boot card includes both male and female headers. As the header pin assignments show, all of the signals needed by the diagnostic display card are passed through by the male and female headers on the boot card. Thus the boot card and the diagnostic display card can be stacked together, or either can be used alone.
Further Modifications and Variations
It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the innovative concepts disclosed in the present application can be applied in a wide variety of contexts. Moreover, the preferred implementation can be modified in a tremendous variety of ways. Accordingly, it should be understood that the modifications and variations suggested below and above are merely illustrative. These examples may help to show some of the scope of the inventive concepts, but these examples do not nearly exhaust the full scope of variations in the disclosed novel concepts.
For example, the special connector's cover does not have to be located in anything like the location shown in FIG. 4. The board organization of the computer does not have to be the same, and the computer need not include a keyboard as primary input device.
The specific signals routed through the special connector also do not have to be the same as those described. In general, it is desirable that a card connected to the special connector should be able: 1) to disable the motherboard boot memory, 2) to tell when the motherboard boot memory is being accessed, and 3) to provide outputs to the CPU (directly or indirectly) which fully replace those which would have been supplied by the disabled motherboard boot memory. Preferably (but not necessarily) all of the motherboard boot memory's control inputs are brought up through the special connector, as are all data lines which can be driven by the motherboard boot memory, and all address lines which are relevant to selection of an address within the motherboard boot memory.
The hardware technique used to permit disabling the motherboard boot memory does not have to be the same as that described. For example, alternatively and less preferably, gates could be used to disable the power supply to the boot memory, or to interrupt its data outputs.
For another example, the special connector does not by any means have to be a pin and socket connection; other electromechanical arrangements, such as pad contacts, can be substituted instead.
For another example, although the preferred sample system embodiment includes a primary system board on which the CPU, main memory, and boot memory are mounted, the disclosed inventions can be applied to other board arrangements as well (including arrangements wherein multiple boards are closely connected together in place of a single primary board).
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the innovative concepts described in the present application can be modified and varied over a tremendous range of applications, and accordingly the scope of patented subject matter is not limited by any of the specific exemplary teachings given. | A portable computer system with a special connector, on the motherboard, into which a field-installable boot card can be inserted. The special motherboard connector is wired so that the operator, by setting connections on the field-installable boot card, can bypass the boot memory on the motherboard and force the computer to boot from the memory on the boot card. This permits a technician, in the field, to temporarily override the internal nonvolatile memory which holds the basic system software. This permits recovery of a system in which the basic system software has been corrupted. Preferably the motherboard boot memory is a flash EPROM, and can be rewritten, by setting appropriate jumpers on the boot card, after the computer has booted from the boot card. The motherboard connector is preferably located on the motherboard, and is accessible through a removable cover. This connector can also preferably be used for temporary attachment of a diagnostic display card. | 6 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional application claiming priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/961,960 filed Oct. 8, 2004, now abandoned which was filed under 35 U.S.C. §120 and §365(c) as a continuation of International Patent Application PCT/DE03/01200, filed Apr. 10, 2003, which claims priority of German Patent Applications 102 15 715.4, filed Apr. 10, 2002, 102 19 255.3, filed Apr. 30, 2002, and 102 52 409.2 filed Nov. 12, 2002, all of which applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transmission control system and method for compensating plant changes in a transmission control system of an automatic vehicle transmission.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has been shown that, especially in an automated shift transmission, the transmission motors, such as the select and shift motors, are driven in different operating modes, for example, position-controlled or speed-controlled mode. The regulations for this are carried out, for example, in off-line mode, and are typically based on simple physical models of the transmission motors and the actuators. These models are verified using simulations and measurements. In particular, investigations on a test stand and on the vehicles have shown, however, that a changed plant behavior can cause discomfort and in unfavorable cases even malfunction or failure of the transmission actuators. Possible causes for plant changes are, for example, production-related fluctuations of the motor characteristics when the vehicle is in the new condition. Other causes include the wear and aging of the motors over their entire service life or also temporary temperature effects.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to propose a transmission control system and a method for compensating plant changes in a transmission control system of an automatic vehicle transmission so that plant changes are taken into account in the transmission control system.
The objective is achieved according to the invention by a method for compensating plant changes in a transmission control system of an automatic vehicle transmission in which any plant change is detected and compensated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to prevent negative effects of plant changes, a model-based strategy for compensating plant changes may be provided according to the invention presented here that in an advantageous way makes it unnecessary for the control parameters and force requirements implemented in the control software to be adapted when said strategy is employed.
Within the framework of the invention presented here, a model-based compensation strategy, especially for transmission motors and for the actuators, is proposed with which an identified plant change may be compensated in relation to a reference model without the parameters and requirements implemented in the software having to be adapted.
This compensation strategy preferably includes a differentiation between temporarily occurring temperature-related plant changes and long-term changes in plant behavior that are a function of the software, operation of the vehicle, and the hardware. It is conceivable that additional suitable aspects may be taken into consideration in the strategy of the present invention. For example, in the strategy of the invention, also an adaptation of the compensation for the changed plant behavior, a limitation of the compensation and/or a memorization of the long-term plant changes may be considered.
It is especially advantageous in the compensation strategy according to the invention presented here that this compensation strategy is based on simple parametric models of the transmission motors and/or the actuators. The model parameters may be identified under consideration of predetermined limit conditions, preferably and online mode, during a gear change, for example, in the position-controlled mode of the transmission motors. For example, a suitable parameter estimating method may be implemented in the control software for this purpose. The voltages U k that are compensated and limited, for example, to the maximum battery voltage and the measured transmission motor speeds n or the like may be used for the identification. It is also possible that other parameters and variables may be considered in this context.
The deviations of the identified model parameters from the parameters of the reference model may theoretically be used for the derivation of a complete, especially dynamic compensation strategy. However, because of the simple plant model, the delays in the acquisition of the motor speeds or the like, a partially static compensation of the plant changes in a plurality of steps may be expedient.
After a successfully executed identification, a new static gain k may first be calculated using the new model parameters in a first step 1 .
In a second step, static gain k is appropriately corrected with temperature compensation 7 , which is already implemented in the control software and occurs before the limitation of the position controller voltages U R , which are used as the manipulated variables, to the maximum battery voltage and the conversion to, for example, PWM (pulse width modulation) variables. The correction performed has the objective of dividing the long-term plant changes from the temperature-related and temporary changes and compensating for the uncertainties included in temperature compensation 7 . One possible uncertainty may, for example, consist of the fact that the compensation is made on the basis of the transmission temperature, which is calculated in the control software using a temperature model. The temperature conditions on the transmission motors are not known under certain circumstances. From a control technology perspective, the temperature compensation can therefore only assume the function of a precontrol, with which, however, it is at least still possible to compensate for temperature-related plant changes within a certain context when there is a failure of the identification.
The filtering of the static gain K 1 carried out in a third step of the compensation strategy of the invention is used for weighting new gain values and therefore determines the adaptation speed of the compensation of a changed plant behavior, a discrete first order filter preferably being used. However, it is also possible to use other filters for filtering in the compensation strategy of the invention. The filter constant may, for example, be constant or also be predetermined as a function of other boundary conditions. For example, the temperature, its change, or similar parameter may be used as a boundary condition.
The filtered gain value K 2 may then be limited to a defined value range, which is carried out in a fourth step. In the process, aspects such as the robustness of the control system or the protection of the actuators may be diminished if the dynamics of the plant are increased; this means that the system is more sensitive to disturbances and simultaneously the static gain is increased by the compensation, which corresponds to an additional excitation of the system.
The initialization of compensation gain K c that results from the executed limitation may occur on a one-time basis after startup with static gain K r of the reference model. The compensation gain, which normally changes during operation, may preferably be stored in the so-called EEProm within the context of a fifth step, for example, in the “ignition off” state. This stored value may be used, for example, as a starting value in the next “ignition on” state. Plant changes that occur between the “ignition off” and “ignition on” states due to temperature may then be compensated by the temperature compensation. To take into account the uncertainties in the temperature compensation, possibilities may also be provided in which the gain value is preferably only stored if the transmission temperature is within a defined range and/or if there is a specified number of successfully executed identifications, which is a function of the value of the filter constant. Other possibilities for taking into account the uncertainties in the temperature compensation are also conceivable.
The primary static compensation of position controller voltage U R , for example, may be carried out in a sixth and final step of the method of the present invention. In this context, the compensated voltage U c may result from the product of U R and the ratio K R /K c .
In order to improve the strategy of the present invention, it may be provided that additional appropriate steps are integrated in the strategy of the invention or also another desired combination of the aforementioned steps is provided.
The compensation strategy presented here may preferably be used in all vehicles that have an automated shift transmission (ASG). It is also conceivable that the present strategy be used in vehicles having other transmissions.
It is especially advantageous in the strategy presented here that the compensation may be combined with a suitable adaptation of the control parameters. It is also conceivable that the adaptation of the control parameters or the like is carried out independently of the compensation that is carried out.
Within the context of an advantageous variant of the present invention, an online identification for the model of each transmission motor may be provided in particular with a robust fault recognition of the incremental position measurement.
According to the invention presented here, a sufficient quality of the fault recognition may be guaranteed for the incremental position measurement, preferably using an appropriate software measure, such as an online identification for the already implemented model, e.g. of an ASG transmission motor. In this context, it may be provided that during the shift and select operations, especially in the position-controlled model, the signals of the input voltage and/or the speed of the transmission motors is used in order to identify the plant behavior of the motors in the online state.
Preferably, a discrete-time motor model for the transmission motors, for example, may be used for the transmission motors. The discrete-time model may preferably be composed of a first-order model and an integrator or the like. In this context, input voltage U k-1 and motor speed N k-1 of a position controller are detected beforehand and used as input variables of the first-order model. The current modeled motor speed n k may be converted in the integrator into corresponding motor increments x k .
This results in the following equation for the first-order model:
n k =A·n k-1 +B·u k-1
For the integrator the following equation arises:
x k =x k-1 +K·T A ·n k
If parameter K is represented as a constant ratio between the rotary angle of the motor and the motor increments, parameters A and B e.g. cannot be constant. They can change accordingly because of variation in the production batch, operating temperature, service life of the motors or the like.
This means that, in order to realize a robust modeling, parameters A and B are appropriately identified during the operation in the vehicle. In this context, the identification method of the so-called least-squares method or the like may be used. There, in the position-controlled state, motor speed n and motor voltage u are read in during each position controller interrupt of, for example, 5 ms and the multiplied values are totaled corresponding to the following equations:
Φ
nn
(
0
)
=
∑
0
N
-
1
n
(
i
)
·
n
(
i
)
Φ
un
(
0
)
=
∑
0
N
-
1
n
(
i
)
·
u
(
i
)
Φ
uu
(
0
)
=
∑
0
N
-
1
u
(
i
)
·
u
(
i
)
Φ
nn
(
1
)
=
∑
1
N
n
(
i
)
·
n
(
i
-
1
)
Φ
un
(
1
)
=
∑
1
N
n
(
i
)
·
u
(
i
-
1
)
In the preceding equations, the number N of the sum is directed toward the duration of the position-controlled mode during a shift. Consequently, the number N corresponds to the quantity of position controller interrupts within the position-controlled mode during a gear change.
For example, it may be provided that upon termination of the position-controlled shift and select operation the calculated interim values are used to determine parameters A and B of the discrete-time first-order model. For this purpose the following equations may be used:
A
=
-
Φ
uu
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
1
)
+
Φ
un
(
0
)
·
Φ
un
(
1
)
Φ
uu
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
0
)
-
[
Φ
un
(
0
)
]
2
B
=
-
Φ
un
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
1
)
+
Φ
nn
(
0
)
·
Φ
un
(
1
)
Φ
uu
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
0
)
-
[
Φ
un
(
0
)
]
2
According to a further development of the present invention, a predetermined sequence of the proposed identifications are provided. In order to be able to control and monitor the sequence in a targeted manner, various states of the identification may be defined. The individual states during an identification may be run through in the so-called handshake procedure.
Appropriate transitional conditions have been specified for the state sequences of the identification strategy.
In order to detect the aforementioned faults as early as possible, a modeling of the ASG (automated-shift gearbox) transmission actuators may be implemented. These possible models can, for example, determine the speeds and rotor positions to be expected from the motor voltages and in so doing accordingly compare the modeled variables with those of the incremental position measurement. If the difference of the two values exceeds a predetermined threshold, an error in the incremental position measurement may be assumed. In this context, the confidence measure is set to 1 (guess) and a neutral reference run is summoned, which sets the successful balancing of the confidence measure back to 2 (coarse). When a fault is detected, an entry may be made in the fault store. It is possible that the proposed fault strategy is appropriately modeled in order to improve the fault recognition.
In measurements in the climatic chamber, it has been shown that the models of the transmission motors are too imprecise, especially at very low temperatures, e.g. at approximately −30° Celsius. At these temperatures, fault detections may occur although no fault in the incremental measurement has actually occurred. A reason for this may be the change in the plant behavior of the transmission actuators when there are temperature changes. The previous model cannot be set for this because the model parameters are constant.
The same effect is present if transmission motors are used that are at the outermost limits of the manufacturing tolerances, because the determination of model parameters is carried out on the basis of a standardized transmission motor under normal operating conditions. Resulting from this is the requirement that the model parameters must be adapted to the real plant behavior present for each of the transmission actuators. In this way, a long-term robust fault recognition of the incremental position measurement can be realized.
In an implementation of the proposed strategy, a time window may preferably be provided for the identification. An identification can be carried out, on the one hand, if there is a constant excitation of the system that is supplying current to the motors, and, on the other hand, the identification can be carried out if the movement of the transmission actuator runs freely in the shift gate. Therefore, the identification should be limited in time during a shift, because, for example, no free-running movement of the motors during the synchronization, and therefore the result of an identification could be distorted. Therefore, the provision of a time window during the identification is especially advantageous. It is also possible to carry out the implementation in another way.
Another embodiment of the present invention may provide that preferably the current strength or the like is estimated, for example, with an observer on software side, especially in ASG transmission motors.
According to the present invention, it may be provided that the currents of the ASG transmission motors are preferably estimated by an observer on the software side, and as a result a current limitation on the software side can also be carried out. It is possible that the observer identifies the plant behavior of the transmission motors and e.g. the required current strength accordingly estimates the determined plant parameters, the applied voltage and/or the measured motor speed.
In this context, the plant behavior of the transmission motors may be represented using, e.g. a continuous-time first-order model having variable parameters that corresponds to equation 1 below. Regarding the movement equation of a d.c. motor, the parameters a and b can be calculated from the parameters A and B of the discrete-time model which are identified during a gear change in the position-controlled state:
{dot over (n)}=a·n+b·u Equation 1.
n: motor speed, a, b: motor parameters, u: motor voltage
With the general equations of a DC motor and while disregarding the inductivity, the following equations result:
U=R·l+k Φ ·ω Equation 2.
R=armature resistance [Ω] I=current strength [A] k 101 =motor constant [Vs]
ω=angular frequency [1/s]
J{dot over (ω)}=k 101 ·l Equation 3.
J=motor inertia {dot over (ω)}=motor acceleration.
Using the conversion, the equation and a coefficient comparison with Equation 1 via parameters a and b, the physical parameters can be determined:
a
=
-
k
Φ
2
J
·
R
.
Equation
4
b
=
60
2
π
·
k
Φ
J
·
R
.
Equation
5
Under the assumption that the motor inertia J is predetermined, only 2 unknowns result for the predetermined equation system, namely armature resistance R and motor constant k. In this way, the physical parameters are determined via the identified parameters a and b by solving the equations. The following equations result:
k
Φ
=
60
2
π
·
a
b
.
Equation
6
R
=
1
J
·
(
60
2
π
)
2
·
a
b
2
.
Equation
7
I
=
U
-
k
Φ
·
2
π
60
n
R
.
Equation
8
Therefore it is now possible using the known values of motor voltage U and motor speed n to estimate current strength I via the method of the invention. In this way, the current peaks can be detected accordingly and a correspondingly strong load of the vehicle electrical system is compensated so that no light flickering can occur in headlights or tachometer lighting.
The object of the present invention may also be achieved via a transmission control of an automatic vehicle according to the invention, especially for carrying out the proposed method, that has at least one device for detecting and compensating plant changes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Additional advantages and advantageous embodiments emerge from the dependent claims and the drawings described below. In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a possible embodiment of the method of the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a detailed illustration according to FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a signal flow in the transmission control system;
FIG. 4 is a table of the status of a sequence of an identification strategy;
FIG. 5 shows a view of the state sequences of the identification strategy according to FIG. 4 ;
FIG. 6 shows a view of the transmission conditions of the states according to FIGS. 4 and 5 ;
FIG. 7 shows a select operation in a 5-2 shift;
FIG. 8 shows a shift movement during a 5-2 shift;
FIG. 9 shows a sequence of an identification of the select actuator in a 2-3 shift;
FIG. 10 is a diagram with the temperature-dependent model parameters of the shift and select actuator;
FIG. 11 shows a model of the transmission motors;
FIG. 12 shows another discrete-time model of the transmission motors;
FIG. 13 shows two diagrams with a holding element with discrete sensing; and,
FIG. 14 shows a simulation of a step-response function of a real and modeled system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A possible sequence diagram of the compensation strategy is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 . There, the arrangement of identification and compensation is indicated in a corresponding control system.
This compensation strategy includes a differentiation between temporarily occurring temperature-related plant changes and long-term changes of the plant behavior that are a function of the software, operation of the vehicle, and the hardware.
A possible static compensation strategy may preferably include the following steps that are schematically illustrated in FIG. 2 , the individual steps being consecutively numbered 1 to 6 .
After a successfully executed identification, a new static gain k can first be calculated using the new model parameters in a first step 1 ; see FIG. 2 .
In a second step 2 , the static gain k is suitably corrected using temperature compensation 7 , which is already realized in the control software and occurs before the limitation of the position controller voltages U R , which are used as manipulated variables, at the maximum battery voltage and the conversion to, for example, PWM (pulse-width modulation) variables. The executed correction has the objective of separating the long-term plant changes from the temperature-related and temporarily occurring changes and of compensating the uncertainties contained in temperature compensation 7 . One possible uncertainty may be the fact that the compensation is made on the basis of the transmission temperature, which is calculated in the control software using a temperature model. The temperature conditions on the transmission motors under certain circumstances are not known. From a control technology perspective, the temperature compensation may therefore only assume the function of a precontrol, but with which temperature-related plant changes may be compensated when there is a failure of the identification at least still within a certain context.
The filtering of static gain K 1 carried out in a third step 3 of the compensation strategy is used for the weighting of new gain values and therefore determines the adaptation speed of the compensation of a changed plant behavior, a first order discrete filter preferably being used. However, it is also possible to use other filters in the compensation strategy according to the invention. The filter constant may, for example, be constant or also be predetermined as a function of other boundary conditions. For example, the temperature, its change or the like may be used as boundary condition.
The filtered gain value K 2 may then be limited to a defined value range, which is carried out in a fourth step 4 . As a result, aspects like the robustness of the control or the protection of the actuators and the transmission motors may appropriately be taken into consideration. The robustness of the control may be impaired, for example, if the dynamics of the plant are increased; this means that the system is more sensitive to interferences and simultaneously the static gain is simultaneously increased by the compensation, which corresponds to an additional excitation of the system.
The initialization of compensation gain K c resulting from limitation 4 may preferably occur on a one-time basis with static gain K r of the reference model after startup. The compensation gain normally changing during operation may preferably be stored in the so-called EEProm within the context of a fifth step 5 , e.g., in the “ignition off” state. This stored value may be used, for example, as a starting value in the next “ignition on” state. Temperature-related plant changes occurring between the “ignition off” and “ignition on” states may then be compensated by temperature compensation 7 . To consider the uncertainties in the temperature compensation, possibilities may also be provided in which the gain value is then stored preferably only in the “ignition off” state if the transmission temperature is within a defined range and/or a specified number of successfully executed identifications that depends on the value of the filter constants is present. Other possibilities for taking into consideration the uncertainties in the temperature compensation are also conceivable.
In a last step 6 of the strategy of the invention, the primary static compensation of position controller voltage U R , for example, may be carried out. The compensated voltage U c can therefore result from the product of U R and the ratio K R /K c .
It has been shown that the previously described online identification for fulfilling the pre-determined requirements is especially advantageous. A corresponding signal flow diagram of the transmission control system for an online identification of the transmission actuators is shown in FIG. 3 . The position of the identification in the signal flow plan of the incremental position measurement is depicted in FIG. 3 . Only if no fault detection is present are motor speed n ist and motor voltages u ist determined during the shift and select processes and in each case after a completed shift are the determined model parameters adapted accordingly in the first-order model. This occurs independently of each other both in the shift motor and in the select motor. From this it emerges that the online identification illustrated in FIG. 3 is usable both for the select actuator and for the shift actuator.
The identification sequence may be provided, as represented in a FIG. 4 , as a table. In order to ensure a controlled sequence of the identification, it may be necessary to introduce a status for the identification. Consequently, the individual states of the identification are uniquely identified and the sequence is suitably controlled ( FIG. 4 ).
FIG. 5 then shows the possible sequences during an identification strategy according to the present invention in the form of a state illustration. In it the possible entry conditions for the individual states are described in a table depicted in FIG. 6 . The starting state is generally the state 0 (no identification allowed). If the status is set to 0, the identification can be deactivated. It is conceivable that the identification of the shift and select motor is separately activated. Therefore, it is possible to deactivate the identification for shifts that require no select movements.
The associated state sequences of the identification strategy of the invention are illustrated in FIG. 5 , corresponding transitional conditions of the states being indicated in an additional table in FIG. 6 .
Moreover, when there is a fault detection of the incremental position measurement via the model of the transmission motors, the identification may, for example, be cut short. In state 2 , the speeds and the motor voltages are acquired and the interim quantities of the identification are calculated. In state 3 , the interim values determined in status 2 are used in order to calculate the discrete-time model parameters (A, B). If the calculated parameters are within a plausible range (see FIG. 7 ), the identification status e.g. may be set to 5. Thus, the identification may be successfully concluded and the identified model parameters may further be used in an advantageous manner.
Illustrated in FIG. 7 is, for example, a select operation of a 5-2 shift. Shown in FIG. 8 is the complete shift movement during the 5-2 shift. In this context, the individual shifting states are clearly recognizable:
Disengage gear
(Z_Shift = 0)
Select in neutral range
(Z_Shift = 1)
Synchronization
(Z_Shift = 2)
Engage idle position
(Z_Shift = 4)
Idle position reached
(Z_Shift = 6)
Lever in gear
(Z_Shift = 8).
For possible faults, the states Sync-Problem (3) and meshing problem (5) can also occur.
In shift state 1 , the free-running select movement of the select motor takes place within the neutral gate, while the shift movement in the direction of neutral gate shift state 0 and shift state=1 occurs. In so doing, the motors should be in position-controlled mode (SelMode=4) and ShfMode=4). In this area the identification and also the modeling of the transmission actuators may take place. Also the biasing of the shift motor at approximately 2 to 4 volts shows no effect with respect to the identification parameters. Because the motors are also not in position-controlled mode, the identification cannot be started.
Illustrated in FIG. 9 is a possible identification strategy for the select actuator of a 2-3 shift. In changes of the target gear, the identification is activated (SelState=1). If the shift state on shift/select (Z_Shift=1) is provided, the identification may be started. In this context the motor voltages and the motor speeds are read in and the interim quantities are calculated. If the free-running select movement is concluded (Z_Shift=2), parameter A (SelldA) and parameter B (SelldB) may be determined. Thereafter, the identification is, for example, deactivated (SelState=0).
Within the context of an advantageous further development of the invention, additional strategies may be provided. For example, the correctness of an identification may be checked. The prerequisite of a calculation of the parameters is, for example, the correct determination of the interim quantities. In order to guarantee this, it may be necessary to carry out some security measures before a parameter calculation, exemplary security measures being listed below wherein said list is not necessarily exhaustive:
1. Amount of measured data is too small; the interim quantities are calculated via the read-in value pairs of motor voltage and motor speed, for example. If the amount of measured data is insufficient, a reliable cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, a check may be made of whether the number is above a predetermined threshold. This threshold may be set in accordance with experience to, for example, 10 pairs of values. Other values are also possible for the threshold. If the number after a shift is less than 10, no new parameters are identified. The model parameters may then contain their old values. The identification can be cut short, for example, and the parameters therefore are not updated (SelState=4). If the amount of measured data is too little and therefore no identification is carried out, an interruption of the identification may be provoked since the number of value pairs (SelHwN, SelHwUk) to be measured is increased (minimum number=20 value pairs). Therefore, this shift may result in the identification being cut short because the number of value pairs (while SelState=2) equals 12. Therefore, the SelState on the value 4 is valid (corresponds to errors in the identification). In this context, the parameters may remain constant and contain the already determined value and not updated. 2. An overflow of the interim quantities; the interim quantities are calculated by totaling the measured values. Therefore, the danger may exist that the interim values overflow. In order to detect an overflow, a check may be made before each summation of whether the value range is exceeded. Only if the value range is not exceeded, for example, may the summation be carried out. Otherwise, the summation may be discontinued, and the already calculated values of the interim quantities are still used to determine the current model parameters. In this case, the parameters are not updated. However, if the amount of measured data is sufficient, it may be provided that new parameters are nevertheless calculated after the discontinuation of the identification with the already calculated summation quantities (Shfstate=5).
It is also possible that security measures other than the two aforementioned ones are used in the strategy of the invention.
As far as an initialization is concerned, it may be provided that the model parameters are re-determined, for example, according to the “ignition on” state. This means that they are not stored in the “ignition off” state in the EEProm (electronic memory). This is because the parameters may change significantly in the “ignition off” state, for example, if the vehicle is parked overnight, to the effect that in the “ignition on” state they may no longer be used for fault detection. The following initialization routine may therefore preferably be run through:
1. After the first successful identification, the model parameters may be adopted from the identified parameters, i.e., P mod =P ident ; 2. The model for fault recognition of the incremental position measurement is therefore still deactivated; 3. After each successful identification, the model parameters can be filtered; 4. For example, after three successful identifications, the model may be activated for the fault detection.
This means that the model, e.g., after each “ignition on” state may run through a delay of three successful identifications until the parameters have been set to reliable values. Only then may the model and with it the fault detection of the incremental position measurement be activated. It is also conceivable that other initialization routines or even desirable combinations of other possible routines may be used.
In the filtering already mentioned under 3 in the aforementioned initialization routine, the models of the shift and select actuators may be executed only after three successfully executed identifications because of, for example, the robustness of the identified model parameters. Because there is a scant dispersion with respect to the identified parameters, it may be advantageous to weight the newly identified parameters with those of the parameters already previously identified. In this context it is possible to differentiate between model parameters P mod and identification parameters P ident . The identification parameters are determined using the calculation routine after each shift. The model parameters are the parameters that may be used for the implemented models of the shift and select actuators. They can be calculated, for example, only after each successfully executed identification as follows:
P
Mod
=
P
Mod
×
2
3
+
P
Ident
×
1
3
.
Equation
3.1
This means that the parameters already used in the model are adopted, for example, to a ⅔ extent and the newly determined parameters are preferably adopted to a ⅓ extent in order to calculate the current model parameters.
In order to verify the robustness of the models with respect to the plant changes based on temperature differences, shifts can be carried out in a climatic chamber at temperatures of −30° C. to 105° C. In this context, it has been shown that during identical shift cycles the average model parameters A and B are recorded for shift and select actuators at different temperatures. The dispersions regarding the individual identifications are approximately 5-8%. The result of the averaged model parameters is illustrated in FIG. 10 . It is evident from this that the fault detection of the incremental position measurement can be kept robust in an advantageous manner only through an online identification of the transmission motors and a suitable adaptation of the motor models.
A special situation is also conceivable in which the identification and modeling strategy is illustrated after a reset. After a reset, the model parameters are reset to 0 and the model is deactivated. This may reduce the uncertainties of the plant behavior with respect to the modeling after a reset. After three successful identifications, the model may then be reactivated. In this context, the values of the identified model parameters were also adopted in the output of the long-term measurement in order to be able to set up a long-term observation and diagnosis.
Overall, it has been shown that the online identification of the actuator model enables a robust fault detection of the incremental position measurement because an identification of the plant behavior is carried out during operation. Therefore, plant changes due to temperature influences, service life and variation in the production batch of the transmission motors are taken into account accordingly. It is possible that an adaptation of the position controller is also carried out via the identified behavior of the plant. In this way an optimal control response can be realized. The compensation strategy for the position controller also uses the identified parameters of the transmission actuators in order to compensate for the changes of the plant via a change of the position controller voltage.
To summarize, it may be determined that the developed online identification for the transmission actuators is enabled to adapt the models on the basis of changes of the plant behavior. Therefore, a long-term adaptation and a sufficient robustness of the models is guaranteed.
The DC motors of the transmission actuators are able to move the shift fingers in the gates via the actuators. The speed and positions are directly measured via Hall sensors directly at the motors. The transmission actuator shows with regard to the armature voltage and the motor speed a first-order characteristic if the shift finger runs freely in the shift gate. With regard to the motor position, the motors show a second-order characteristic. This means that a series connection of a first-order model and an integrator is provided. This is also illustrated in FIG. 11 . There, the plant behavior of the transmission actuators is appropriately modeled.
The equations for the motor model depicted in FIG. 11 are as follows:
0
U a = R a · i a + L a ↗ · i . a + c m · ω m
U a = R a · i a + L a · i . a ︸ ≈ 0 + c m · ω m . Equation 1.1 M m =c m ·i a Equation 1.2. J m ·{dot over (ω)} m =M m −d·ω m Equation 1.3.
Because of the negligibly small inductivity L a (L a /R a ˜0.0008), the term formed in Equation 1.1 can be set equal to 0. The disregard of the inductivity can also be carried out during the actual controller design. A continuous-time state representation may be indicated by the following equation:
[ n . x . ] = [ - c m 2 R a · J m - d J m 0 N puls 60 0 ] · [ n x ] + [ c m R a · J m · 60 2 π 0 ] · U a . Equation 1.4
wherein:
ω m : angular frequency [1/s] n: motor speed of the drive motors [1/min] x: motor position [increments] Npuls: number of motor increments per revolution.
A continuous-time movement equation may then be as follows:
A continuous movement equation may then be as follows:
n
.
=
(
-
c
m
2
R
a
·
J
m
-
d
J
m
)
·
n
+
(
c
m
R
a
·
J
m
·
60
2
π
)
·
U
a
.
Equation
1.5
x
.
=
N
puls
60
·
n
.
K
Equation
1.6
⇒
n
.
=
a
k
·
n
+
b
k
·
U
a
.
Equation
1.7
x
.
=
K
·
n
.
Equation
1.8
A discrete-time illustration of the movement equation 1.7 or 1.8 shows the equations already mentioned previously:
n k =A·n k-1 +B·u k-1 Equation 1.9.
x k =x k-1 +K·T A ·n k Equation 1.10.
wherein:
A: model parameter B: model parameter TA: sampling period (5 ms) K: conversion factor between motor speed and motor increment=Npuls/60 n: motor speed (k: current interrupt, k−1: interrupt before) x: motor increments (k: current interrupt, k−1: interrupt before).
Graphically illustrated in FIG. 12 are exemplary discrete modules of the transmission motors. The dynamic system behavior may be portrayed, for example, by parameter A while the gain of the system is illustrated by parameter B. The conversion of the motor speeds into increments may be accomplished using an integrator or similar device (equation 1.6). In this context there may be a constant conversion factor K between the number of increments per revolution and a constant sensing time of e.g. 5 ms (reading in the measured data). In FIG. 12 exemplary discrete modules of movement equations 1.5 and 1.6 are graphically illustrated.
The differential equation on which the discrete-time model is based may be derived from a continuous-time first-order model and a hold element of zero-order. This is graphically indicated in FIG. 13 , a hold element being used with discrete sensing.
An identification of a discrete-time first order model (least squares method) is described below. A simple and easy to implement identification method is the so-called least squares method (LS method). A special case may be the method of the least error squares for a first-order model. The following equations result:
n u ( k )= A·n u ( k− 1)+ B·u ( k− 1) Equation 2.1
n ( k )= n u ( k )+ z ( k ) Equation 2.2.
k: discrete time step n: speed u: input voltage z: interference signal (white noise).
This differential equation 2.1 may result from a continuous-time first-order model combined with a zero-order hold element. This is graphically indicated in FIG. 18 , a hold element with discrete sensing being used. The output nu may preferably also be provided with an interference z according to equation 2.2. This interference z may represent the uncertainties of the system, such as friction or the like, and the signal processing, such as measuring noise or the like. Parameters A and B of the above movement equation 2.1 may be identified in the following manner:
1. Summation of interim quantities; during the shift and select operations, the motor voltage and the motor speed of shift and select motor may be read in at discrete time steps (position controller interrupt of approximately 5 ms). With these values, the following interim quantities may be calculated, the following equations having been used beforehand to some extent:
Φ
nn
(
0
)
=
∑
0
N
-
1
n
(
i
)
·
n
(
i
)
.
Equation
2.3
Φ
un
(
0
)
=
∑
0
N
-
1
n
(
i
)
·
u
(
i
)
.
Equation
2.4
Φ
uu
(
0
)
=
∑
0
N
-
1
u
(
i
)
·
u
(
i
)
.
Equation
2.5
Φ
nn
(
1
)
=
∑
1
N
n
(
i
)
·
n
(
i
-
1
)
.
Equation
2.6
Φ
un
(
1
)
=
∑
1
N
n
(
i
)
·
u
(
i
-
1
)
.
Equation
2.7
2. A calculation of model parameters may be provided; if the calculation of the interim quantity is concluded after the free-running movement of the shift and select operation, parameters A and B may preferably be calculated by the equations already mentioned:
A
=
-
Φ
uu
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
1
)
+
Φ
un
(
0
)
·
Φ
un
(
1
)
Φ
uu
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
0
)
-
[
Φ
un
(
0
)
]
2
.
Equation
2.8
B
=
-
Φ
un
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
1
)
+
Φ
nn
(
0
)
·
Φ
un
(
1
)
Φ
uu
(
0
)
·
Φ
nn
(
0
)
-
[
Φ
un
(
0
)
]
2
.
Equation
2.9
3. A modeling of the transmission motor may be provided; the model of the motors may preferably be composed of a first-order model and an integrator. The current motor speed may then be calculated from the motor speed and the motor voltage of an interrupt of e.g. 5 ms. For this purpose, the equations already mentioned may be used:
n k =A·n k-1 +B·u k-1 Equation 2.10.
x k =x k-1 +K·T A ·n k Equation 2.11.
K: conversion factor (motor-actuator ratio)
TA: sampling period (position controller interrupt; 5 ms)
nk: modeled motor speed
xk: modeled motor increments.
The aforementioned identification strategy may be checked by a simulation. In the simulation a position-controlled operation is carried out. The output voltages and motor speeds may be used for the identification. The identified parameters may be used in a model of the transmission motors. In an additional simulation, it is possible to compare the real and the modeled motor speeds and positions in order to check the precision of the identification. The identification may occur in the discrete-time illustration while the simulation is carried out using continuous-time parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to convert the identified parameters into the continuous representation. default data.
For example: select motor
Ra
=
0.45
Ω
Cm
=
0.025
Vs
Jm
=
1.6
×
10
-
5
kg
m
2
dreib
=
0.8
×
10
-
4
Nms
The continuous-time illustration is as follows:
Real parameters
ak = −91.8
bk = 3472.2
Identified parameters
ak = −91.8
bk = 3472.2
Illustrated in FIG. 14 is a simulated step-response of a real system and a system is having identified parameters A, B. The first-order characteristic can be reproduced exactly. However, in an implementation it should be noted that, on the one hand, the integer arithmetic must be used and, on the other hand, the real system in the vehicle should have no exact first-order characteristic. Illustrated in the simulation in FIG. 14 is the step-response of a real system labeled with plus signs and a modeled system labeled with zeros.
The simulation shows that this identification method of a first-order model has a very high precision with simple programming.
In summary, it may be determined that the online identification for the transmission actuators is especially advantageous if an adaptation is additionally provided. The plant behavior of the ASG actuator shows a first-order characteristic in relation to the armature voltage as an input variable and the motor speed as an output variable during a free-running movement within the shift gate.
The patent claims submitted with the application are proposed formulations without prejudice to the achievement of further patent protection. The applicant reserves the right to submit claims for further combinations of features previously only disclosed in the description and/or the drawings.
References used in dependent claims refer to the further development of the subject matter of the principle claim via the features of the particular dependent claim; they are not to be understood as a renunciation of achieving independent protection for the combination of features for the dependent claims that are referenced.
Since the subject matter of the dependent claims may constitute separate and independent inventions in relation to the state of the art on the priority date, the applicant reserves the right to make them the subject matter of independent claims or division declarations. Furthermore, they may also contain independent inventions that have a design that is independent of the subject matter of the preceding dependent claims.
The embodiments are not to be understood as a restriction of the invention. Rather, numerous amendments and modifications are possible within the context of the current disclosure, especially those variants, elements and combinations and/or materials that one skilled in the art may learn, for example, by combining individual ones together with those in the general description and embodiments in addition to features and/or elements or methodological steps described in the claims and contained in the drawings with the aim of achieving the objective and leading to a new subject matter or new methodological steps or sequences of steps via combinable features, even as far as production, testing and work procedures are concerned. | A method for compensating roadway changes in a transmission control system of an automatic vehicle transmission, according to which each change in the roadway is recognized and compensated. Also disclosed is a transmission control system of an automatic vehicle transmission, particularly for carrying out the inventive method, comprising at least one device for detecting and compensating changes in the roadway. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of computer communications and more particularly to achieving synchronization of a Content Induced Transaction Overlap (CITO) communication channel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of multiple-access channel communication systems are known in the art. These communication systems may conveniently be divided into two distinct types, the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, and the Carrier Sensed Multiple Access (CSMA) systems. In time Division Multiple Access systems, such as disclosed by Hopkins et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,786; Lowe, Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,662 or White et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,661 the transmission channel capacity is divided into time slots during which identified transmitters are allowed to transmit their information over the communication network. Each transmitter is assigned a specific time slot so that each transmitter in turn will have an opportunity to transmit its information. In Carrier Sensed Multiple Access systems, such as disclosed by Eswaran et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,623, Herzog, U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,663, or Spracklen et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,465, each transmitter detects when the communication channel is idle, then after a predetermined period of time, attempts to transmit its information. Typically, the waiting period depends on the assigned priority of the transmitter.
The problem with the Time Division Multiple Access system is that often a particular transmitter may not have any information to transmit during its allotted time slot, while other transmitters may generate two or more messages in the period between their allotted time slots. Therefore some transmission time slots are wasted while other messages are delayed while awaiting access to the common transmission line. This problem is partially overcome by the Carrier Sensed Multiple Access system under light or moderate loads. However under high message traffic conditions, the probability of simultaneous access to the common transmission line rises sharply, and excessive amounts of time are wasted resolving priority differences of the involved transmitters.
A Content Induced Transaction Overlap Communication System (CITO) as disclosed by Walter et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,074 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention is hereby incorporated by reference and, is designed to overcome these problems. Such a system is designed for transmitting data from a plurality of senders to a receiver over a single communication channel. Each sender has a data register which stores the multiple bit data word to be transmitted, a word boundary register which stores the number of bits in the data word and a bit position register. The transmission begins with each sender transmitting the highest order bit stored in the data register. Bits are transmitted on the channel in an overlapped manner such that the channel state is the logical sum or product of the transmitted bits. Using single phase representation, where a zero bit is transmitted as a finite signal level and a one bit is transmitted as a null signal level, the composite channel states are accordingly 0 or 1.
The senders each then compare the state of the communication channel with their transmitted bit to determine if they are the same. If the state of the communication channel is the same as the transmitted bit, the sender transmits its next highest bit and decrements its word boundary and bit position registers. However, if the state of the communication channel is different from its transmitted bit, the sender terminates the transmission of its remaining bits but continues to monitor the communication channel and decrement its word boundary register for each bit transmitted on the communication channel. At the end of the transmission of the data word, indicated by the word boundary register being decremented to zero, each sender enters into bit competition with all of the senders based on the content of its bit position register when it stopped transmitting to determine if it has lexicographically the next smallest data word. If it has, it initiates the sending of its remaining data bits. However, if it doesn't have lexicographically the next smallest data word, the sender waits until the end of the transmission of the current data word and re-enters the bit competition. This cycle repeats until all of the senders have completed the transmission of all the bits in their data words. At this point, all the bit position registers have zero bits and no sender performs in the bit competition. The senders recognize the termination of the current data bucket (collection of data bits in the different senders) and the transmission of the next data bucket can begin after synchronization.
The problem of achieving synchronization in CITO communication arises because the transmission framework contains bits of different meanings: bit competitions or word fragments. A device reviewing a CITO transmission has to be able to recognize the boundaries between these types of messages. This problem appears throughout A CITO channel's full cycle of operation: when the system initializes (bootstrapping), when a new device starts transmitting on the communication channel (dynamic attachment), and when a device fails and has to resynchronize.
The prior art's solutions for synchronization of multi-access communication channels, which do not have specially reserved states different from information carrying signals, is to employ a unique synchronization pattern. As soon as the transmission pattern is different from any possible combination of symbols which appear in the course of regular transmission, a reference point is provided for a receiving device.
There are two basic approaches to organizing a particular pattern in the CITO channel for the purpose of synchronization. The first approach is to use an inter data bucket "silence" (string of 1's) of a length (r+log r) appearing on the communication channel at the end of the data bucket. The second approach is to introduce bit stuffing by suppressing artificially, strings of "1's", having a length greater than log r, so that a pattern of log r silent slots of "1's", can serve as an indicator of the data bucket's end.
In both of these approaches a device seeking synchronization has to wait until the end of the data bucket. The latter method uses a shorter synchronization pattern but it requires extra hardware that is utilized solely for synchronization purposes.
A variety of other synchronization techniques exist, one of which is disclosed by Whiteside et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,826. This Synchronizer and Synchronization System For Multiple Computer Systems works on the principal of obtaining a "voted sampling number" when a predetermined number of computers send messages containing the same sampling number. In the present invention, the synchronization is achieved through a mechanism of interrupt which can be performed by each of the devices without an agreement protocol. U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,289 by Bart et al discloses an improvement in a television receiver sync filter which represents an attempt to overcome currently existing problems especially in the areas of weak, noisy, and non-standard video signals. The present invention of active synchronization, however, deals mostly with the organizational aspects of the problem and assumes standard environmental digital signals. U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,828 discloses an I/O handler for a computer. This device passes data between the computer and devices external to the computer. Bit synchronization is accomplished by the dedication of one of the several channel intervals to the transmission of a special sync sequence. In the present invention, however, there is no dedicated intervals for synchronization, it can be initiated within a regular transmission at any time interval. U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,353 by Jaswa discloses a frame synchronization method and apparatus for multiply redundant computers. With this invention, each computer periodically executes a frame synchronization procedure in which it sequentially assumes a plurality of different operating states during which it pauses in the execution of a task it was performing readies itself for synchronization and synchronizes itself with one of the other systems. In the present invention, however, the process of synchronization can be performed at arbitrary moments of time and by the initiation of any of the computers in the system. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,966 by Whiteside et al, an operations controller for a fault-tolerant multiple computer system is disclosed. This system uses a master-slave concept and the operation controller is utilized for scheduling various tasks. The synchronization is organized by a conventional message passing method which is different than that disclosed in the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to develop a new simple method for introducing and maintaining synchronization of a CITO communication channel which does not tax any time resources of normal operations. Such a method would be utilized for continuous transmission, without affecting the structure of data buckets.
It is another object of this invention to develop an algorithm which can be utilized for maintaining synchronization as well as initial bootstrapping so that there is no need for extra circuitry.
It is a further object of this invention to develop a method which can be used for fault-tolerance control so that if a device detects a transmission error, it can forcibly resynchronize the communication channel and check whether the detected error is due to the possible loss of synchronization.
These objects are attained in accordance with the present invention by developing a new simple method for introducing and maintaining synchronization of the CITO communication channel which actively interrupts and restarts the transmission process.
This invention suggests a different approach from the typical synchronization techniques discussed above and utilizes the specifics of the CITO protocol. In this invention, a device seeking synchronization actively changes the CITO synchronization frame by sending a string of "0's" long enough to stop all of the various transmissions. Then all of the devices, as well as the new one, restart their communication process. The advantages of such an approach are the following. (1) Using active synchronization techniques does not intervene with the normal channel communication process. (2) Synchronization can be achieved faster since it can take place at any moment. There is no need to wait until the end of a data bucket. (3) The design of the channel communication circuitry is simplified because the synchronization block employs functions which correspond with other control blocks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multiple access communication system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the elements of the Sender in a content induced transaction overlap communication system.
FIG. 3 is a graphical illustration of the 0 bit and 1 bit signals transmitted on the communications channel.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a Software Flow diagram of the starting of the synchronization process.
FIG. 6 illustrates a synchronizing string of "0's".
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The content induced transaction overlap communication system is intended to solve many of the problems that exist when many transmitters require multiple access to a single communication channel to a common receiver. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a typical system having multiple Senders 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 transmitting information to a Receiver 20 over a common communication channel or Bus 30. Each Sender 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 is capable of randomly sending information which is required by the Receiver 20. The Senders 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 may represent individual sensors, controls, or other types of inputs, or may be individual microprocessors in a multiple computer system or individual computers in a fault tolerant computer network or any combination of the above. The Receiver may be a utilization device, or master in a multiple computer system, or any other similar device.
From the prior art, as above in FIG. 2, the interface portion 11 of each sender 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 embodies a data register (DR) 32, a bit position register (BPR) 34 a channel status register (CSR) 36, a word boundary register (WBR) 38 and a transmitter 5. The data register 32 holds the data word to be transmitted to the CITO communication channel 30. The data word is shifted out of the data register 32 to the CITO communication channel 30 one bit at a time in serial fashion. The bit position register 34 is loaded with the number of bits (r) in the data word to be sent after the Sender has synchronized with the channel. It is decremented every time the Sender successfully transmits a data bit. It is also used to determine access privilege to the communication channel. The channel status register 36 is a one bit register which stores the bit value of the last transmission on the communication channel and functions as the receiver portion of the Sender. The word boundry register 38 keeps track of the number of bits that have been sent over the communication channel and is used to determine when a word has been completely transmitted. Until the word is completely transmitted, the word boundary register 38 signals the Sender to attempt to continue its data transmission.
Let us consider a typical content induced transaction overlap channel with n attached Senders. An arbitrary number "m" of the attached Senders have data ready and have multi access to the communication channel. Each Sender is capable of transmitting a single r-bit word. The collection of the r-bit words in the m different senders is called a "data bucket". Other Senders on the communication channel may become ready to transmit during an active data bucket, however, in the past, these Senders had to wait until the current data bucket was completely transmitted. The data of the waiting Senders then became part of the next sequential data bucket. In this invention, however, there is no requirement to wait until the end of a data bucket. Synchronization can take place at any time.
Consider the transmission of a single data bucket. As the data bucket becomes active each Sender's word boundary register 38 and bit position register 34 (FIG. 2) is loaded with the value "r" indicative of the number of bits, in the word to be transmitted. The transmission over the communication channel 30 begins with each of the m Senders simultaneously transmitting their higher order data bit. Those transmitting a "0"-bit, as illustrated in FIG. 3, raise the signal level on the communication channel 30 (FIG. 2) by a finite value. Those transmitting a 1-bit, as illustrated in FIG. 3, leave the signal value on the communication channel unchanged. Each sender listens to the communication channel during this transmission. If the Sender just transmitted a 0 or 1 and senses that the state of the channel is not the same as its transmitted bit, it will decrement only its word boundary register 38 (FIG. 2) and does not transmit its next bit. This Sender however continues to listen to the communication channel and decrements its word boundary register 38 with each bit transmitted by the other Senders.
This procedure is repeated, with Senders dropping out of the transmission as described above, until the first r-bit word is fully transmitted. This word will be lexicographically the smallest. The remaining m-1 Senders will recognize the occurrence of a word boundary by their word boundary registers 38 being decremented to zero. Each of the remaining m-1 Senders begins transmitting again, but it does not transmit a data bit. The Senders instead transmit the high order bit of their respective bit position register 34. This transmission occurs exactly as described above for data. However, as each Sender listens to the current channel, it shifts this bit value into the word boundary register 38. This bit position transmission continues until all the bits of the bit position register 34 have been transmitted. It is obvious that at the end of this activity, called "bit competition" the value which has been shifted into the word boundary register is lexicographically the smallest value present in any of the bit position registers of the remaining Senders. The Senders still needing to transmit data now compare their bit position and word boundary registers. If the two are equal, the Sender immediately begins to transmit the next bit in its data register.
The Senders which win the bit competition are the Senders which have the fewest bits in their data words remaining to be transmitted. There may be only one Sender winning the bit competition but in case of redundancy in the word to be transmitted, it is possible more than one sender can win the bit competition. The Sender which won the bit competition does not resend the "1" it was sending when it terminated transmission. This is due to the fact that the Receiver 20 already knows the value of this bit. In particular, if the Sender or Senders which win the bit competition have only one more bit to send it does not send this bit since its value must be "1".
Data transmission resumes at the termination of the bit competition. Each Sender, whether sending or not, listens to the communication channel's activity and decrements its word boundary register as each bit is transmitted. When the word boundary register 38 reaches a zero value, the next word boundary has occurred and "bit competition" is repeated.
This interleaving of data transmission and bit competition continues until all Senders have successfully completed transmission of their data words. At this point, all the bit position registers 34 are zeros and no Sender performs in the bit competition. Transmission of the next data bucket can begin after synchronization takes place. Synchronization with the communication channel implies that the Sender is able to distinguish word boundaries and bit competitions. Once the Sender is synchronized in this manner, it may enter into data transmission on the communication channel. If the Senders are to be permitted to dynamically attach and detach themselves, it is necessary that they be able to synchronize themselves when they come on line.
FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of the present invention. The interface portion 50 of each sender comprises several registers 51, a transmitter 60 and a synchronizer 66. The registers, as discussed in the prior art, include a data register (DR) 52, a bit position register (BPR) 54, a channel status register (CSR) 56 and a word boundary register (WBR) 58. The data register 52 holds the data word to be transmitted to the CITO communication channel 59. The transmitter 60 includes a transferer 61, a loader 62, a decrementer 63 and an initializer 64. Transferer 61 shifts data bits from data register 52 onto communication channel 59 one bit at a time in serial fashion. Loader 62 shifts bits from a data source and loads data register 52 and bit position register 54. Decrementer decreases bits from word boundary register 58 and bit position register 54 so as to signify that the state of the transmitted data bit was the same as the state of communication channel 59. Initializer resets word boundary register 58 and bit position register 54. Synchronizer 66 controls transmitter 60 by generating signals to stop or restart transmission to the CITO communication channel 59.
Synchronizer 66 utilizes the specifics of CITO protocol as discussed in the Description of the Prior Art where reference is made to A Content Induced Transaction Overlap Communication System (CITO), disclosed by Walter et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,074 which is incorporated by reference and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The combination of "00 . . . 0" is not used in the bit-competitions (BC) and therefore the detection of this combination is an indication of an interrupt or of synchronization.
If a senders wants to join the transmission, it sets a SYNCH flag, SYNCH=TRUE, and starts sending at any point a string of "0's" of sufficient length to provide all "0's" in at least one occurrence of a bit-competition. By virtue of the specifics of the CITO protocol, this string of "0's" will simply suspend the activities of the senders participating in the transmission without destroying their messages. Note that all of the devices (including the initiator of synchronization) start the synchronization process with SYNCH=TRUE (the contents of the registers is immaterial), therefore, all of the senders can follow the same simple behavioral rule as illustrated in FIG. 5 and as described below.
______________________________________IF SYNCH THEN test BC = "OO . . . O"If BC = "OOO . . . O" THEN SYNCH: = FALSE;IF NOT-SYNCH THEN wait for first occurrence of "1" Start New Bit-Competition SYNCH: = TRUE______________________________________
If the length of the string of "0's" sent by the synchronization sender is r+2*log r, it will definitely cover a fragment F and at least one of the adjacent bit competitions. However, the synchronizing string of "0's" may be shorter: r+log r+1. FIG. 6 presents the worst case with the string of "0's" just immediately following the bit-competition therefore if it is of length r+log r it will reach the next bit-competition (the last 1 is for control purposes to distinguish between synchronization and interrupts).
If the string of "0's" is moved right so its head remains within F, it will always cover BC. Now consider what happens if this string is moved to the left so that its head begins within BC. First consider a move of one position to the left. It looks like it will not cover either BC at the left nor BC at the right. However, as soon as the "0's" string is moved to the left it decreases the value of BC which immediately decreases the subsequent F, and the string will also reach the next BC. If it is moved two positions to the left this will cause further decreases in F and so on. The interrupt uses essentially the same mechanism, but since an interrupting device knows the synchronization pattern it does not have to send a long string of "0's". For an interrupt it is sufficient to send only all "0's" in the bit-competition. The end of the string of synchronizing "0's" is recognized by a silence slot " 1". The sender then transmits "0" which indicates the beginning of a new transmission pattern.
In the most simple situation a new transmission pattern can start transmission with a new bucket. In this example, synchronization becomes essentially similar to the process of interrupt and bootstrapping.
The functions of the algorithm for the content induced transaction overlap communication systems are preferably implemented by a programmed microprocessor having adequate storage and computation capabilities, such as the 8080A Microprocessor manufactured by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., or any other microcomputer or comparable capabilities. However, if desired, the algorithm may be hardware implemented using commercially available integrated circuits and discrete electronic components. It is not intended that the invention be limited to the hardware arrangement, or operational procedures shown disclosed herein. It is believed that those skilled in the art could use coding techniques or modify the procedures shown on the flow diagrams without departing from the spirit of the invention as described herein and set forth in the appended claims. | A simple mechanism for a CITO communication channel with a possibility to use variable length messages which combines different control functions; bootstrapping, synchronization, and interrupts is disclosed. The mechanism introduces and maintains synchronization of the CITO communication channel by actively interrupting and restarting the transmission process. | 7 |
APPENDIX
An appendix containing a hexadecimal code listing of the control program for the main central processing unit of FIG. 15 in the programming language used with the microprocessor illustrated therein is attached. The appendix contains subject matter which is copyrighted. A limited license is granted to anyone who requires a copy of the program disclosed therein for purposes of understanding or analyzing the present invention, but no license is granted to make a copy for any other purpose including the loading of a processing device with code in any form or language.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The following reference is made to other applications which are filed on even date herewith which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
"Paging Receiver For Receiving Pages From Analog Or Digital Paging Transmitters", Ser. No. 110,512 filed on even date herewith.
"Paging Receiver With Dynamically Programmable Functionality", Ser. No. 110,664 filed on even date herewith.
"Paging Receiver Displaying Place of Origin of Pages", Ser. No. 011,522 filed on even date herewith.
"Paging Receiver With Continuously Tunable Antenna", Ser. No. 110,514 filed on even date herewith.
Paging Receiver With Programmable Areas of Reception", Ser. No. 011,658 filed on even date herewith.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to RF paging receivers which receive pages comprised of either numeric characters and/or alphanumeric characters and convey the page to a person possessing the paging receiver.
2. Description On The Prior Art
Paging systems are in use throughout the world. There are paging systems which transmit pages from satellite transmitters to different cities. An example of such a system is that operated by National Satellite Paging which transmits only numeric pages. A system operated by Metrocast permits pages to be transmitted to any city within the system through dedicated communication links between the cities. In the Metrocast system, pages to be transmitted locally are exclusively made by calling into the city where the page is to be made by a local telephone call. A page to be made on a regional basis is called in by an 800 number telephone call to a central facility in San Diego from which the page is transmitted to the city where the page is to be broadcast by the dedicated communication link. The page is received from the communication link at the city where it is to be broadcast and then broadcasted locally by an existing paging service to transmit the page to the person to be paged.
To date, there is no existing national paging system which substantially covers the geographical United States. Because of the cost of hardware, a system like the Metrocast system is not economical in small cities or rural areas where the paging volume is relatively low. Accordingly, while the objective of achieving nationwide paging has been attempted for many years, no existing system integrates local and national paging substantially throughout the geographical United States or throughout the world. The vast majority of paging systems operate totally locally with each system having a limited functionality because of its inability to deliver regional paging. Most paging receivers are tuned to receive only a single channel which inherently limits usage in time frames when heavy paging conditions exist in a local paging system and further prevent usage in other geographical locations where other channel frequencies are used.
Typically each existing paging system has unique specifications which prevents operation of one paging receiver in other systems. For example, the paging receiver identification codes are not universal. Furthermore, existing paging receivers will only receive transmissions from a single type of transmitter (analog or digital) systems. As a result of paging receivers differing in design and operation, the cost of paging receivers is higher as a result of smaller manufacturing volumes than would be realized if a single paging receiver was usable for a worldwide network.
Paging receivers in the Metrocast system cyclically scan a plurality of closely spaced channels to detect the presence of a page for the paging receiver on any one of the closely spaced channels. This paging receiver suffers from the inherent disadvantage that the continual scanning of the closely spaced channels requires a substantial power consumption causing the batteries of the pager to have a short life span. Short battery life increases the cost of operation and can cause pages to be lost when the batteries are not promptly replaced.
All paging systems currently issue a paging receiver identification code to each of the paging receivers for purposes of providing a unique identification. There currently is no universal standard for issuing identification numbers to pagers, with the largest system having capacity for issuing only 2,000,000 paging receiving identification codes. Worldwide, there currently are over 12,000,000 pagers in use with projected growth on an annual basis in the paging industry exceeding 20%. Thus, current paging systems do not permit a worldwide paging system to be realized as a result of the actual and projected number of pagers being far larger than the capacity of the identification codes in the largest existing paging system.
All pagers currently monitor the one or more channel which they are designed to receive to detect if a paging receiver identification code accompanying a page on the one or more channels on which they are designed to receive matches a stored paging receiver identification code. If a match exists, then a page is processed and an alarm and a display of the message is made to alert the wearer of the paging receiver of the message contained with the page. These systems transmit the pager identification code in an order of decreasing significance of the digits of the identification code. In other words, if a paging receiver has the identification code 12345, the transmitter precedes the transmission of the page with the sequence of digits 12345. Each pager which receives the channel on which the paging receiver identification code is transmitted continually detects each of the successive digits and maintains its radio frequency receiver on until a mismatch is found between the transmitted an stored paging receiver identification code digits. As a result of the fact that many paging receivers have identification codes in which their more significant digits are common to other paging receivers within a system, a substantial amount of battery power is consumed detecting if a page is intended for a particular paging receiver. Each paging receiver which receives the digits of the paging receiver identification code in an order of decreasing significance is statistically likely to have its radio frequency receiver turned on for most of the transmission of the digits of the paging receiver identification code until the lesser significant digits of the paging receiver identification code are received for the reason that it is the lesser significant paging receiver identification code digits which distinguish one paging receiver from another and only the least significant digit which distinguishes the paging receiver which is desired to receive a particular page from all other paging receivers. Accordingly, the transmission of the paging receiver identification code digits in an order of decreasing significance substantially increases power consumption lessening the life of the batteries of the paging receiver.
Throughout the world different frequency bands have been adopted for transmitting pages. In the United States, transmissions are authorized on VHF and UHF bands. In the United States, the channels of the VHF and UHF bands are separated by 5 KHz steps. Moreover, for each of these bands transmitters are in existence which transmit pages by frequency modulation of a digital carrier wave and other transmitters which transmit pages by frequency modulation of an analog carrier wave. Currently no paging receiver exists which is compatible with transmissions from both analog and digital transmitters. Furthermore, Europe has allocated VHF frequencies for paging with individual channels being separated by 6.25 KHz steps and Far Eastern countries has allocated paging channels on a 280 MHz VHF band with individual channels being separated by 2.5 KHz steps. Currently, no paging receivers exist which are operational on any more than one of the above-identified frequency bands. The inability of current paging receivers to receive pages on the different frequency bands allocated throughout the world prevents worldwide paging to be received on a single paging receiver.
None of the commercially marketed paging receivers are programmable by command to receive different channels which severely restricts the paging receivers to usage in limited geographical areas. In the United States there are a large number of paging channels in use in different geographical parts of the country. Because of the fact that the existing paging receivers cannot be programmed by command to receive different channels , it is impossible to universally receive pages throughout the country because of the fact that reception of channels is limited to a single channel fixed upon obtaining the paging receiver from the paging service or to cyclically scan a group of closely spaced channels such as with the paging receiver used by the Metrocast system. Neither approach leads itself to being dynamically usable to accept pages in another geographical area where a different channel or channels are in use. The prior art paging receivers' inability to rapidly change the channels which may be received severely limits the usage of paging for business or other travel.
In the prior art as a consequence of paging receivers being designed to receive only a single channel in a particular frequency band or to scan a sequence of closely spaced channels, antenna gain has not been a problem in achieving reception of pages with sufficient signal strength to permit proper decoding and display of the page. Antenna tuning systems have been used to tune a receiver's antenna in military communication for maximum antenna gain prior to receiving communications. However, these systems do not tune antenna gain dynamically during the reception of the communication. When a paging receiver is used to accept multiple bands of channels, environmental characteristics such as variable inductance and capacitance which vary with location, will tend to prevent maximum antenna gain from being achieved especially when the paging receiver is being carried by a person in motion.
Currently, no paging system exists which truly permits paging on a national and international level. This is a consequence of the inability of the paging receivers to receive a large number of channels and further the deficiency of the existing systems in having a universal paging receiver identification code which uniquely identifies each of the paging receivers throughout the world with the possibility existing in the current systems of several pagers having the same paging receiver identification code. A universal paging receiver identification code is needed having the capacity to uniquely identify all of the paging receivers throughout the world.
Currently in the United States a relatively small number of channels are used in the large metropolitan areas where most of the paging traffic occurs. As paging traffic increases in view of the relatively small number of channels predominantly in use in metropolitan areas, there is the likelihood that message traffic during the three peak paging periods that occur each day will increase to the point where the predominantly used small number of channels will become so busy that it is impossible to rapidly transmit pages to a paging receiver. Because of the fact that current paging receivers are not programmable by remote command to receive pages on different channels, existing networks do not have the ability to dynamically switch channels in large metropolitan areas, when one channel becomes so busy that rapid paging is not possible, to another lesser used channel to eliminate delays in transmitting pages to a paging receiver. In fact, in large metropolitan areas there currently are VHF and UHF mobile channels that are currently under utilized due to the current cellular radio system which could be used as alternative paging channels to receive traffic on commonly used stations.
FM analog and digital paging protocols exist. Existing protocols for the FM analog and digital paging systems do not have a high efficiency in transmitting data per transmitted code. Existing digital transmitters modulate a digital FM transmitter with a binary signal which utilizes frequency shift keying of the basic carrier signal to transmit high levels of a bit with a burst of the shifted frequency and the low level bit with the unshifted frequency of the carrier. Thus, each identifiable digit of the transmission from an FM digital paging transmitter can encode only two distinct levels for each frequency burst of the carrier. Analog FM paging transmitters frequency modulate a sinusoidal carrier with a total of 15 tones to create a hexadecimal value transmitting system in which no modulation of the basic carrier is considered to be the "F" level and the remaining 15 different levels are encoded by modulating the FM carrier with distinct tones. Paging receivers which are designed to receive analog transmissions require substantial reception time of each tone to validly detect each character. Thus, while the protocol of FM analog paging transmitters transmits a much higher number of data levels for each frequency burst, the slowness of the paging receivers in detecting the discrete tones does not result in a high throughput speed of transmitting characters.
Existing paging systems which permit paging in multiple cities suffer from the deficiency that a long distance phone call is required to phone in a page which is to be transmitted to a remote city. Because of the fact that the long distance phone call is charged to the person wishing to make the page or to the operator of the system (800 service), the expense of using these paging systems is increased and may discourage users from making non-local pages. No national or regional prior art paging system permits a page to be initiated from a geographic area outside the area where the paging receiver is normally located by the making of a local phone call and further for the paging receiver to be programmed to receive the page on a particular channel found at the location where the page is to be received.
Current paging receivers do not execute a repertoire of commands permitting the functional characteristics of the paging receiver to be programmed dynamically by RF transmission. Current paging receivers do respond to commands which provide an alarm to the person wearing the paging receiver that a page has been received such as activating a display and/or providing an audio alarm. However, current paging receivers do not execute a diversity of commands in which the system influences operation and structure of the paging receiver, including commands activating the display to indicate if the page has originated locally or from another region, causing the message transmitted with the page to be stored in a particular memory location in the paging receiver and programming the channels on which the paging receiver is to receive pages and permitting the paging receiver to serve as a relay for pages either to be transmitted or received.
Moreover, the prior art paging receivers do not control the scanning of channels in accordance with a program which automatically causes the RF receiver to monitor the channel on which the last page was received for a predetermined time interval and if no carrier is detected on that channel then scanning one or more additional programmed channels for a predetermined time interval until either a carrier is detected on one of the channels being scanned in which case that channel is scanned for the predetermined time interval or in the absence of any carrier being detected on the one or more channels being scanned shutting down the RF receiver after the predetermined time interval. No prior art paging system is known in which a code is transmitted with the paging receiver identification code to restrict reception of pages in particular geographic areas.
Cellular radio systems dynamically assign channels on which cellular radio receivers are to receive telephone calls. To make or receive a telephone call, a mobile cellular radio is locked onto a set up channel through communications with the transmitter which are established when the cellular radio receiver is turned on. The cellular system then assigns the mobile cellular radio to a specific channel while the mobile cellular radio is making or receiving a telephone call within a cell. As the cellular radio receiver moves from one cell to another cell, the channel is dynamically changed from one channel to another channel to maintain a strong signal frequency. A cellular radio receiver does not have a channel memory which stores channels which are to be scanned to establish if a call is forth coming. The dynamic assignment of a channel is initiated by the transmitter for the sole purpose of establishing the channel over which voice communications are to be initiated or to be maintained when moving from one cell to another.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,071 discloses a system for programming an identification code of a receiver by a radio frequency communication between a transmitter and the receiver.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides the first paging receiver which is compatible with all existing UHF and VHF paging frequency bands and existing paging system FM analog and digital transmitters found in the United States, Japan and Europe. A paging receiver in accordance with the present invention may be programmed dynamically to receive channels in multiple bands including the VHF and UHF bands in the United States, the VHF band in Europe and the 280 VHF Japanese band. The dynamic programmability of channels of the paging receiver of the present invention permits operation in all of the geographic areas identified above with a single paging receiver by programming the paging receiver by a channel programming changing command to receive one or more channels in the geographic areas to which the pager will be transported. The transmitter transmitting the page in the area where the paging receiver is to receive the page transmits the page on a channel on which the paging receiver has been dynamically programmed to receive the page.
The paging receiver of the present invention and its protocol is compatible with all existing analog and digital transmitters and permits pages transmitted by either analog or digital paging transmitters to be received by a single paging receiver with total transparency to the user of the paging receiver. Furthermore, the adoption of a universal protocol in which each code transmission by a FM digital transmitter encodes a multiple level of signals greater than two achieves a high data throughput rate. Moreover, the signal processing circuitry of the paging receiver provides a rapid response time to each transmitted code from either an analog or digital transmitter which further permits the time duration of transmission of each character to be shortened providing a high data throughput. Finally, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a paging receiver identification code format is adopted which permits 100,000,000 distinct paging receivers to be used by the system enabling international use.
The present invention substantially enhances the battery life of batteries used to power the paging receiver. In the first place, each digit of the paging receiver identification code is transmitted as a header on each page in an order of increasing significance of the paging receiver identification code digits. The paging receiver compares each received paging receiver identification code digit with the corresponding digits of its unique stored paging receiver identification code to detect if a mismatch exists at which time the paging receiver is turned off to conserve power until it is turned on again under a control program of the main central processing unit. The comparison of the transmitted paging receiver identification code digits and the stored pager receiver identification code digits continues sequentially until either a total match is found at which time the command and/or page transmitted with the paging receiver identification code is processed or the paging receiver is shut down to conserve power.
Furthermore, reception of pages by a particular paging receiver may be restricted by use of a destination code. Each paging receiver contains a memory for storing a destination code. Pages which are to be received on an area basis by a paging receiver are transmitted with the destination code being the first digit of the transmission of the paging receiver identification code. If a match is not found between the transmitted destination code and any stored destination code contained in the memory of the paging receiver, the paging receiver turner is immediately shut down to conserve power. If a match is found between a transmitted destination code and any stored destination code, the paging receiver then processes the subsequently transmitted paging receiver identification code digits which are transmitted in an order of increasing significance of its digits as described above. The invention eliminates the problem of each paging receiver which is to receive a national or regional page from responding to resident local paging which consumes substantial amounts of battery life.
Furthermore, in accordance with the invention, each paging receiver contains a memory for storing the last channel on which a carrier was detected. The control program of the main central processing unit for the paging receiver automatically activates the paging receiver to receive the last channel first because of the statistical probability that pages are more likely to be found on that channel than on additional channels stored in channel memory which are thereafter received by the paging receiver in an order determined by a control program. Battery life is enhanced by ordering the sequence in which channels are to be received such that the statistically most likely channel on which a transmission is likely to be received is the first channel received when a plurality of channels are to be scanned for the presence of carrier.
The diverse command repertoire of the paging receiver further enhances its usage by permitting programming of channels, processing of storage location of pages in memory, place of origin display of pages, use of the paging receiver to relay pages to external devices and regional or group specific reception of pages.
A RF paging receiver for receiving one or more different commands each specifying a particular function to be performed by the paging receiver with each command containing a multidigit paging receiver identification code which uniquely identifies a paging receiver to receive the command in which the digits are transmitted in an order of increasing significance includes a RF receiver for receiving a channel on which the one or more commands are to be transmitted; a memory for storing a unique multiple digit paging receiver identification code; a controller responsive to the RF receiver, for sequentially receiving and decoding digits of a transmitted paging receiver identification code specifying a particular paging receiver to receive the command, and comparing the received digits sequentially with corresponding stored digits of the paging receiver identification code in an order of increasing significance of the digits until a match is not found between one of the stored and transmitted digits at which time the controller deactivates the RF receiver or a complete match is found between the stored and transmitted digits of the paging receiver identification code at which time the command is decoded and caused to be executed by the controller. The controller activates the RF receiver tuner to receive the channel for a first predetermined time interval and monitors the RF receiver tuner to determine if the channel carrier is received during the first predetermined time interval, if the channel carrier is not detected by the RF receiver, the controller turns off the RF receiver tuner to cease reception of the channel carrier and if the channel carrier is detected, the controller continues the activation of the RF receiver tuner to receive at least the first digit of the transmitted paging receiver identification code. The paging receiver includes a memory for storing a paging receiver identification code; and one of the commands is a program identification command causing the controller to program the memory for storing the paging receiver identification code with a new unique paging receiver identification code. The memory for storing the paging receiver identification code is programmed prior to operation of the paging receiver with a non-unique default identification code. Prior to operation of the paging receiver to receive commands, the controller, in response to a program identification command, stores in the memory for storing the paging receiver identification code the unique paging receiver identification code. The paging receiver further includes a display for displaying the origin of a page as being either from a local area or from another area and further both numeric and alphanumeric pages. One of the commands is a local display command causing the controller to illuminate the display to state that the page originates in the local area and to display a numeric page. One of the commands is a local alphanumeric message display command causing the controller to illuminate the display to state that the page originates in the local area in which the page is to be received and to display an alphanumeric page. One of the commands is a national numeric message display command causing the controller to illuminate the display to state that the page did not originate in the area in which the page is received and to display a numeric page. Another of the commands is a national alphanumeric message display command causing the controller to illuminate the display to state that the page did not originate in the area in which the page is received and to display an alphanumeric page. The paging receiver includes a message memory for storing a plurality of pages with each page being stored in a separate storage location with at least some of the storage locations being addressable and wherein one of the commands is a specific memory command which specifies a particular addressable storage location in which a page accompanying the specific memory command is to be stored. Each specific memory command contains a digit specifying the particular memory location in which the page accompanying the specific memory command is to be stored and the controller causes the page accompanying the specific memory command to be stored in the specified memory location. The paging receiver contains an external data jack at which data is to be outputted and one of the commands is an external data command causing the controller to output a page accompanying the external data command at the external data jack.
The paging receiver includes a channel memory which is programmable to store one or more channels to be received by the RF receiver and wherein one of the commands is a channel programming command specifying a particular channel to be stored in the channel memory and the controller decodes the channel programming command, stores in the channel memory a channel programming contained in the decoded channel frequency command and causes the RF receiver to be activated to receive the programmed channel. The channel programming command may be used to (1) cause the controller to store an additional channel to be received in the channel memory; (2) cause the controller to erase all existing channels in the channel memory except the channel on which a carrier was last detected by the RF receiver tuner and to store one or more new channels in the channel memory; (3) cause the controller to erase all existing channels and to store a new channel in the channel memory and to activate the RF receiver to receive the new channel; and (4) to cause the controller to erase all existing channels and to load the channel memory with channels including a destination code identifying an area where the channel is to be received by the paging receiver.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a paging receiver in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram of the channel memory used for storing channels to be received.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the operation of a paging receiver in accordance with the present invention in processing signals from analog and digital transmitters.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the order of transmission of the digits of the paging receiver identification code.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the order of transmission of a destination code and the digits of the paging receiver identification code.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the order of scanning the channels of the channel memory and processing of the destination code and the paging receiver identification code.
FIG. 7 is a circuit schematic of the antenna circuit 14 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 is a circuit schematic of the amplifier and mixer 18 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a circuit schematic of the amplifier and mixer 22 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 10 is a circuit schematic of the amplifier and mixer 20 of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 11A-C are a circuit schematic of the voltage controlled oscillator 30 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 12 is a circuit schematic of the phase lock loop 28 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 13 is a circuit schematic of the IF processing circuit 34 of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 14A-B are a circuit schematic of the tone decoder 56 of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 15A-B are a circuit schematic of the main CPU 24 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 16 is a circuit schematic of the ASIC circuit A2 of the antenna controller 44 of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 17 is a circuit schematic of the buffer amplifier 50 and low pass filter 52 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 18 is a circuit schematic of the power controller 26 of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 19A-B are a circuit schematic of the antenna controller 44 of FIG. 1 without the ASIC circuit of FIG. 16.
FIG. 20 is a circuit schematic of the LCD display driver 62' of FIG. 1.
FIG. 21 illustrates the operation of the present invention in making a page to a remote area.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
I. Paging Receiver Architecture
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of paging receiver 10 in accordance with the invention. Actual circuits for implementing the various blocks of the block diagram of FIG. 1 are set forth below in FIGS. 7-20. Additionally, the main control program for the main CPU 24 is set forth in the above-referenced Appendix. An internal antenna 12 functions to receive a total of 10,600 possible channels from the three discrete frequency bands referred to above in the Description of the Prior Art. Because of the large number of possible channels which may be received in the distinct three frequency bands, the antenna 12 has a broad band characteristic. In the paging receiver of the present invention, the antenna 12 is designed to be resonant as close as is reasonably possible in all of the three frequency bands which it is designed to receive. In other words, an optimum impedance match is desired. However, the effects of the environment in which the antenna 12 is disposed during operation (a paging receiver is typically clipped to the belt of a person) cause a variation in the degree of resonance as a consequence of variable inductance and capacitance caused by a person's body, etc. in the environment of the antenna. Thus, the gain of the antenna 12 is subject to substantial variation as a consequence of the person on which the pager is located and the physical environment in which the pager is located both of which can substantially degrade the gain of the received page applied to antenna circuit 14. The antenna circuit 14 is a tuner containing variable capacitance diodes to which is applied an ANTENNA TUNING SIGNAL to maximize the gain of the antenna 12 for the particular channel that RF tuner 16 is tuned to receive. A circuit schematic of the antenna circuit is illustrated in FIG. 7. The antenna circuit 14 is tuned by the ANTENNA TUNING SIGNAL which functions to tune the antenna 12 to achieve maximum gain in a manner described below in detail. The RF tuner 16 is comprised of three separate radio frequency amplifiers and mixers 18, 20 and 22 which respectively receive UHF and 280 MHz VHF and VHF channel frequency bands. A circuit schematic of the UHF amplifier and mixer circuit 18 is illustrated in FIG. 8; a circuit schematic of the 280 VHF amplifier and mixer circuit 20 is illustrated in FIG. 10; and a circuit schematic of the VHF amplifier and mixer circuit 22 is illustrated in FIG. 9. Only one of the amplifiers and mixers 18, 20 and 22 is energized during reception of any of the channels which cuts down on power consumption. A main CPU 24 controls the activation of a power controller 26 which selectively activates one of the amplifier and mixer circuits 18, 20 and 22 depending upon in which of the UHF, 280 VHF and VHF frequency bands a page is to be received. The digital RECEIVER TUNING SIGNAL outputted by the main CPU 24 specifies one of the 10,600 possible channels to be received by the preferred embodiment which are stored in ROM 58 as discussed below. The RECEIVER TUNING SIGNAL is applied to phase lock loop 28 which frequency locks voltage controlled oscillator 30 on the particular channel specified by the RECEIVER TUNING SIGNAL. When a particular channel is to be received by the RF tuner 16, the main CPU 24 digitally commands the power controller 26 to activate a particular one of the amplifier and mixer circuits 18, 20 and 22 which is to receive the channel to be received. By deactivating the remaining two amplifier mixer circuits power is conserved over that which would be consumed if all three amplifiers and mixer circuits 18, 20 and 22 were simultaneously activated. A circuit schematic of the main CPU 24 is illustrated in FIG. 15 with a suitable control program contained in the above-referenced Appendix; a circuit schematic of the power controller circuit is illustrated in FIG. 18; a circuit schematic of the phase lock loop circuit 28 is illustrated in FIG. 12; and a circuit schematic of the voltage controlled oscillator 30 is illustrated in FIG. 11. The voltage controlled oscillator 30 produces an output frequency which is mixed with the signal being received by one of the amplifier and mixers 18, 20 and 22 to produce a 21.4 MHz output signal. The 21.4 MHz output signal is filtered by a 21.4 MHz filter 32. The output of the 21.4 MHz filter 32 is applied to an IF processing signal circuit 34 to produce the IF signal of 450 kHz. The output signal from the mixer oscillator 36 is applied to an IF amplifier 38 which amplifies the IF signal to a level sufficient for discrimination by FM discriminator circuit 40. A RSSI circuit (received signal strength indicator) 42 produces an output signal having a magnitude directly proportional to the level of the output signal from the discriminator 40. A circuit schematic of the IF processing circuit 34 is illustrated in FIG. 13. The RSSI signal outputted by the RSSI circuit 42 is applied to an antenna controller circuit 44. The antenna control circuit 44 contains an analog-to-digital converter 46 which converts the analog RSSI signal into digital format suitable for processing by a dedicated ASIC microprocessor. The antenna controller 44 contains an ASIC microprocessor based control circuit which executes a computer program contained in a ROM in the ASIC circuit. The ASIC circuit functions to produce a wobble signal which is outputted as a variable digital value which is applied to digital-to-analog converter 48 to produce the ANTENNA TUNING SIGNAL having a variable analog value which causes the antenna circuit 14 to be tuned variably through a frequency band for the purpose of continually locking on the point of maximum gain as a channel is being received. The variation in signal amplitude caused by the wobbling of the tuning frequency of the antenna circuit 14 is detected by the RSSI circuit 42 so that the antenna controller circuit 44 continually outputs an ANTENNA TUNING SIGNAL which tunes the antenna circuit 14 to achieve maximum gain for the antenna 12. The ANTENNA TUNING SIGNAL compensates for environmental factors which change the gain of the antenna 12 during reception such as variable inductance and capacitance caused by a person's body. A circuit schematic of the antenna controller 44 is illustrated in FIG. 16. The discriminator circuit 40 outputs either no signal (level F) or one of fifteen discrete sinusoidal frequencies each of which encodes a different signal value received from either an analog or digital FM paging receiver transmitter as described below. A buffer amplifier 50 amplifies the sinusoidal output signal from the discriminator circuit 40 to a level to create a square wave having a period equal to the period of the sinusoidal signal outputted by the discriminator 40. The square wave outputted by the buffer amplifier 50 is filtered by low pass filter 52 to attenuate frequencies below 400 hertz. A circuit schematic of the buffer amplifier and low pass filter is illustrated in FIG. 17. The output of the low pass filter 52 is applied to high pass filter 54 which attenuates frequencies above 3000 hertz. A tone decoder circuit 56 converts the discrete tones contained within the 400 to 3000 hertz pass band defined by the low pass filter 52 and high pass filter 54 as described below in FIG. 3 to produce an output level signal indicative of 16 possible values. The main CPU 24 processes successive coded transmissions of data by combining them into a two-digit decimal number and decoding the two-digit number into alphanumeric characters. A table correlating the decimal values with their corresponding characters is set forth below. The control program for the main CPU 24, set forth in the Appendix referred to above, is stored in ROM 58. The ROM 58 also stores the possible channels which may be received, which in the preferred embodiment are 10,600, a command structure table used for decoding each of the commands discussed below, as well as the display control for the LCD display 64'. Variable data is stored in RAM 60. The RAM 60 has separate memory sections for storing pages including specific memory sections which are addressable by command, the channels which are programmed to be received by the channel programming command including any destination code for restricting the place of reception of pages or a group of paging receivers to receive a page in a geographical area in a channel memory and the paging receiver identification. In the preferred embodiment there are 15 separate memory sections which store pages with sections 11-14 being addressable by command and sections 1-10 and 15 not being addressable by command. The main CPU 24 controls a liquid crystal display driver circuit 62'. A circuit schematic of the liquid crystal display driver is illustrated in FIG. 20. The liquid crystal driver circuit 62' drives a liquid crystal display 64' described below in FIG. 3. An external data port 67 is used to relay the output signal from the discriminator 52 to another data processing or storage device when the main CPU 24 executes an external data command discussed below. A port 68 is coupled to the main CPU 24 for driving an external printer. A port 69 is provided for establishing necessary communications between the main CPU 24 and an external printer. A display switch 70 is used for activating the display 64'. A light switch 71 is used for activating back lighting of the display 64'. The switches 70 and 71 may also be used for inputting data when suitable displays are made on the display 64' by the control program of the main CPU 24. Port 72 is connected to the paging receiver battery (not illustrated) for providing power. Port 73 is provided for activating an audio alarm contained in the paging receiver and port 74 permits connection to an external antenna which may be used when the paging receiver is connected to an external device such as a printer.
A commercial embodiment of the paging receiver 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 has 10,600 discrete channels stored in ROM 58 from the three discrete bands which may be received by the amplifier and mixers 18, 20 and 22 as described above. The main CPU 24 is responsive to a channel programming command, described below with reference to the commands which the main CPU 24 executes, to dynamically tune the RF tuner 16 to discrete channels. Each channel programming command is decoded by the main CPU 24 to extract a channel, from the 10,600 possible channels stored in ROM 58, to be stored in a channel memory section 62 of the random access memory 60 described below with reference to FIG. 2.
II. Channel Memory
FIG. 2 illustrates the channel memory 62 which is comprised of an operating channel section 64 storing a single channel and an area channel section 66 storing up to 15 discrete channels to be scanned sequentially by the RF tuner 16 under the control of the operating program of the main CPU 24. Illustrated below the operating channel section 64 and the area channel section 66 is an arrow indicating the order of channel reception by the RF tuner 16 when channels are being scanned to detect a carrier. The control program of the main CPU 24 changes the channel stored in the operation channel section 64 to automatically have the channel of the last received carrier received by the RF tuner 16 stored therein. The channel stored in the operation channel section 64 is one of the channels that the channel memory 62 of the RAM 60 has been programmed to receive by the channel programming command. It should be understood that while 15 possible discrete channels may be stored in the area channel section 66, it is only required that the area channel section 66 be programmed with only one channel which is typically the case when the paging receiver is to operated locally to receive only a single channel. In that case, the operating channel section 64 automatically stores the only channel that the RF receiver 16 will receive upon activation by the main CPU 24 and reception of the carrier signal. Furthermore, it should be understood that any number of channels may be utilized in practicing the invention. Each time the control program of the main CPU 24 outputs a channel from the channel memory 62 to be received by the RF tuner 16, the main CPU 24 applies the RECEIVER TUNING SIGNAL in the form of a digital signal to the phase lock loop 28 which activates the voltage controlled oscillator 30 to produce a 21.4 MHz signal from the single activated amplifier and mixer circuit 18, 20 and 22. The control program of the main CPU 24 analyzes the signal which is outputted from the channel memory 62 and applies a control signal to the power controller 26 which selectively applies power from the power circuit 66 to only the particular one of the RF amplifier and mixers 18, 20 and 22 which is to receives the frequency specified by the RECEIVER TUNING SIGNAL thereby saving power consumption of the battery.
The individual channels of the area channel section are programmed at the time that the paging receiver identification code is sent to the paging receiver identification code memory described below, when the pager is issued to a customer, and further are also reprogrammed when the customer desires to "roam" to another service area such as during business travel in which it may be desired to receive pages on the same channels that the paging receiver is currently programmed to receive in which case a destination code will be added by the channel programming command or to receive different channels in which case different channels will be programmed. The programming of channels may also be accomplished dynamically during local paging to switch the paging receiver to channels which are nor as busy as a channel that the paging receiver is currently programmed to receive. As is apparent from FIG. 2, during channel scanning for the purpose of finding a channel on which at least one carrier is present, channels to be received are selectively outputted from the operating channel section 64 first and then from the successive section 66 of the area channel section. Each of these channels causes the phase lock loop 28 to lock the voltage controlled oscillator 30 to a channel necessary to produce the 21.4 megahertz signal from the activated RF amplifier and mixer circuits 18, 20 and 22 which is to receive the particular channel. The control program causes the channel which is stored in the operating channel section 64 to be cyclically received for a predetermined time interval, such as but not limited to 15 minutes, by activating the RF tuner 16 once every 900 milliseconds, or other appropriate channel, to sample the channel for the presence of a carrier signal and if carrier signal is present to compare the paging receiver identification code discussed below transmitted with the page in the order of increasing significance of the digits until a mismatch between the transmitted paging receiver identification code digits and the digits of a paging receiver identification code stored in the random access memory 60 is detected at which time the RF tuner 16 is shut off to conserve power.
III. Universal Reception of Pages From Either Analog or Digital Transmitters
FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed block diagram of the buffer amplifier 50, low pass filter 52, high pass filter 54 and tone decoder 56 of the present invention for universally processing signals transmitted from either analog or digital FM paging transmitters. The preferred form of the signal protocol of the present invention utilizes the following tones to encode 16 discrete signal values as stated in a hexadecimal numbering system as follows: 600 Hz.=0; 741 Hz.=1; 882 Hz.=2; 1023 Hz.=3; 1164 Hz.=4; 1305 Hz.= 5; 1446 Hz.=6; 1587 Hz.=7; 1728 Hz.=8; 1869 Hz.=9; 2151 Hz.=A; 2435 Hz.=B; 2010 Hz.=C; 2295 Hz.=D; 4059 Hz.=E; and no tone (absence of modulated carrier signal)=F. Any existing analog FM paging transmitter can be used to output a carrier wave having a frequency which is frequency modulated with the above-described tones. Similarly, any existing digital FM paging transmitter can be used to output a square wave signal having a period modulated with the above-described frequencies encoded thereon. The output from the frequency discriminator 40 is applied to a sine wave to square wave converter 50' which amplifies the sinusoidal input signal to convert it to a square wave having a period equal to a period of the sinusoidal input signal. The output of the sine wave to square wave converter is applied to a noise debouncer circuit 70' which removes jitter from the input square wave signal to provide precise period information on its output. The output from the noise debouncer circuit 70' is applied to a shift register 72' having a number of stages requiring a predetermined time duration of the input square wave outputted by the noise debouncer circuit 70' to be applied to produce an output. The shift register 72' is reset each time the signal level from the sine wave to square wave converter 50' is zero or changes frequency. The function of the shift register 72' is to eliminate transient signals which are not valid signal levels. The number of stages is chosen to be sufficient to produce an output when an actual tone used for encoding valid information is received while blocking transmission of invalid transient shorter duration tones. Output signals having a duration less than the time required to fill up the shift register 72' are not applied to a group of 15 digital filters 74'. Each of the digital filters has a pass band centered around a different one of the tones set forth above. When a square wave having a frequency falling within the pass band of any one of the fifteen digital filters is applied to the fifteen digital filters 74', an output square wave signal is produced as inputted to the fifteen digital filter from the shift register 72'. A 4 MHz. oscillator 76 applies a 4 MHz. internal reference signal to an AND gate 80 to which the output of the fifteen digital filters 74' is also applied. The high frequency of the oscillator 76 permits a large number of samples to be taken for each high level state of the output of the fifteen digital filters 74'. By providing the high level sampling frequency, it is possible to precisely determine the frequency of the fifteen tones used for encoding signal levels with a high degree of accuracy over a single cycle. The ability to detect accurately the frequency over a single cycle provides an extremely high throughput of information when a single cycle is used to encode sixteen possible data values. The sampled output from the fifteen digital filters 74' is passed by AND gate 80 to a counter 82 which counts the number of samples of the output of the digital filters 74' which have a high state during a fixed time period of sampling by AND gate 80. The time interval during which the counter 82 counts the number of high level states passed by the AND gate 80 is not critical but should be chosen to be long enough to permit a high number of possible samples to be taken from a single cycle of the lowest frequency of the 15 tones identified above to permit a high degree of accuracy in the detection of the encoded frequencies transmitted with each page to encode character information. The output of the counter 82 is connected to a range comparator 84 which has an associated ROM 86. The ROM 86 has fifteen discrete address ranges stored therein with each address range being associated with a single one of the 15 tones. Each of the addresses within each range is addressed by a count applied from the counter 82. The range comparator 84 compares the output from counter 82 with addresses of the fifteen discrete ranges contained in the ROM 86 and passes the count from counter 82 to the look-up ROM 88 if a match occurs between the count outputted by the counter 82 and an address of one of the fifteen ranges stored in the ROM 86. If a match does not occur, the count from counter 82 is not passed to the look-up ROM 88. The range comparator 84 resets the counter 82 either upon the elapsing of the predetermined time interval during which the count from the counter 82 has been outputted to the look-up ROM 86 or when there is no match from between the count from the counter 82 and an address contained in one of the ranges stored in the ROM 86. The look-up ROM 88 outputs one of sixteen different numerical values which are representative of the sixteen possible signal levels which may be encoded with each hexadecimal digit transmitted by either an analog or digital paging transmitter. The output of the look-up ROM 88 is applied to a signal duration comparator 90' which outputs one of the 16 numerical values (0-15) stored in the look-up ROM 88 to the main CPU 24 when the output of the look-up ROM is present for a duration for a time interval such as 10 milliseconds or longer. The purpose of the signal duration comparator 90' is to remove transient conditions which are not indicative of the true transmission of a hexadecimal level by an analog or digital transmitter.
The output numerical values from a signal duration comparator 90' are combined by the main CPU 24 in accordance with its operating program to produce a two-digit decimal number which is decoded to characters in accordance with the following conversion table when characters are transmitted to a paging receiver in accordance with alphanumeric commands A4 and A6 discussed below. The output of sequential numerical values by the signal duration comparator 90' is processed by the main CPU 24 in accordance with its operating program to produce numerical characters in accordance with numeric A3 and A5 commands discusses below.
______________________________________CONVERSION TABLETwo Digit Two DigitAddress Character Address Character______________________________________01 51 S 02 " 52 T 03 # 53 U 04 $ 54 V 05 % 55 W 06 & 56 X 07 ' 57 Y 08 ( 58 Z 09 ) 59 [ 10 * 60 11 + 61 ] 12 ' 62 13 - 63 ˜ 14 . 64 15 / 65 a 16 0 66 b 17 1 67 c 18 2 68 d 19 3 69 e 20 4 70 f 21 5 71 g 22 6 72 h 23 7 73 i 24 8 74 j 25 9 75 k 26 : 76 l 27 ; 77 m 28 < 78 n 29 = 79 o 30 > 80 p 31 ? 81 q 32 O 82 r 33 A 83 s 34 B 84 t 35 C 85 u 36 D 86 v 37 E 87 w 38 F 88 x 39 G 89 y 40 H 90 z 41 I 91 { 42 J 92 | 43 K 93 } 44 L 94 → 45 M 95 ← 46 N 96 47 O 97 48 P 98 49 Q 99 50 R______________________________________
The decoded characters are applied by the main CPU 24 to the random access memory 60 in ASCII character encoding format and to the LCD driver 62' which provides power and logic for their display on the LCD display 64'. The LCD display 64' is of a dot matrix type and has a display area which time multiplexes displays as follows. When a page is received, the main control program causes the display 64' to flash with the address location in memory where the page is stored. In response to the flashing of the display 64' as described above, the wearer of the paging receiver presses switch 70 which causes the location header to be displayed. The location headers are "LOCAL" indicating if the page originated in the same area where the paging receiver normally receives pages or "NATIONAL" or "REGIONAL" indicating that the page did not originate in the area where the paging receiver has received the message. In response to the location header, the wearer of the paging receiver presses switch 70 which causes the page to be displayed on display 64' which is stored in the memory area of RAM 60 which was flashed initially. It should be understood that alternatively separate display areas for the memory location header, location header, and page displays may be provided.
IV. Battery Saving
The paging receiver 16 has predetermined scanning time intervals necessary for detecting the presence of the carrier signal, the presence of individual code transmissions (tones) and to cyclically scan up to the 15 possible channels in the channel memory 62. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the scanning time necessary to detect only the presence of the carrier of the channel is 315 milliseconds for all 15 channels which may be received if the area channel section 66 is completely programmed. It takes approximately 10 milliseconds for the phase lock loop 28 to respond to a channel to be received and another approximately 11 milliseconds for the amplifier and mixers 18, 20 and 22 to respond to the presence or absence of the channel. When a carrier is detected, it takes approximately 33 milliseconds for it to be received by the RF tuner 16 and processed by the main CPU 24 to determine its identity and to compare it with the stored paging receiver identification code as described below. When the channels of the channel memory 62 are cyclically scanned, the RF tuner 16 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is powered up once every 900 m.s. for a period of 15 minutes at which time the reception by the RF tuner is stopped under the control program.
Each paging receiver is issued a unique paging receiver identification code. A preferred form of the paging receiver identification code is described below in FIG. 4 with reference to a memory map of the paging receiver identification code memory which is located within the random access memory 60. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the number of digits as described below in the preferred form of the paging receiver identification code and further that is used herein "digit" means any number in any numbering base with the preferred numbering base of the present invention for paging receiver identification codes being base 10. With respect to FIG. 4, each paging receiver identification code 90 is comprised of a group of three most significant digits 92 which have regional significance and are referred to as an "area designation code". In a preferred form of the present invention, these digits are the telephone area code of the location where the person normally wearing the paging receiver resides. For international use, the country code may also be added as an area designation code. Five additional digits 94 of decreasing significance are used to distinguish each bearer of a paging receiver in the particular area identified by the area designation code 92. In a preferred form of the invention, a command is issued by the local channel transmitter to which the paging receiver is normally tuned to receive messages for programming the eight digit paging receiver identification code 90 for storage in the RAM 60. An eight digit paging receiver identification code 90 was chosen in the preferred embodiment of the present invention for the reason that it permits a total of 100,000,000 paging receivers to be uniquely identified in a base ten numbering system. In the preferred form of the present invention, while individual characters are sent by successive tone modulations of a frequency modulated carrier with sixteen possible values per frequency tone, the paging receiver identification codes are issued in a base ten numbering system for the reason that it is easier for most users to understand a base ten numbering system than a base sixteen numbering system.
A significant feature of the present invention in prolonging battery life in the individual paging receiver is that the paging receiver identification code identifying the paging receiver to which a page is directed is sent with the digits in a order to increasing significance. With reference to FIG. 4, the right-most least significant digit is sent first followed by digits of increasing significance as identified by the circled numbers in each of the individual digits of the paging receiver identification code 90 and the arrow above the individual digits labelled "ORDER OF ID DIGIT TRANSMISSION". The paging receiver identification code is processed by the paging receiver in the order of increasing significance of the digits as described with respect to FIG. 4. In a system with 1,000 paging receivers, the following example demonstrates the battery life saving achieved by the present invention for paging receivers having identification codes 93110000 through 93110999 with the present invention as contrasted with the prior art. If the paging receiver identification code digits are sent in the order of decreasing significance as in the prior art, which is the opposite of the order illustrated in FIG. 4, each paging receiver will respond to the first five digits. Assuming three pages per day, per paging receiver, the paging receiver will turn on RF tuner 16 3000 times per day. If it assumed that each cycle of turning on the RF tuner 16 consumes 300 milliseconds of on time, then each paging receiver will have its RF tuner 16 on for fifteen minutes per day. With the present invention, when the paging receiver identification code is sent in an order of increasing significance of the digits, as illustrated in FIG. 4, 900 paging receivers will immediately turn off after the transmission of the first digit because there will be no match between the first digit transmitted with the page and the stored paging receiver identification code digit as illustrated in FIG. 4. Upon the transmission of the second digit, ninety more paging receivers will turn off. Upon the transmission of the third digit nine more will turn off. With the same 3000 pages per day, the average time a pager will be on is only one minute per day. This produces a 93.4% reduction in battery consumption attributed to the turning on of the RF tuner 16 to merely determine if a page is possibly to be received on a channel to which the paging receiver has been programmed to receive. If a system is expanded to 10,000 pages, the battery savings will be increased with the on time in a system in accordance with the prior art in which the paging receiver identification code digits are sent in the order of decreasing PG,45 significance being two and one-half hours per day versus only ten minutes per day of on time when the digits of the paging receiver identification code are sent in the order as described in FIG. 4 with it being assumed that the RF tuner 16 on time is the same as described above.
V. Channel Scanning
The operation of the paging receiver in turning on to detect the presence of a carrier on one of the channels which it is programmed to receive and the scanning of a plurality of channels of the channel memory 62 is described as follows. Upon turning on of the paging receiver, the channel of the operating channel 64 is sampled for 15 minutes. If one of the amplifier mixer sections 18, 20 and 22 does not detect a tone frequency (a 0-9 tone of 690 milliseconds) of the operating channel section, within 15 minutes, the paging receiver will scan the channel stored in the operating channel memory section 64. If there is no detection of any receptions after the 30 minutes of scanning, the operating program of the main CPU 24 will turn off the RF tuner 16 and display on the message portion 68 of the display 64' "out of range" and activate a beeper.
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1, when the paging receiver 10 is scanning the channel frequencies stored in the memory 62, it is searching for the presence of an RF carrier and the paging receiver identification code. When no carrier is present, the RF receiver 16 will turn on and detect that no carrier is present in approximately 11 m.s. of time and progresses to the next channel stored in the channel memory 62 as indicated by the "ORDER OF CHANNEL RECEPTION." When a last digit of the paging receiver identification code is detected for two consecutive on intervals of the RF tuner 16, the paging receiver will stay on that particular channel for the duration of the paging receiver identification code which spans 1912 milliseconds in the preferred embodiment. Each time carrier from one of the channels is detected or the paging receiver identification code is detected, the fifteen minute timer is reset. This allows the paging receiver to remain on a channel. The paging receiver then samples the channel once every 900 milliseconds for an 11 or 33 m.s. duration to respectively detect if carrier is present and, if so, to identify the code which was transmitted.
The full channel scanning mode of the paging receiver as described above with respect to FIG. 2 requires a sampling time on each channel of approximately 11 milliseconds to detect the carrier wave or 33 milliseconds to fully detect a code transmission depending upon the presence of a carrier signal. If no carrier is present, the paging receiver will detect the lack of a carrier within 6 milliseconds and scan to the next channel. When a carrier is detected, the pager will look for tones 0-9 during the sampling time interval of approximately 33 milliseconds. If a tone is detected, it is stored in the random access memory 60 and scanning of the channels in the full scanning mode as described with respect to FIG. 2 above is continued. When the RF receiver then again receives the same channel, a sample is taken. If a tone is still present, and it is the same tone stored in the random access memory 60 on the previous sampling interval, a match occurs with the previous digit and sampling sequentially occurs with successive digits of the paging receiver identification code until either a match is found in which case the main CPU 24 executes one of the commands described below or a match is not found in which case the RF tuner 16 is turned off and the cyclical sampling every 900 milliseconds continues.
VI. National, Regional, Remote Area, Local, Sublocal and Group Paging
When it is desired to program the paging receiver 10 to receive a fixed channel in a local area for purely local operation, programming may be accomplished manually or automatically. As used herein, "local" identifies an area identified by the area designation code 92. Automatic programming is done with the channel programming command A with the desired operating channel being sent twice to the pager as described below. The operating program for the main CPU 24 recognizs the sequential sending of the same channel twice by a channel programming command and stores the repeated frequency in the area channel section 66 and operating channel section 64. By storing only a single channel in the operation channel section 64 and the area channel 66, the paging receiver is forced to receive only a single channel which is desirable for local operation.
Nationwide, regional, remote area, sublocal and group paging by the paging receiver is programmed as follows. In order to differentiate nationwide, regional (a plurality of areas including one or more areas outside the area identified by the area designation code), remote area (an area other than the area identified by the area designation code), sublocal (a part of an area within an area identified by the area designation code) and group (one or more paging receivers located within the local area) paging from local paging, the paging signal contains a "destination code" having one or more characters which precede the paging receiver identification code that are not recognized by a paging receiver as part of a local page. This ensures that only persons to receive national, regional, remote area, sublocal and group pages will be alerted when transmission occurs. In a preferred form of the invention, the "destination code" is a letter, which is transmitted prior to the transmission of the paging receiver identification code. Paging receivers which are to receive national, regional, remote area, sublocal or group pages are programmed by the channel programming command to store a destination code as a header on the channel. Thus, on a particular channel where some pages are transmitted with destination codes, only the first digit of each page is required to be compared with the stored destination code to enable an identification by a paging receiver programmed to receive pages with destination codes if a page is potentially directed to that paging receiver. The paging receiver which has been programmed with a destination code immediately turns off when a match is not found between the first digit of a page on a received channel and the stored destination code thereby saving power required to compare the following digits of the stored and transmitted paging receiver identification codes as described below.
FIG. 5 illustrates the order of transmission of the destination code and the digits of the paging receiver identification code for page which are to be received with use of the destination code. Like reference numerals in FIGS. 4 and 5 are used to identify like parts. The first digit which is transmitted is the destination code 96. Thereafter the individual digits of the paging receiver identification code are transmitted in an order of increasing significance as described with reference to FIG. 4. When it is desired to program a paging receiver to receive pages with use of the destination code, the individual channels of the area channel section 66 of memory 62 are programmed by the channel programming command as described below. However, the first digit of the channels which are to be programmed to be received by the channel programming command contain the destination code 96 character such as the letter A, B, C, etc., which is not recognized as part of a paging receiver identification code, which preferably are base ten numbers. When a paging receiver receives the first digit of the paging receiver identification code, that digit is compared with the first digit of the channels stored in the area channel section 66. If a match occurs, the operating program of the main CPU 24 causes the RF tuner 16 to stay in an on state to compare the subsequent digits of the received paging receiver identification code with the stored paging receiver identification code. If there is no match between the first digit of the transmitted page and the destination code, then the paging receiver RF tuner 16 is immediately turned off to save battery power. By turning off the paging receiver tuner 16 immediately upon the detection of no match between the destination code 96, when the paging receiver is transported to a remote area its on time to receive pages will not be influenced by pages "local" to the remote area for the reason that the first digit mismatch which must occur when any page originating from an area into which the paging receiver has been transported will immediately be detected as a mismatch causing the RF tuner to be turned off.
FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart illustrating the operation of the control program of the main CPU 24 in scanning channels including the processing of pages transmitted with destination codes. The program starts at point 100 where the channel of the operation channel section 64 is scanned by the RF receiving section 16. If channel carrier is not present, the RF tuner 16 turns off for 900 milliseconds and then again checks if carrier is present. If carrier is present, the operating program proceeds to point 102 where a determination is made whether or not the program is in the scanning mode in which the channels of the operating channel section 94 and area channel section 96 are sequentially scanned for an interval of 30 minutes as illustrated in FIG. 2. If the program is not in the scanning mode, which is indicative of only the operation channel section channel 94 channel being scanned, the program proceeds back to point 100. If the answer is "yes" at point 102, the program proceeds to point 104 to check if the channels of the area channel section 66 have been checked. If the answer is "no", the program proceeds back to point 105 where the channel frequencies of the area channel section are scanned. The program then proceeds back to point 100. If the answer is "yes" at point 104, the program proceeds to point 106 to determine if a destination code 96 is present on the channel being received. If the answer is "no", the program branches to point 108 where the next channel in the area channel section 66 is scanned. The program proceeds from point 108 to point 100. If the answer is "yes" at point 106 that a destination code 96 is detected, the program proceeds to point 110 where a comparison is made between the transmitted destination code and any destination code which is stored in the channels of the area channel section 66. If the answer is "no" at point 110, the program proceeds to point 112 where the next channel within the area channel section 66 is received. If the answer is "yes" at point 110, the program proceeds to point 114 to compare the first digit of the paging receiver identification code transmitted on the channel frequency with the stored paging receiver identification code. If there is no match at point 114, the program proceeds to point 116 where the next channel of the area channel section 66 is scanned. If the answer is "yes" at point 114, the program proceeds to point 118 where the remaining digits of the paging receiver identification code are compared. If the answer is "no" at the comparison of an one of the remaining digits of the paging receiver identification code at point 118, the program proceeds to point 120 to scan the next channel of the area channel section 66. If the answer is "yes" at point 118, the paging receiver locks on the channel at point 122 by setting the phase lock loop 28 to continue to receive that channel and the following command is decoded by the operating program of the main CPU 24 and executed.
VII. Commands
An important part of the present invention is the command structure which permits the functionality of the paging receiver to be changed dynamically by the transmitter in a manner not achieved by the prior art. All commands which are executed by the main CPU 24 are sent according to a protocol. An example of the paging protocol is set forth below with a nationwide telephone number page to paging receiver ID 789 12345 with telephone number 424, 6464 and a warble tone.
______________________________________FF-5-B4 BE 321 BE 987 A7 424 DE 6464 AEANOTES 1 1A 2 2 3 4 5______________________________________FF - provides 66 m.s. of silence prior to page.NOTE 1 - is the last digit of the paging receiver identification code which is sent first as the preamble. If the page is a group page, a C may be substituted for the 5.NOTE 1A - When a "B" appears after the preamble digit, the person receiving the page will be alerted that a "batched" page is occurring to be sent to a group of paging receivers.NOTE 2 - The BE's are received by the paging receiver and ignored and provide time spacing.NOTE 3 - A7. The A signifies that a command sequence follows. The 7 indicates the message is numeric, and illuminates the nationwide origin display and telephone messages.NOTE 4 - DE's are sent during the data portion of the transmission to allow overlay operation.NOTE 5 - AEA or AE indicates the end of transmission and the type of alert tone to use e.g. warble.______________________________________
The operating program of the main CPU 24 is programmed to respond to a command repertoire explained as follows. A command sequence immediately follows the pager receiver identification code and always begins with a tone "A" followed by the command tone. Set forth below is a command table explaining the command structure.
______________________________________COMMAND TABLE______________________________________A0 BATTERY SAVEA1 REPEATA2 PROGRAM IDA3 LOCAL & NUMERIC (16 NUMBERS)A4 LOCAL & MESSAGE - ALPHA (511 CHAR)A5 NATIONAL & NUMERIC (16 NUMBERS)A6 NATIONAL & MESSAGE - ALPHA (511 CHAR.)A7 ALPHA FIXED MEMORY LOCATIONA8 RESERVEDA9 EXT DATA (OPENS AUDIO TO EXIT JACK)AA DO NOT USE!AB OUT OF SERVICEAC CHANNEL PROGRAMAD SUBLOCAL PAGERS FROM RESTRICTED AREASOR GROUPS OF PAGING RECEIVERSAE DO NOT USE!______________________________________
A0 BATTERY SAVE
The battery save command is followed by a two digit decimal format indicating how many seconds the paging receiver should sleep before beginning its channel sampling. It is followed by an AE message terminator with no tone alert necessary. The two digit number represents the number of 10 second increments to sleep with a maximum of 990 seconds (16.5 minutes).
A022AE=220 second sleep period
A099AE=990 second sleep period
A1 Repeat Page
The repeat command indicates that the page being sent is a repeat of the previous page. The previous message display will be used, and the numeric or alphanumeric page should match a previous page which has been stored in the random access memory 60 during the execution of the A3-A6 commands which cause a page to be stored in the random access memory. If a page match is detected by the paging receiver, the page is discarded. If the first page was not received, the page should be stored in the random access memory 60 and the wearer of the paging receiver alerted. The status display will show "RPT" indicating a repeat page and the first page was not found in memory, i.e.,
A1, A3 424DE6464AE REPEAT 424-6464 (local, numeric, which is the execution of command A3 described below)
A2 Program ID
The program ID command is used to send a new paging receiver identification code to the paging receiver. The previous paging receiver identification code will be overwritten by this command. No tone alert is necessary, but the paging receiver should display the new paging receiver identification code as a page, i.e.,
CHANGE 789 12345 TO ID 789 45678 A2789DE4567DE8AE (NEW ID)
A3 Local & Numeric (16 Digits)
The A3 command sequentially illuminates the display 64', indicating the page is of local origin, and a numeric telephone number display as a page. This command is used by a local transmitter to transmit pages originating within the area identified by the area designation code. The main CPU 24 will receive and decode the page accompanying the A3 command with characters of the page being decoded in a single digit format.
______________________________________A3956DE1030AE TEL # 956-1030The maximum numeric message length is 16 digits.______________________________________
A4 Local & Alphanumeric (511 characters)
The A4 command sequentially illuminates the display 64' indicating the page is of local origin and an alphanumeric display as a page. The alphanumeric format is sent with each character being encoded as a two digit number 01-99 as explained above. The main CPU 24 will receive and decode the page accompanying the A4 command with each character being decoded as two successive digits. The message length will be 511 characters or less. This command is used by a local transmitter to transmit pages originating within the area identified by the area designation code 92.
The message length when in the alphanumeric mode will be 511 characters in length. The display will flash, indicating the message is 511 characters long, i.e.,
__________________________________________________________________________IBM STOCK $124 3/4(18 CHARACTER MESSAGE)A4 73 66 DE 77 32 DE 83 84 DE 79 67 DE 75 32 DE 36 49 DE 1 B M SP S T O C K SP $ 150 52 DE 32 51 DE 47 52 AE2 4 SP 3 / 4 (56 CHARACTER 1.848 SEC.)__________________________________________________________________________
A5 National & Numeric (16 Digits)
The A5 command sequentially illuminates the display 64' indicating that the origin of the page is not local and a numeric message as a page. This command is used by a local paging service, within the area identified by the area designation code, which relays a page to a transmitter located at a remote area where a paging receiver is to receive a page transmitted by the transmitter located at the remote area. The main CPU 24 will receive and decode the page accompanying the A5 command with characters of the page in a single digit format, e.g.,
______________________________________TEL # 956 1001A6956DE10E1AE (NOTE: REPEAT DIGIT FOR SECOND ZERO)______________________________________
A6 National & Alphanumeric (511 Char.)
The A6 command sequentially illuminates the display 64' indicating that the origin of the page is not local and an alphanumeric message as a page. This command is used by a local paging service, within the area identified by the area designation code, which relays a page to a transmitter located at a remote area where a paging receiver is to receive a page transmitted by the transmitter located at the remote area. The page which is sent in a two digit decimal order with the number field being 01-99 in the same manner as explained above. The main CPU will receive and decode the page accompany the A6 command with each character being decoded as two successive digits.
The maximum message length is 511 characters. The example is identical to the A4 command discussed above with the first two tones being A6.
A7 Alphanumeric Specific Message Memory
The A7 command permits a subset of commands to follow. The digit immediately following the A7 command will indicate in which section of addressable sections of the random access memory 60 to place the message. If a message exists in this memory location of the random access memory, it will automatically overwrite the message memory. The command subset will be 1-4 indicating memory locations 11-14. An ordinary message will not overwrite the 11-14 message locations. The message will immediately follow:
A7 1 (message location 11)
A7 2 (message location 12)
A7 3 (message location 13)
A7 4 (message location 14)
The message locations 11-14 will only be overwritten by messages with the same command (e.g. memory location 11 will only be overwritten by the A7 (1) command) or erased by the user. The message type will always be "Special Call" and will be sent as an alphanumeric message.
A8 Reserved
A9 External Data Message
The A9 command alerts the person being paged that the audio must be routed to the external data jack 67 for remote processing. The paging receiver will forward the audio to the external data jack 67 until the AE message is received, indicating end of data transmission, i.e. A9---DATA----AE.
AA Invalid
The AA command cannot be used, as it would be processed by the main CPU 24 as an AE (end of file) command.
AB Out of Service
The AB command will illuminate an out of service display on the memory section 68 of the display 64'0 and may or may not have numeric data following. This command may be used when system maintenance is required, or to alert the wearer of the paging service that service is being denied, until the bill is paid, i.e. ABAE (illuminates out of service message upon turn on and for two seconds).
The paging receiver still receives messages as normal. The out of range display turns on. The LCD display 64' displays "out of service" until the next page is allowed. The switching system will prevent any messages from being sent to the pager.
AC Channel Programming
The AC channel programming alerts the person wearing the paging receiver that channel programming information is forthcoming. The channels are stored in the channel memory 62 transmitted as four digit decimals numbers, each separated by the DE delimeter. As explained above, up to 15 channels may be loaded into the area channel section 66 or the operation channel section 64. A preceding V indicates VHF, a U UHF, a J indicates Japan and an E indicates Europe.
When only one channel is desired, such as for local paging, the channel is repeated at least twice, to alert the paging receiver that only one channel is desired to be programmed in the area channel section 66 of the channel memory 62. All previous channels in the area channel section 66 of the channel memory 62 are erased. The memory cells have the new channel number entered to fix the paging receiver to receive a single channel. The memory cells will remain programmed until the next channel reprogramming of the paging receiver, i.e.
AC0l23DE0l23AE (CH.V 123 NO SCANNING)
AC0E10DE0107DE0210DE1050DE7AEA (CH.v10,v107,u210,u50).
The channel programming sequence is as follows:
______________________________________0001-0DDD VHF 5 KHz steps1001-1DDD VHF 6.25 KHz steps (Europe)2001-2DDD UHF 5 KHz steps3001-3B2B 280 MHz 2.5 KHz steps (Japan)______________________________________
Channel codes 4001, 5001, 6001, 7001, 8001, 9001 are open for additional channels to be added. The total upward reserve channel capacity in ROM 58 is 16,458 channels.
The following sub-commands are utilized for instructing the main CPU 24 to perform functions pertaining to the programming of channels.
NO Command (Add One Channel)
When no sub-command is sent, one channel is to be added to the area channel section 66. e.g. AC 0237 DE 7AEA (add VHF channel 237 to area channel section 66).
Sub-command 4000 (Typically Regional)
When 4000 is transmitted, it erases the entire area channel section 66 and the operation channel section 64 of the channel memory 62 and cannot be used in adjacent areas which must be programmed with the 6000 sub-command. e.g. AC 4000 DE 0156 DE 0132 DE 7AEA. This command erases and stored VHF 156 and UHF 132 channels in the area channel section.
Sub-command 5000
When 5000 is transmitted, the destination code may be programmed. This command erases the operating channel 64 and the area channel section 66 and forces the reception of a particular channel. The command is used for dynamic frequency agility. The paging receiver is fixed to receive a fixed channel. e.g. AC 5000 DE 0171 DE 7AEA. This command erases the operating channel 64 and the area channel section 66 and forces the paging receiver to VHF channel 171, causing the operating channel section 64 to store VHF channel 171.
Sub-command 6000 (National)
This command is divided into the loading of the 15 possible destination codes 96 and the channels.
__________________________________________________________________________ACB6122 DE0200 DE0000 DE0000 DE0000 DE0212 DE0311DE0408 DE2511 DE2139 DE7AEA__________________________________________________________________________
This represents the 6000 national command followed by the destination code 96 or local code for each of the 15 possible channel in the area channel section. The five channels follow and will be as follows:
______________________________________6122 National, channel 1 = A, channel 2 = B, channel 3 = B0200 Channel 4 = local, channel 5 = B, filler code0000 Channel 8 = 11, filler code0000 Channel 12-15, filler code0212 VHF channel 2120311 VHF channel 3110408 VHF channel 4082511 UHF channel 5112139 UHF channel 1397AEA Stop channel command.______________________________________
Channel Programming Termination (7AEA)
The channels to be sent to the paging receiver are sent in the following order:
______________________________________0XXX channels (VHF) (ascending numerical order)1XXX channels (VHF Europe)2XXX channels (UHF Europe)3XXX channels (280 MHz).______________________________________
The last channel sent is actually a terminate message code. It is 7AEA (7AAA).
The paging receiver will receive the last frequency code and immediately terminates the page. The 7AEA terminate frequency code is necessary at the end of every AC channel program message. During the transmission of channel codes, the AEA code may appear (e.g. channel 1AEA). In order to prevent termination of the message, the AC command changes the AEA termination command to 7AEA. 7AEA is an invalid channel code.
AD Company COMMAND
The AD command allows a 32 alphanumeric character company message to be sent to the paging receiver. The message is always alphanumeric, e.g., AD 4247, DE 4637, DE 5100, DE 4833, DE 3941, DE 4639, AE Jones Paging.
When a company message is desired, it will be sent after the paging receiver identification code has been programmed. When the paging receiver is turned on, the company message will be displayed instead of a self test message which is typically used. If no company message resides in the paging receiver, the self test message will display.
The 32 character part of the random access memory 60 is battery protected to permit the message to permanently reside in the paging receiver. It may be changed by simply sending a new AD command and message to the pager. This permits the company message to be changed at will.
AE - Invalid
The AE command cannot be used, as it cannot be encoded and also conflicts with the end of file command.
End Of Page Command AE or AEA
All pages require the end of page command. The end of page command serves a two fold purpose indicating the end of transmission and determines the type of tone alert.
______________________________________AE = 2041 hertz - 50% duty cycle - 2 secondsAEA = 2041 hertz - 25/75% duty cycle - 2 seconds______________________________________
Certain commands do not send a tone alert. A listing of the commands is as follows:
______________________________________A0 BATTERY SAVE (NO ALERT)A1 REPEAT (NO ALERT)*A2 PROGRAM ID (ALERT) - DISPLAY IDA3 LOCAL & TEL NUMERIC (ALERT)A4 LOCAL & SP ALPHA (ALERT)A5 NAT. & TEL NUMERIC (ALERT)A6 NAT. & ALPHA (ALERT)A7 ALPHA FIXED MEMORY (ALERT)A8 UNASSIGNED (ALERT)A9 SPECIAL & DATA AUDIO (ALERT)AB OUT OF SERVICE (ALERT)AC CHANNEL PROGRAM (ALERT)AD COMPANY MESSAGE (ALERT).______________________________________ *AL will alert if first page was not received or if previously erased.
VIII. Remote Area Paging
FIG. 21 illustrates the operation of the present invention in receiving pages at a remote area. A local transmitter 130 transmits one or more channel programming commands as described above which specify one or more channels on which a paging receiver 132 is to receive pages while located at a remote area. The channel programming commands are received by the paging receiver 132 while it is located in transmission distance of the local transmitter 130. The one or more channel programming commands specifying the one or more channels to be received in the remote location also include the destination code 96 described above used to differentiate pages to be received by the paging receiver 132 while in the remote area from pages originating in the remote area on the same one or more programmed channels. The paging receiver 132 is transported to the remote area as indicated by the downwardly pointing vertical arrow in the right-hand portion of FIG. 21. The downwardly pointing vertical arrow in the left-hand portion of FIG. 21 illustrates the relaying of a page originating at the local area or relayed through the local area to a remote transmitter 134 located in the remote area where the page is transmitted by transmitter 134 and received by the paging receiver 132. The remote transmitter 134 sequentially in time transmits the destination code as the first character which is transmitted, the paging receiver identification code digits in an order of increasing significance and the actual page. The paging receiver 132 while in the remote area compares the first digit of each transmission on the one or more channels that the paging receiver is programmed to receive with the stored destination code. If there is a match between the first character transmitted with a page on the one or more channels that the paging receiver 132 is programmed to page and the destination code, the paging receiver 132 compares the subsequent digits of the transmitted paging receiver identification code following the destination code in an order of increasing significance with the stored paging receiver identification code digits. The RF tuner 16 of the paging receiver is immediately turned off upon a mismatch of either the destination code or one of the digits of the transmitted and stored paging receiver identification code. If the transmitted and received destination codes and paging receiver identification codes match, the page is displayed on the display 64'. It should be noted that pages originating in the remote area will not cause the RF tuner 16 to be turned on past the point in time of transmission of the destination code because of the mismatch which will occur thereby saving the battery of the paging receiver.
A method of the present invention in paging a sublocal area within an area or a group within the local area such as a company is as follows. The paging receiver is programmed with the channel programming command to receive one or more channels. The destination code is used in the same manner as described above with regard to FIG. 21 in identifying pages to be received in a remote area except that it is assigned to paging receivers within part of the local area (subarea) or to paging receivers belonging to a group such as a company. The destination code is transmitted with the channel programming command to identify one or more channels on which pages on a sublocal or a group level are to be detected. Thereafter, the paging receiver which has been programmed to receive on the programmed one or more channels on a sublocal or a group basis compares the first digit of each transmission occurring on the one or more programmed channels to detect if there is a match between the destination code stored in the channel memory 62 and the first character which is transmitted. If there is no match, the RF tuner 16 is immediately shut off thereby saving the battery of the paging receiver. If there is a match, the paging receiver compares the transmitted digits of the paging receiver identification code in an order of increasing significance with the stored paging receiver identification code digits. If there is a mismatch between any one of the paging receiver stored and transmitted paging receiver identification code digits, the RF tuner 16 is immediately shut off. If there is a complete match between the destination code and the stored and transmitted paging receiver identification code digits, the paging receiver processes the subsequently transmitted page. Thus, it is seen that paging receivers may be programmed on a sublocal or on a group specific basis within a local area to receive pages on channels which are in widespread use in a local paging system while achieving battery savings by not turning on the paging receiver to receive subsequent digits of the paging receiver identification code for every transmission occurring on the programmed channels.
IX. FIGS. 7-20
As has been explained above, FIGS. 7-20 illustrate circuit schematics for implementing the blocks of FIG. 1. Integrated circuits are identified by their industry designation. It should be understood that other implementations of the blocks of FIG. 1 may be utilized in practicing the present invention.
X. Appendix
Each line of the hexadecimal code listing in the Appendix contains the following information as explained from left to right. The first two characters identify the start of a line which are "SO", "S1" or "S9". The two characters following the start of line characters are a hexadecimal representation of the number of bytes following on the line. The following four characters are a starting address in memory for the code following thereafter. The final two characters are a check sum for error correction purposes.
While the invention has been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, it should be understood that numerous modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It is intended that all such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
__________________________________________________________________________APPENDIXCOPYRIGHT Telefind Inc. 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COPYR1GHT Telefind Inc. 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| A paging receiver is disclosed which is compatible with transmissions from analog or digital paging transmitters. The paging receiver has a command structure which permits it to be dynamically programmable to change its functionality including programming of the channels which the paging receiver is to receive. The programmability of the channels permits the paging receiver to be used for making national, regional, remote area, local area, and sublocal area pages, and pages to a group in the local area and to switch from channels which are heavily used during peak paging times to lesser used channels. The paging receiver transmits paging receiver identification code digits in an order of increasing significance which significantly lessens power consumption for all paging receivers tuned to a particular channel channel for determining if a page is to be received which prolongs paging receiver battery life. The paging receiver displays the place of origin of pages as either being of local origin or from other areas. The paging receiver antenna is continuously tunable to permit compensation for variation in antenna gain caused by environmental factors which can seriously degrade signal strength. | 8 |
PRIORITY STATEMENT UNDER 35 U.S.C. S.119 (e) & 37 C.F.R. S.1.78
This non-provisional patent application claims priority based upon the prior U.S. provisional patent applications entitled “Evolutions to OSA/Parlay Interfaces to Support the Virtual Home Environment (VHE) Business Model and User Profiles”, application Ser. No. 60/330,660, filed Oct. 26, 2001, in the name of Christophe Gourraud.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to maintaining service subscription information of third party services provided in a telecommunications networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current cellular telecommunications networks are mostly aimed at providing basic telephony services to subscribers. Additional services are provided by network owners or operators. In the coming years, new players will provide a wider range of value-added services to subscribers. In order to do so, these new players need to gain access to networks' infrastructure and capabilities. However, it must be done in a traceable way that will not compromise network security and integrity. Therefore, the development of standardized interfaces to the network has become a necessity.
For a few years now, 3GPP, in conjunction with other standardization bodies, has developed an Open Service Access (OSA) specification also referred to as Parlay/OSA. Its main objective is to provide Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for service development and deployment in telecommunications networks. On the business side, OSA is closer to third party service suppliers than network operators. In that sense, the focus of the group is on getting a wide range of network-oriented APIs. The APIs are built toward giving third party service suppliers access to the operator's network equipment functionalities.
At the present moment, user subscription information to a third party service is maintained by the third party service supplier. However, the third party services are mostly based on events occurring in the operator's network. Therefore, the third party-service supplier must ask the network operator to add triggers on corresponding events for each of its subscribed user. This registration process to third party services causes several problems. One of these problems is the number of different triggers that has to be maintained with consistency by the third party service supplier. Indeed, each modification in registration of any third party service results in modifications to a network operator's trigger database. Another problem arises because the registration of each trigger is performed by the third party service supplier into the operator's network. In fact, the network operator has no way of authenticating that the user allows the third party service supplier to receive the notification corresponding to each trigger. Yet another problem comes from the fact that the operator needs to open access to its network databases to third party service supplier. In some cases, it might be difficult to maintain consistent data in the network databases when new entries and or modifications to existing ones are made without the operator's control.
As it can be appreciated, there is a need for better service subscription information maintenance while providing third party services. The present invention provides such a solution.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for managing registration of users of a network to a third party service. In that context, the apparatus is capable of receiving a registration request including a third party service reference from the user and generating a registration record having the third party service reference and a reference to the user from which the registration request has been received. The apparatus is also capable of receiving a trigger request from a Service Capability Server (SCS) and generating a trigger record. Both the trigger request and the trigger record comprises a reference to at least one event and the third party service reference.
The present invention is also directed to a Service Capability Server (SCS) for controlling interactions between a network and a third party service. The SCS comprises capabilities for receiving a trigger request for at least one event from the third party service. The trigger request comprises a reference to the at least one event and a third party service reference. The SCS is also capable of communicating with an apparatus in the network to add a trigger in a trigger table of the apparatus and capable of receiving a notification from the trigger table of an occurrence of the at least one event. The notification comprises the third party service reference, the reference to the at least one event and a reference to at least one user registered to the third party service within the network. The SCS is further capable of informing the third party service of the received notification of the occurrence of the at least one event.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for delivering a notification of an event to a third party service from a network, the network and the third party service interacting with each other through a Service Capability Server (SCS). The method comprises steps of detecting the event in the network, associating the event with a User_ID and s Service_ID and sending a notification to the SCS. The notification request comprises the Service_ID, the User_ID and a reference to the event. The method also comprises the step of informing the third party service of the received notification of the occurrence of the event. In the context, the User_ID is a reference to one of the users registered to the third party service and the Service_ID is a reference to the third party service.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for adding a trigger for an event in a network by a third party service, the network and the third party service interacting with each other through a Service Capability Server (SCS). The method comprises steps of sending a trigger request from the third party service to the SCS and informing the network of the received trigger request for the occurrence of the event. The trigger request comprises a reference to the vent and a reference to the third party service.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a signal flow chart showing the use of a Service Capability Server (SCS) to control interaction of a third party service and a network;
FIG. 2 is a modular representation of a Service Capability Service (SCS);
FIG. 3 is a modular representation of a registration and trigger apparatus; and
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a typical telecommunications network showing the use of a Service Capability Service (SCS) to control interaction of a third party service and a network in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention relates to maintaining service subscription information of third party services provided to users in a network. At the present moment, the third party services maintain service subscription information outside the network. While it gives the third party services complete control on their registrations, it causes problems as stated previously. The invention uses a Service Capability Server (SCS) for controlling interactions between the third party services and the network. An apparatus in the network is also provided for maintaining a list of users registered to each of the third party services. The list of users may be referred to as the service subscription information. The apparatus also maintains a list of triggers on events of the network for which one of the third party services should be provided to one of the users of the network. The SCS is used by the apparatus to send event notifications to the third party services and by the third party services to send trigger request to the apparatus as explained in the following discussion.
Reference is now made to the Drawings where FIG. 1 is a signal flow chart showing the use of a Service Capability Server (SCS) 120 to control interactions between a third party service 110 and a network 105 . The network 105 contains at least one user 140 and an apparatus 130 . As mentioned earlier, the apparatus 130 maintains a list of the users 140 registered to the third party service 110 . The apparatus 130 also maintains a list of triggers on events of the network 105 for which the third party service 110 should be provided to the registered users 140 . The SCS 120 , in the context of the present application, refers to functionalities performed by a node of the network 105 and not specifically and only to tasks performed by a state of the art SCS as known by those skilled in the art as the SCS node.
In a first aspect of the present invention, the third party service 110 adds new triggers to the list of triggers of the apparatus 130 . In order to do so, the third party service 110 sends a trigger request 150 to the SCS 120 . The trigger request 150 contains a reference to the third party service and a reference to an event for which the third party service 110 needs to be notified. It should be noted that the reference to the third party service 110 can be an Internet Protocol (IP) address or any other identifier (Service_ID) understood by both the network 105 and the third party service 110 . The event in the trigger request 150 is not linked to any of the users 140 since the third party service 110 is not aware of the registration of the user 140 thereto. The reference to the event can be an identifier (Event_ID) understood by both the network 105 and the third party service 110 such as a number of a text string. Furthermore, the trigger request may contain multiple references to multiple events. It is also important to note that the trigger request does not need to contain reference to users of the network 105 .
Upon reception of the trigger request 150 , the SCS 120 communicates with the apparatus 130 through a trigger request 152 to add a corresponding trigger to the list of triggers (step 154 ). In most implementations, the list of triggers is maintained in a trigger table and the list of users 140 is maintained in a registration table. Both tables are usually located in a database inside the apparatus 130 . The step 154 of adding the trigger is normally performed by generating a trigger record containing the reference to the third party service 110 and the reference to the event. The trigger record is then added to the trigger table.
Another way of adding triggers into the list of triggers is to analyze an existing Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the third party service 110 and the network 105 . For example, the SLA could specify that the third party service 110 is to be notified by default for a given list of events. The list of events would then be added to the list of triggers for the corresponding third party service 110 .
In another aspect of the present invention, the user 140 registers to the third party service 110 (step 160 ) through the apparatus 130 . The registration is done by sending a registration request 162 to the apparatus 130 . The registration request 162 contains a reference to the third party service 110 and a reference to the user 140 . The reference to the user 140 is an identifier (User_ID) provided by the network 105 to the user 140 . Upon reception of the registration request 162 , the apparatus 130 adds the user 140 (step 164 ) to the list of users. The step 164 of adding the user 140 is normally performed by generating a registration record containing the reference to the third party service 110 and the reference to the user 140 and adding the registration record to the registration table. It should be noted that the order in which the registration of the user 140 to the third party service 110 and the addition of the trigger in the apparatus 130 by the third party service 110 can be interchanged without impacting the teachings of the present invention.
When an event is detected in the network 105 (step 170 ), the apparatus 130 checks if one of the triggers in the list of triggers corresponds to the detected event. If so, an event notification 172 is sent toward the third party service 110 through the SCS 120 . The event notification 172 contains a reference to the detected event, a reference to the third party service 110 and a reference to the user 140 registered to the third party service 110 . When the SCS 120 receives the event notification, it informs the third party service 110 of the received event notification with an event notification 174 . The third party service 110 can then be provided to the user 140 (step 180 ).
Reference is now made to FIG. 2 , which depicts a modular representation of the Service Capability Server (SCS) 120 . The SCS 120 comprises at least one Application Program interface (API) 210 . The API 210 receives function calls in order for the SCS to treat the information received therewith. The SCS 120 also comprises a communication module 220 . The communication module 220 communicates toward the third party service 110 and toward the apparatus 130 .
Reference is now made to FIG. 3 , which is a modular representation of an apparatus 130 . The apparatus 130 contains a registration table 310 for maintaining the list of users 140 registered to the third party services 110 . The registration table 310 contains a registration record 315 for each registration of each user 140 . Each of the registration records contains the reference to the third party service 110 (Service_ID) and the reference to the user 140 (User_ID). The apparatus also comprises a trigger table 320 for maintaining the list of triggers on event of the network 105 . The trigger table contains a trigger record 325 for each event for which the third party service 110 wants to be notified. Each of the trigger records 325 contains the reference to the third party service 110 (Service_ID) and a reference to the event (Event_ID). The Service_ID is used to link at least one trigger record 325 to at least one registration record 315 . Upon detection of one event in the network 105 (step 170 ), the apparatus 130 gathers one or more trigger record 325 corresponding to the detected event and collects one or more corresponding registration record 315 . The records 315 and 325 are then used by the apparatus 130 to generate the event notification 172 .
Reference is now made to FIG. 4 , which depicts a schematic representation of a typical telecommunications network showing the use of the Service Capability Server (SCS) 120 to control interaction of the third party service 110 and the network 105 . FIG. 4 shows a user-apparatus link 408 enabling transmission of the registration request 160 from the user 140 to the apparatus 130 . FIG. 4 also shows how the third party service 110 communicates with the SCS 120 on a service-SCS link 410 . The service-SCS link enables transmission of the trigger request 150 from the third party service 110 to the SCS 120 . The API 210 usually receives the trigger request 150 . The SCS, in turn, communicates toward the third party service 110 with its communication module 220 on an SCS-service link 412 . The SCS-service link 412 allows the SCS 120 to inform the third party service 110 of the reception of the event notification 172 with the event notification 174 . FIG. 4 also shows how the apparatus 130 communicates with the SCS 120 through an apparatus-SCS link 414 enabling transmission of the event notification 172 . An SCS-apparatus link 416 is used from the SCS' 120 communication module 220 to inform the apparatus 130 of the trigger request 150 with the trigger request 152 . While they can be direct connections, the links 408 to 416 are usually composed of multiple links between telecommunications equipments such as, for example, routers, bridges or Base Station Controller (BSC). For instance, the user-apparatus link 408 can be composed of an air connection toward a Base Station (BS) or antenna, a physical Ethernet link from the BS to a BSC and an optical physical link from the BSC to the apparatus 130 . As for the SCS-service link, it can be composed of an optical physical link from the SCS to a router and an Ethernet link from the router to the third party service 110 . Each of the links 408 to 416 can also represent co-location of two telecommunications equipments. It should be understood that the previous examples are given as such and do not limit the use of any other link composition with regard to the present invention.
The innovative teachings of the present invention have been described with particular reference to numerous exemplary embodiments. However, it should be understood that this class of embodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous uses of the innovative teachings of the invention. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily limit any of the various claimed aspects of the present invention. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. In the drawings, like or similar elements are designated with identical reference numerals throughout the several views, and the various elements depicted are not necessarily drawn to scale. | The present invention relates to two methods, an apparatus and to a Service Capability Server (SCS) for controlling interactions between a network and a third party service. The SCS comprises capabilities for receiving a trigger request for at least one event from the third party service. The SCS is also capable of communicating with an apparatus in the network to add a trigger in a trigger table of the apparatus and capable of receiving a notification from the trigger table of an occurrence of the at least one event. The notification comprises the third party service reference, the reference to the at least one event and a reference to at least one user registered to the third party service within the network. The SCS is further capable of informing the third party service of the received notification of the occurrence of the at least one event. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to optical fiber cables which are suitable for use within buildings. In particular, this invention relates to single-tube design optical fiber ribbon cables suitable for use in building plenums.
Telephone, data, and video service within buildings is provided by riser and plenum cables and by cables which are not rated for riser or plenum use. Riser cables extend upwards from basement vaults to wiring closets located on upper floors. Plenum cables and non-rated cables typically extend horizontally from a wiring closet to other areas located on the same floor.
If fire reaches a flammable cable located in a building plenum, the cable can convey fire and smoke to other areas on the building floor. For this reason, cables in a plenum must either be located within a metal raceway or be resistant to the spreading of flame and the generation of smoke. Such metal raceways increase the cost of an installation and are somewhat difficult to install. Under the provisions of the National Electrical Code, a cable which meets appropriate standards provided by an authority such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL) may be allowed to be used in plenums without the use of a metal conduit.
Cables used in buildings may be rated as plenum cables, riser cables, or nonrated cables. The plenum rating requires the most exacting standards for flame propagation and optical smoke density properties. If a cable is approved for plenum use, it therefore meets the flame propagation and optical smoke density requirements for riser cable and non-rated cable uses. UL Standard 910, "Test for flame-Propagation and Smoke-Density Values for Electrical and Optical-Fiber Cables Used in Spaces Transporting Environmental Air," is the generally accepted standard for plenum cables. The Fourth Edition of UL Standard 910, dated Feb. 24, 1995, is referred to herein as UL Standard 910. References herein to values for the maximum flame-propagation distance and peak and average optical density are made with respect to testing as described in UL Standard 910. Cables meeting UL Standard 910, in turn, meet the test criteria set out in NFPA 262 and thus are acceptable under the National Electrical Code, and are referred to herein as being plenum-rated cables.
UL Standard 910 is a fire test for determining values of flame-propagation distance and optical smoke density for electrical and optical-fiber cables not enclosed in raceways that are to be installed in plenums used to transport environmental air. To be judged acceptable under UL Standard 910, a cable must exhibit each of the following criteria when exposed to flame under certain conditions in a horizontal testing chamber: (a) the maximum flame-propagation distance is not to be greater than 5 ft, 0 in beyond the initial 4.5 ft test flame; (b) the peak optical density of the smoke produced is to be 0.50 or less (32% light transmission); and (c) the average optical density of the smoke produced is to be 0.15 or less.
The increase in voice, data, and video services has spurred the demand for higher fiber count cables for distribution runs within buildings. In addition, it is common to install higher fiber count cables to provide capacity for growth and network expansion. These demands have resulted in the need for superior fiber packing density in optical fiber cables. As ribbons have enhanced splicing efficiency and fiber packing density in high fiber count cables for the outside plant, similar requirements have evolved for indoor cable. In many situations, ribbon cables also offer enhanced splicing efficiency in the indoor plant; furthermore, when packaged in an appropriately flame retardant cable construction, the cables are suitable for plenum use.
A plenum cable is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,348. This cable includes a wrapping of inorganic cellular material which has a relatively low air permeability. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 thereof, this wrapping is disposed between a core tube holding a stack of optical fiber ribbons and a sheath system composed of two flame-retardant polyimide Kapton® tapes.
Another plenum cable is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,818. This cable includes a woven glass layer which is impregnated with a fluorocarbon resin and disposed between a core tube and an outer jacket formed of fluorinated resin plastic material. This cable is designed for a relatively small number of conductor pairs.
In the plenum cable described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,060, the inner tube and outer jacket each contain fluorinated materials. In contrast, the plenum cable described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,506 has both a core tube and jacket made of non-halogenated materials.
While the cable described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,729 includes a polyvinyl chloride jacket and a non-halogenated filled polyolefin, a metallic thermal barrier is interposed between the optical fibers and the jacket.
In addition to meeting the test criteria set out above, a cable must meet certain strength and other requirements to be suitable for installation using normal cable pulling techniques. One set of such requirements is set out in GR-409-CORE Issue 1, Generic Requirements for Premises Fiber Optic Cable, Bellcore, May 1994, referred to herein as GR-409-CORE and incorporated herein by reference.
An object of this invention is a relatively inexpensive cable having a central core tube design and being capable of containing a relatively large number of optical fibers in optical fiber ribbons, which cable also is capable of meeting industry standard criteria for plenum cables or other premises cables.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a single-tube cable which is capable of meeting test criteria for premises cables and also criteria prescribed by UL Standard 910 and is therefore adapted for use in building plenums. Another object of the invention is to provide such a cable which uses an economical combination of materials.
These and other objects are provided, according to one embodiment of the present invention, by a flame-retardant, single-tube ribbon cable including 12-fiber ribbons containing multimode fibers, single-mode fibers, or both multimode fibers and single-mode fibers. This indoor cable may carry from 12 to 216 optical fibers. The inventive cable includes a core tube comprising a nonhalogenated polyolefin-based polymer material; a jacket formed of halogenated material surrounding the core tube, said jacket being formed of plastic material; and a plurality of dielectric strength members which are disposed between the core tube and the jacket. Despite not including metallic or flame-resistant tapes between the core tube and the jacket, the inventive cable meets all test criteria set out in UL Standard 910. The halogenated outer jacket contributes to cable flame retardance, while the nonhalogenated material of the core tube aids in limiting the generation of smoke.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the several drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cable according to the invention; and,
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cable of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which one or more preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale but are configured to clearly illustrate the invention.
A single tube design requires tensile and anti-buckling components to be part of the jacket system. Proper selection of these elements, and of the tube and jacket materials, keeps elongation during cable installation from exceeding a predetermined value and keeps contraction and elongation due to temperature changes from exceeding predetermined values during the cable useful life. Mechanical requirements placed on the cable during installation dictate many of the design parameters.
For temperature cycling, the cable contraction and elongation can be estimated using known properties of the cabling materials to calculate a composite coefficient of thermal expansion. The coefficients of expansion for the plastics are at least an order of magnitude greater than that of the strength elements.
Several single tube design ribbon cables, each containing 216 optical fibers disposed in a stack of eighteen ribbons, were prepared in order to evaluate various combinations of core tube and jacket materials to determine what cables met the criteria of UL 910. Materials selected for testing included Union Carbide DEFA-1638 NT, a flame-retardant nonhalogenated polyethylene (PE) polyolefin polymer having a Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) of 38%; a flame-retardant polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material having a LOI of 42%; a flame-retardant polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) material having a LOI of 70%; and Gary Corporation Smokeguard II 6960, a flame-retardant PVC material having a LOI of 52%. Both PVC materials and PVDF materials are halogenated by their nature. Test results are set out in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1______________________________________Test results of various material combinations as compared tocriteria set out in UL 910 Core tube Jacket Flame Optical Optical material and material and spread, density densitySample # LOI LOI feet (peak) (average)______________________________________1 PE, 38 PVC, 42 5.5 0.69 0.192 PE, 38 PVDF, 70 10.0 0.78 0.183 PVC, 42 PVC, 42 8.0 0.49 0.234 PVC, 42 PVDF, 70 6.0 0.79 0.205 PVDF, 70 PVC, 42 5.0 0.63 0.266 PVDF, 70 PVDF, 70 10.5 0.30 0.107 PE, 38 PVC, 52 4.0 0.26 0.078 PE, 38 PVC, 52 4.5 0.20 0.09UL 910 criteria, maximum 5.0 0.50 0.15______________________________________
Especially notable were the failures in Examples 2 and 4-6, in that the PVDF material tested has a very high LOI and is recommended for its characteristics of flame retardance and low smoke generation. The failure own for the non-inventive cable of Example 3 also was notable. Both PVDF and PVC are halogenated materials which have been used for many years in flame-retardant cables.
The results for Example 3 also were notable in that the PVC material used is a more highly flame retarded material than the PE material of Example 1.
The results of examples 1, 7, and 8 suggest that good results are achieved through the use of a combination of a nonhalogenated core tube material and a halogenated jacket material, especially PVC. The combination of materials selected for the cable of Example 1 might be suitable for a lower fiber count cable, but not for a cable containing over 96 optical fibers. By raising the LOI of the jacket material from 42 in Example 1 to 52 in Examples 7 and 8, the test criteria of UL 910 were achieved. It is believed that a PVC jacket material having a LOI of 46 also would be suitable. Example 2 appears to show that the PVDF material is not well suited for use in the cable jacket of the single-tube plenum cable application.
The inventive cable is designed to meet a 2700 N tensile load during installation and a long-term 600 N load as installed. The 216 optical fiber cable version has a jacket outer diameter of 16.9 mm and an average weight of 216 kg/km. The inventive cable also has good flexibility, having a specified minimum bend radius of 33.8 cm with the maximum specified tensile load during installation and a specified long term minimum bend radius of 16.9 cm. The inventive cable has a specified operating temperature of -20° C. to +50° C. and the NEC plenum rating OFNP.
Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a cable 10 according to one embodiment of the invention. Core tube 8 encloses a stack of optical fiber ribbons 9 each having twelve optical fibers 11. In a particular design, as many as eighteen ribbons may be included in the stack, for a total capacity of 216 optical fibers. The cable is not water blocked, so air occupies the space within core tube 8 not occupied by the optical fiber ribbons. An inner layer 6 and an outer layer 12 of dielectric strength members surrounds the core tube 8. Two ripcords 7 underlie an outer jacket 5. The outer jacket 5 is pressure extruded over ripcords 7 and strength member layers 6 and 12.
The core contains a plurality of optical fibers 11. The optical fibers may be disposed singly or in the form of optical fiber ribbons 9 as shown. In a preferred embodiment, a stack of twelve-fiber optical fiber ribbons 9 is employed. The ribbon stack may be inserted with a twist having a pitch of 600 mm.
Core tube 8 is preferably formed of a flame-retardant polyolefin material. Examples of suitable polyolefins are polyethylene and polypropylene. One example of a suitable polyethylene material is Union Carbide DEFA-1638 NT, a non-halogenated flame-retardant polyethylene thermoplastic polymer designed for use in cables which must pass the IEEE-383 UL 1581! Vertical Tray Cable Flame Test. This polyethylene material has a Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) of 38% as measured by ASTM method D2863. In a preferred embodiment, a core tube 8 formed of the DEFA-1638 NT material is formed having an average outer diameter of 8.1 mm and an average wall thickness of 1.0 mm.
In order to meet test requirements, the percentage excess fiber or ribbon length must be controlled. Too little excess ribbon length causes hot bend test performance to suffer, while too much excess ribbon length causes cold bend test performance to suffer. In the preferred embodiment, excess ribbon length is about 0.05%, yielding acceptable test results.
A plurality of strength members surrounds core tube 8. In a preferred embodiment, inner layer 6 and an outer layer 12 of impregnated fiberglass yarn strands are disposed about core tube 8 stranded with opposite directions of lay. Owens-Corning CR-1700 impregnated fiberglass yarn strands may be employed in both inner strength member layer 6 and outer strength member layer 12. Ten yarn strands may be disposed in inner layer 6, with nine yarn strands in outer layer 12.
Outer jacket 5 is pressure extruded over strength member layers 6 and 12. The outer jacket material flows around and between at least the outermost layer of the impregnated fiberglass yarn strands, locking the strength members in place. This affords improved antibuckling characteristics and excellent low temperature performance. Two ripcords 7 may be partially embedded in outer jacket 5. Outer jacket 5 is formed of a halogenated material, which in the preferred embodiment is a polyvinyl chloride-based material. One example of a suitable polyvinyl chloride jacket material is Gary Corporation Smokeguard II 6960 material, which has a Limiting Oxygen Index of 52% as measured by ASTM method D-2863 and a Smoke generation value of 6% as measured by ASTM D-4100.
Selection of proper core tube and jacket materials is important. The flexural modulus of each material should be selected so the tube does not excessively flatten during high temperature bend testing or kink during low temperature bend testing. Bending of a softened core tube at high temperatures can impart severe stresses to the optical fibers, possibly causing attenuation and degrading their long term reliability. For these reasons, a tube material should be selected with a relatively high flexural modulus. In a preferred embodiment, the flexural modulus of the core tube is selected to be approximately 220 MPa, and the flexural modulus of the jacket is selected to be approximately 90 MPa.
Impact and compression test performance are related, and the performance during each test is a function of the flexural moduli of the materials chosen for the tube and jacket. Certain prior art cables incorporate stranded comparatively rigid glass-reinforced plastic rods in the jacket which function as strength elements. This construction forms a protective armor around the cable; however, it also makes cable entry and preparation difficult. In a preferred embodiment, a more flexible, stranded fiberglass yarn is incorporated into the jacket for strength. Advantex glass fiber CR 1700 cable reinforcement, provided by Owens Corning Corporation may be used. This yarn is impregnated with a styrene butadiene rubber, and has a modulus of elasticity of 65.5 GPa and a coating percent loss on ignition of 10%. By utilizing this yarn, the required tensile strength and anti-buckling strength is achieved while still providing the craftsperson with easy access to the ribbons.
A 96 fiber inventive cable containing single-mode fibers and a 216 fiber inventive cable containing single-mode fibers each were tested against test criteria established in GR-409-CORE, except that, due to the large outer diameters of the cables, a mandrel having an outer diameter of 254 mm was used in high and low temperature bend testing at temperatures of -20° C. to +50° C. The outer diameter of the 96 fiber cable was 13.5 mm and the outer diameter of the 216 fiber cable was 16.7 mm. Each cable employed 12-fiber ribbons. When attenuation change was being monitored, edge fibers from the two outermost ribbons and two middle ribbons in the stack were tested for each cable, because these fibers typically include those fibers which are most susceptible to attenuation change. Temperature cycling was conducted at temperature extremes of -20° C. to +70° C. Compressive strength testing was conducted at a load of 10 N/mm, and impact resistance testing was conducted using an impact energy of 2.94 Newtons times meters. Results of the tests indicated are set out in Table 2 below.
TABLE 2______________________________________Maximum attenuation change from Low and High TemperatureCable Bend, Impact Resistance, Compressive Strength, and TemperatureCycling testingTest Maximum change in attenuation______________________________________Low Temperature Cable Bend, 96f 0.095 dB(254 mm mandrel)Low Temperature Cable Bend, 216f 0.007 dB(254 mm mandrel)High Temperature Cable Bend, 96f 0.087 dB(254 mm mandel)High Temperature Cable Bend, 216f 0.110 dB(254 mm mandrel)Impact Resistance, 96f 0.000 dBImpact Resistance, 216f 0.005 dBCompressive Strength, 96f 0.031 dBCompressive Strength, 216f 0.065 dBTemperature Cycling, 96f 0.070 dB/kmTemperature Cycling, 216f 0.065 dB/km______________________________________
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of the construction, operation, exact materials, or embodiments shown and described, as modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. | An optical fiber cable suitable for use in building plenums includes a core comprising at least one optical fiber; a core tube formed of a non-halogenated polyolefin-based polymer material surrounding the core; a jacket formed of chlorinated plastic material surrounding said core tube; and a plurality of dielectric strength members which are disposed between said core tube and said jacket, said cable being capable of meeting all test criteria set out in UL Standard 910. | 6 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority of European application No. 11186178.7 filed Oct. 21, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The application relates to a welding and/or soldering process for producing a structural part and to a structural part.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0003] Soldering or welding processes for joining structural parts are prior art, soldered joints usually having a lower temperature resistance compared to the base material and also compared to welded joints on account of the relatively low melting temperature of the solder. However, soldered joints can also be produced at sites which are difficult to access. The welding process can only be carried out at sites which are easily accessed.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of the application to produce a structural part from components which are joined to one another in an optimum manner.
[0005] The object is achieved by a process and a structural part as claimed in the independent claims. The dependent claims list further measures which can be combined with one another, as desired, in order to achieve further features.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] In the drawings:
[0007] FIGS. 1-4 show steps of the process according to the application,
[0008] FIG. 5 shows a turbine blade or vane,
[0009] FIG. 6 shows a gas turbine,
[0010] FIG. 7 shows a list of superalloys.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0011] The figures and the description represent merely embodiments of the application.
[0012] FIG. 1 shows a structural part 1 , 120 , 130 which is to be produced and is to be joined together from at least two, such as from only two, components 4 , 7 .
[0013] The structural part 1 , 120 , 130 to be produced is a hollow structural part 1 , 120 , 130 having at least one hollow space 2 ′, 2 ″, 2 ′″ and has outer contact sites 11 ′, 11 ″, . . . accessible from the outside, but also on the inside inner contact sites 14 ′, 14 ″, . . . which are not accessible from the outside, at which components 4 , 7 are moved into contact resting on one another. A solder 15 ′, 15 ″, . . . is applied to the inner contact sites 14 ′, 14 ″, . . . .
[0014] In this case, a spacing 10 ′, 10 ″, . . . is to be provided in the region of the outer contact sites 11 ′, 11 ″, . . . between the components 4 , 7 when the solder 15 ′, 15 ″, . . . is applied.
[0015] The components 4 , 7 are then pressed together (F) such that the spacing 10 ′, 10 ″, . . . as per FIG. 1 is no longer present or is/becomes considerably smaller ( FIG. 2 ). While maintaining a force F, a welded joint or weld seam 16 ′, 16 ″ is produced at the outer contact sites ( FIG. 3 ) such that the components 4 , 7 are already joined to one another.
[0016] The welded joint 16 ′, 16 ″ can also be a continuous weld seam which, such as, runs around the entire structural part 1 , 120 , 130 .
[0017] In the last step, as per FIG. 4 , heat treatment is effected, such that only then a soldered joint 19 ′, 19 ″ is produced at the inner contact sites 14 ′, 14 ″, . . . by the already present solder 15 ′, 15 ″, . . . . The components are joined to one another at many inner and outer contact sites 11 ′, 11 ″, 14 ′, 14 ″, . . . . The solders are high-melting solders based on Ni, Ni—Co, Pd or Au or Au—Pd.
[0018] The solder can be applied both in the form of solder paste and as a film or presintered solder sheet. Depending on the use of the structural part 1 , 120 , 130 , it has to be compatible with the base material of the components 4 , 7 .
[0019] The inner soldered joints 19 ′, 19 ″, . . . generally experience, in the case of turbine components 120 , 130 , a lower temperature than the outer regions, where the welded joints 16 ′, 16 ″, . . . are located, and a sufficient strength of equal magnitude is provided universally.
[0020] The materials for the components 4 , 7 are nickel-based or cobalt-based superalloys as per FIG. 7 .
[0021] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a rotor blade 120 or guide vane 130 of a turbomachine, which extends along a longitudinal axis 121 .
[0022] The turbomachine may be a gas turbine of an aircraft or of a power plant for generating electricity, a steam turbine or a compressor.
[0023] The blade or vane 120 , 130 has, in succession along the longitudinal axis 121 , a securing region 400 , an adjoining blade or vane platform 403 and a main blade or vane part 406 and a blade or vane tip 415 . As a guide vane 130 , the vane 130 may have a further platform (not shown) at its vane tip 415 .
[0024] A blade or vane root 183 , which is used to secure the rotor blades 120 , 130 to a shaft or a disk (not shown), is formed in the securing region 400 .
[0025] The blade or vane root 183 is designed, for example, in hammerhead form. Other configurations, such as a fir-tree or dovetail root, are possible. The blade or vane 120 , 130 has a leading edge 409 and a trailing edge 412 for a medium which flows past the main blade or vane part 406 .
[0026] In the case of conventional blades or vanes 120 , 130 , by way of example solid metallic materials, such as superalloys, are used in all regions 400 , 403 , 406 of the blade or vane 120 , 130 . Superalloys of this type are known, for example, from EP 1 204 776 B1, EP 1 306 454, EP 1 319 729 A1, WO 99/67435 or WO 00/44949. The blade or vane 120 , 130 may in this case be produced by a casting process, by directional solidification, by a forging process, by a milling process or combinations thereof.
[0027] Workpieces with a single-crystal structure or structures are used as components for machines which, in operation, are exposed to high mechanical, thermal and/or chemical stresses. Single-crystal workpieces of this type are produced, for example, by directional solidification from the melt. This involves casting processes in which the liquid metallic alloy solidifies to form the single-crystal structure, i.e. the single-crystal workpiece, or solidifies directionally.
[0028] In this case, dendritic crystals are oriented along the direction of heat flow and form either a columnar crystalline grain structure (i.e. grains which run over the entire length of the workpiece and are referred to here, in accordance with the language customarily used, as directionally solidified) or a single-crystal structure, i.e. the entire workpiece consists of one single crystal. In these processes, a transition to globular (polycrystalline) solidification needs to be avoided, since non-directional growth inevitably forms transverse and longitudinal grain boundaries, which negate the favorable properties of the directionally solidified or single-crystal component.
[0029] Where the text refers in general terms to directionally solidified microstructures, this is to be understood as meaning both single crystals, which do not have any grain boundaries or at most have small-angle grain boundaries, and columnar crystal structures, which do have grain boundaries running in the longitudinal direction but do not have any transverse grain boundaries. This second form of crystalline structures is also described as directionally solidified microstructures (directionally solidified structures). Processes of this type are known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,792 and EP 0 892 090 A1.
[0030] The blades or vanes 120 , 130 may likewise have coatings protecting against corrosion or oxidation e.g. (MCrAlX; M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), X is an active element and stands for yttrium (Y) and/or silicon and/or at least one rare earth element, or hafnium (Hf)). Alloys of this type are known from EP 0 486 489 B1, EP 0 786 017 B1, EP 0 412 397 B1 or EP 1 306 454 A1. The density is 95% of the theoretical density. A protective aluminum oxide layer (TGO=thermally grown oxide layer) is formed on the MCrAlX layer (as an intermediate layer or as the outermost layer).
[0031] The layer has a composition Co-30Ni-28Cr-8Al-0.6Y-0.75Si or Co-28Ni-24Cr-10Al-0.6Y. In addition to these cobalt-based protective coatings, it is also to use nickel-based protective layers, such as Ni-10Cr-12Al-0.6Y-3Re or Ni-12Co-21Cr-11Al-0.4Y-2Re or Ni-25Co-17Cr-10Al-0.4Y-1.5Re.
[0032] It is also possible for a thermal barrier coating, which is the outermost layer, to be present on the MCrAlX, consisting for example of ZrO 2 , Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 , i.e. unstabilized, partially stabilized or fully stabilized by yttrium oxide and/or calcium oxide and/or magnesium oxide.
[0033] The thermal barrier coating covers the entire MCrAlX layer. Columnar grains are produced in the thermal barrier coating by suitable coating processes, such as for example electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD).
[0034] Other coating processes are possible, e.g. atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), LPPS, VPS or CVD. The thermal barrier coating may include grains that are porous or have micro-cracks or macro-cracks, in order to improve the resistance to thermal shocks. The thermal barrier coating is more porous than the MCrAlX layer.
[0035] Refurbishment means that after they have been used, protective layers may have to be removed from structural parts 120 , 130 (e.g. by sand blasting). Then, the corrosion and/or oxidation layers and products are removed. If appropriate, cracks in the structural part 120 , 130 are also repaired. This is followed by recoating of the structural part 120 , 130 , after which the structural part 120 , 130 can be reused.
[0036] The blade or vane 120 , 130 may be hollow or solid in form. If the blade or vane 120 , 130 is to be cooled, it is hollow and may also have film-cooling holes 418 (indicated by dashed lines).
[0037] FIG. 6 shows, by way of example, a partial longitudinal section through a gas turbine 100 .
[0038] In the interior, the gas turbine 100 has a rotor 103 with a shaft 101 which is mounted such that it can rotate about an axis of rotation 102 and is also referred to as the turbine rotor.
[0039] An intake housing 104 , a compressor 105 , a, for example, toroidal combustion chamber 110 , such as an annular combustion chamber, with a plurality of coaxially arranged burners 107 , a turbine 108 and the exhaust-gas housing 109 follow one another along the rotor 103 .
[0040] The annular combustion chamber 110 is in communication with a, for example, annular hot-gas passage 111 , where, by way of example, four successive turbine stages 112 form the turbine 108 .
[0041] Each turbine stage 112 is formed, for example, from two blade or vane rings. As seen in the direction of flow of a working medium 113 , in the hot-gas passage 111 a row of guide vanes 115 is followed by a row 125 formed from rotor blades 120 .
[0042] The guide vanes 130 are secured to an inner housing 138 of a stator 143 , whereas the rotor blades 120 of a row 125 are fitted to the rotor 103 for example by a turbine disk 133 . A generator (not shown) is coupled to the rotor 103 .
[0043] While the gas turbine 100 is operating, the compressor 105 sucks in air 135 through the intake housing 104 and compresses it. The compressed air provided at the turbine-side end of the compressor 105 is passed to the burners 107 , where it is mixed with a fuel. The mix is then burnt in the combustion chamber 110 , forming the working medium 113 . From there, the working medium 113 flows along the hot-gas passage 111 past the guide vanes 130 and the rotor blades 120 . The working medium 113 is expanded at the rotor blades 120 , transferring its momentum, so that the rotor blades 120 drive the rotor 103 and the latter in turn drives the generator coupled to it.
[0044] While the gas turbine 100 is operating, the structural parts which are exposed to the hot working medium 113 are subject to thermal stresses. The guide vanes 130 and rotor blades 120 of the first turbine stage 112 , as seen in the direction of flow of the working medium 113 , together with the heat shield elements which line the annular combustion chamber 110 , are subject to the highest thermal stresses. To be able to withstand the temperatures which prevail there, they may be cooled by a coolant.
[0045] Substrates of the structural parts may likewise have a directional structure, i.e. they are in single-crystal form (SX structure) or have only longitudinally oriented grains (DS structure).
[0046] By way of example, iron-based, nickel-based or cobalt-based superalloys are used as material for the structural parts, such as for the turbine blade or vane 120 , 130 and structural parts of the combustion chamber 110 . Superalloys of this type are known, for example, from EP 1 204 776 B1, EP 1 306 454, EP 1 319 729 A1, WO 99/67435 or WO 00/44949.
[0047] The blades or vanes 120 , 130 may likewise have coatings protecting against corrosion (MCrAlX; M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), X is an active element and stands for yttrium (Y) and/or silicon, scandium (Sc) and/or at least one rare earth element, or hafnium). Alloys of this type are known from EP 0 486 489 B1, EP 0 786 017 B1, EP 0 412 397 B1 or EP 1 306 454 A1.
[0048] It is also possible for a thermal barrier coating to be present on the MCrAlX, consisting for example of ZrO 2 , Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 , i.e. unstabilized, partially stabilized or fully stabilized by yttrium oxide and/or calcium oxide and/or magnesium oxide. Columnar grains are produced in the thermal barrier coating by suitable coating processes, such as for example electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD).
[0049] The guide vane 130 has a guide vane root (not shown here), which faces the inner housing 138 of the turbine 108 , and a guide vane head which is at the opposite end from the guide vane root. The guide vane head faces the rotor 103 and is fixed to a securing ring 140 of the stator 143 . | A combined welding and soldering process for a structural part and a structural part are provided. The combined welding and soldering process can achieve joints which are stable at high temperatures between the components. All contacts between the components can be joined to one another optionally in accordance with their loading. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a redundant circuit, and particularly to a redundant circuit using a nonvolatile memory.
2. Description of Related Art
First, a redundant circuit of a memory such as a nonvolatile memory, will be explained briefly. The redundant circuit comprises memory cells (called redundant memory cells below) other than ordinary memory cells, and a circuit (called addressing circuit) for determining an address of the redundant memory cells. The redundant memory cells replace faulty ordinary memory cells of the nonvolatile memory, which are found in a test process. Recording the addresses of the faulty memory cells, the addressing circuit points to the redundant memory cells instead of the addressed faulty memory cells in the operation of the nonvolatile memory.
One of conventional redundant circuits employs as its addressing circuit resistors functioning as a fuse. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a part of the addressing circuit of the conventional redundant circuit using a resistor as a fuse, in which a circuit portion corresponding to only one bit is shown.
In FIG. 10, the reference numeral 1 designates a power supply terminal to which a supply voltage is applied; 2 designates a capacitor with its first electrode connected to the power supply terminal 1; 3 designates a resistor with its first end connected to the second electrode of the capacitor 2 at a connection point 7, and its second end connected to a ground 5; 4 designates a latch circuit with its input terminal connected to the connection point 7. The latch circuit 4 comprises inverters 41 and 42 connected in anti-parallel, and an inverter 43 connected in series with the inverter 41.
Next, the addressing operation of the addressing circuit will be described.
First, the addressing circuit has the resistor 3 remain at this place when storing L (low) level address data in the circuit portion of FIG. 10. In this case, since the connection point 7 is connected to ground through the resistor 3, its potential is maintained at the L level in spite of the supply voltage applied to the power supply terminal 1, and the potential of the L level is held by the latch circuit 4.
On the other hand, when storing H (high) level address data in the circuit portion, the resistor 3 is cut off by a laser beam. In this case, when the supply voltage is applied to the power supply terminal 1, the potential at the connection point 7 exceeds a threshold voltage of the inverter 41, and hence the latch circuit 4 latches the H level potential at the connection point 7.
The addressing circuit comprises circuit portions as shown in FIG. 10 by the number of bits constituting the addresses of the memory in which the redundant circuit is mounted, and carries out addressing by cutting off the resistor 3 with a laser beam for a bit of the H level addressing, and by retaining the resistor 3 for a bit of the L level addressing.
Using the addressing circuit as shown in FIG. 10 requires a laser beam generator, which may be expensive. For this reason, there is an addressing circuit obviating the need for the laser beam generator by employing a nonvolatile memory instead of the resistor 3. FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing one bit of such an addressing circuit utilizing the nonvolatile memory, in which like portions are designated by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 10, and the description thereof is omitted here.
In FIG. 11, the reference numeral 1' designates a power supply terminal to which a supply voltage is applied, and 8 designates a nonvolatile memory using an N-channel transistor. The reference numeral 9 designates the gate of the nonvolatile memory 8, which is connected to the power supply terminal 1'. The reference numeral 10 designates the drain of the nonvolatile memory 8, which is connected to the connection point 7. The reference numeral 11 designates the source of the nonvolatile memory 8, which is connected to the ground 5. The reference numeral 12 designates the floating gate of the nonvolatile memory 8, which is used to determine the H level or L level addressing depending on whether charges are injected to the floating gate 12.
Next, the addressing method of the addressing circuit will be described.
First, in the case where the nonvolatile memory 8 is not written, with its floating gate 12 not injected with electrons, a current flows from the drain 10 to the source 11 when the nonvolatile memory 8 is turned on by placing the gate 9 at the H level by applying the supply voltage from the power supply terminal 1' to the gate 9. In this state, since the potential at the connection point 7 is below the level to be recognized by the latch circuit 4 as the H level input, the output of the latch circuit 4 is held at the L level.
Next, in the case where the nonvolatile memory 8 is written, with its floating gate 12 injected with the electrons, no current flows from the drain 10 to the source 11 even if the gate 9 is raised to the supply voltage level. In this state, since the potential at the connection point 7 is beyond the level to be recognized by the latch circuit 4 as the H level input, the output of the latch circuit 4 is held at the H level.
Thus, the addressing can be achieved using the nonvolatile memory 8 by writing a bit for the H level addressing, and by not writing a bit for the L level addressing. Incidentally, although the gate 9 of the nonvolatile memory 8 is connected to the power supply terminal 1' in FIG. 11, this shows the state in which addressing is carried out with the nonvolatile memory 8. When writing and erasing the nonvolatile memory 8, the gate 9 is supplied with a gate input voltage required for accomplishing writing and erasing of the gate.
With such an arrangement, the conventional redundant circuit has a problem of reliability of data retention by the nonvolatile memory 8 constituting the addressing circuit. More specifically, although the floating gate 12 of the nonvolatile memory 8 is in the erased state free from the electron charge when the nonvolatile memory 8 is not written, if electrons happen to be injected into the floating gate 12 by some cause, the nonvolatile memory 8 changes to the written state. On the contrary, when writing the nonvolatile memory 8, if the electrons which have been stored in the floating gate 12 of the nonvolatile memory 8 are emitted therefrom, the nonvolatile memory 8 becomes the erased state.
In the nonvolatile memory 8, the electrons in the drain 10 or source 11 are subjected to an electrical force attracting them toward the floating gate 12, which is produced by applying the H level voltage to the gate 9. Normally, the H level voltage applied to the gate 9 does not lead the electrons to be stored in the floating gate 12 owing to the electrical force. However, depending on the fabricated condition of the nonvolatile memory 8, there is still some probability that the electrons will be injected into the floating gate 12 by applying the H level voltage to the gate 9. This does nit create a problem even if the electrons are injected to the floating gate 12 when it has already been charged with the electrons. However, when the nonvolatile memory 8 has not been written, the floating gate 12 is not charged with the electrons, and hence if it happens to be injected with the electrons, the state of the nonvolatile memory 8 changes from the erased state to the written state. This means that the bit of the addressing circuit pointing the address L wrongly points to the address H, which presents a problem (called problem 1 from now on).
In addition, while writing into the nonvolatile memory 8, if the supply voltage is applied to the power supply terminal 1, the H level voltage is applied to the drain 10 of the nonvolatile memory 8. In this case, the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 are subjected to an electrical force attracting them toward the drain 10. Normally, the H level voltage applied to the drain 10 does not lead the electrons to be discharged from the floating gate 12. However, depending on the fabricated condition of the nonvolatile memory 8, there is still some probability that the electrons are discharged from the floating gate 12 by the H level voltage applied to the drain 10. When the nonvolatile memory 8 has not been written, and hence the floating gate 12 is not charged with the electrons, there is no possibility that the electrons are discharged from the floating gate 12. However, when the nonvolatile memory 8 has been written, and if the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 happen to be discharged from the floating gate 12, the state of the nonvolatile memory 8 changes from the written state to the erased state. This means that the bit of the addressing circuit pointing the address H wrongly points the address L, which presents another problem (called problem 2 from now on).
Furthermore, the nonvolatile memory 8 has another problem in that the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 by the write operation of the nonvolatile memory 8 are subjected to natural discharge due to defects during the process of fabricating the nonvolatile memory 8. This causes the same condition as the problem 2: The bit of the addressing circuit pointing the address H wrongly points the address L, which presents still another problem (called problem 3 from now on).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is implemented to solve the foregoing problems. It is therefore an object of the- present invention to provide a redundant circuit which can prevent undesired electrons from charging in the floating gate 12 by applying an H level signal to the gate 9, thereby solving the problem 1.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a redundant circuit which can prevent the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 from being discharged by applying an H level signal to the drain 10, thereby solving the problem 2.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a redundant circuit which can prevent the natural discharge of the electrons from the floating gate 12, thus solving the problem 3.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a redundant circuit comprising: redundant memory cells; an addressing circuit for generating an addressing signal addressing an address of the redundant memory cells in accordance with the presence or absence of writing of a nonvolatile memory provided for each bit of the addressing signal, the nonvolatile memory having a gate, a drain and a source; timer means for counting a time period from a power on of the redundant circuit, and for outputting a timing signal when it counts a predetermined time period; and breaker means for breaking at least one of supply voltages to the gate and the drain of the nonvolatile memory in response to the timing signal.
Here, the redundant circuit may further comprise holding means for holding a voltage level of the drain of the nonvolatile memory.
The predetermined time period may be set longer than a time in which the holding means stabilizes its output, and the breaker means may have the gate of the nonvolatile memory disconnect from its supply voltage and connect to a ground in response to the timing signal.
The predetermined time period may be set longer than a time in which the holding means stabilizes its output, and the breaker means may have the drain of the nonvolatile memory disconnect from its supply voltage and place in a floating state in response to the timing signal.
The predetermined time period may be set longer than a time in which the holding means stabilizes its output, and the breaker means may comprise grounding means for grounding the drain of the nonvolatile memory in response to the timing signal, and disconnecting means for disconnecting the holding means from the drain in response to the timing signal.
The timer means may comprise a timer.
The timer means may comprise a CR delay circuit.
The breaker means may consist of MOSFETs.
The breaker means may consist of transmission gates.
The grounding means and the disconnecting means may each consist of an MOSFET.
The grounding means and the disconnecting means may each consist of a transmission gate.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a redundant circuit comprising: redundant memory cells; an addressing circuit for generating an addressing signal addressing an address of the redundant memory cells in accordance with the presence or absence of writing of a nonvolatile memory provided for each bit of the addressing signal, the nonvolatile memory having a gate, a drain and a source; counting means for counting a number of power-on operations of the redundant circuit, and for outputting a counted signal when it counts a predetermined number of times of the power-on operations; and a write command signal output means for outputting a signal commanding writing into the nonvolatile memory in response to the counted signal.
Here, the redundant circuit may further comprise holding means for holding a voltage level of the drain of the nonvolatile memory, wherein the predetermined number of times of the power-on operations may be set at a number corresponding to a time in which the holding means can recognize a write state of the nonvolatile memory.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing part of the addressing circuit of an embodiment 1 of a redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a switch control circuit of the embodiment 1 of the redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a switch control circuit of an embodiment 2 of the redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing part of the addressing circuit of an embodiment 3 of the redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a switch control circuit of the embodiment 3 of the redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing part of the addressing circuit of an embodiment 4 of the redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a timer means using a CR delay circuit, which is employed by the embodiments 1, 2 and 4;
FIG. 8 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the timer means as shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing a transmission gate used by the embodiments 1-4;
FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing part of the addressing circuit of a conventional redundant circuit; and
FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing part of the addressing circuit of another conventional redundant circuit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
EMBODIMENT 1
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing part of an embodiment 1 of the addressing circuit of a redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention. This figure shows only a portion corresponding to one bit of the addressing circuit, and the same portion is provided for each bit of the redundant circuit.
In FIG. 1, the reference numerals 1 and 1' each designates a power supply terminal; 2 designates a capacitor with its first electrode connected to the power supply terminal 1; 4 designates a latch circuit (holding circuit) with its input terminal connected to a second electrode of the capacitor 2. The latch circuit 4 includes inverters 41 and 42 connected in anti-parallel, and an inverter 43 connected in series with the inverter 41.
The reference numeral 5 designates a ground; 7 designates a connection point of the capacitor 2 and the latch circuit 4; and 8 designates an nonvolatile memory 8 composed of an N-channel transistor having a gate 9, a drain 10, a source 11 and a floating gate 12. Injection or non-injection of charges into the gate 12 designates an H (high) level or an L (low) level of the addressing, respectively.
The reference numeral 13 designates a voltage converter with its input terminal In connected to a high voltage generator not shown in this figure and supplied with a high voltage therefrom. The voltage converter 13 outputs DC voltages of 7 V, 12 V and 10 V, for example, from its output terminals O 1 , O 2 and O 3 , respectively, in the case where the supply voltage is 5 V. The reference symbol Sw 1 designates a three-contact switch with its -first contact connected to the output terminal O 1 of the voltage converter 13, second contact connected to the connection point 7, third contact connected to nowhere, and its common contact connected to the drain 10 of the nonvolatile memory 8. The reference symbol Sw 2 designates a two-contact switch with its first contact connected to the output terminal O 3 of the voltage converter 13, second contact connected to the ground 5, and its common contact connected to the source 11 of the nonvolatile memory 8. The reference symbol Sw 3 designates a three-contact switch (first breaker means) with its first contact connected to the power supply terminal 1', second contact connected to the output terminal O 2 of the voltage converter 13, third contact connected to the ground 5, and its common contact connected to the gate 9 of the nonvolatile memory 8. These switches Sw 1 -Sw 3 each consist of a semiconductor switch composed of transistors, for example, and are switched by control signals fed from a switch controller as shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the switch controller for generating the switch control signals of the embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 21 designates a timer (timer means) which maintains the H level output for a predetermined time period after the power is turned on, and then outputs a switching command signal instructing the transfer of the switch Sw 3 by changing its output level to the L level after the predetermined time has elapsed. The reference numeral 22 designates a switch SW 3 controller (first breaker means) for producing a switch Sw 3 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 3 in response to the switching command signal from the timer 21 and a write mode signal and an erase mode signal which are fed from a controller not shown in this figure and instruct write operation and erase operation of the nonvolatile memory 8, respectively. The reference numeral 23 designates a switch Sw 2 controller for producing a switch Sw 2 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 2 in response to the write mode signal and erase node signal, and 24 designates a switch Sw 1 controller for producing a switch Sw 1 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 1 in response to the write mode signal and erase node signal.
Next, the addressing operation of the embodiment 1 of the addressing circuit will be described.
First, a case will be described where the address data of the H level is to be stored in the circuit portion as shown in FIG. 1 by the write operation to the nonvolatile memory 8 of the redundant circuit. In this case, the control circuit of the redundant circuit outputs the write mode signal, and the switch Sw 1 controller 24 outputs the switch Sw 1 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 1 to its first contact, that is, to the output terminal O 1 of the voltage converter 13. At the same time, the switch Sw 2 controller 23 outputs the switch Sw 2 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 2 to its second contact, that is, to the ground 5,and the switch Sw 3 controller 22 outputs the switch Sw 3 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 3 to its second contact, that is, to the output terminal O 2 of the voltage converter 13.
Thus, the drain 10 and gate 9 of the nonvolatile memory 8 are supplied with the DC voltages of 7 V and 12 V, respectively, and the source 11 is grounded. In this state, a current flows from the drain 10 to the source 11 of the nonvolatile memory 8, and electrons in a fragment of the current, attracted by the DC voltage of 12 V applied to the gate 9, plunge into the floating gate 12. Thus, the electrons are stored in the floating gate 12, accomplishing the write operation to the nonvolatile memory 8.
While the nonvolatile memory 8 keeps the written state, no current flows from the drain 10 to the source 11 owing to the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 even if the supply voltages are applied to the drain 10 and the gate 9 by connecting the switch Sw 1 to the connection point 7, and the switch Sw 3 to the power supply terminal 1'. Thus, the potential of the connection point 7 is maintained at the H level, and hence the addressing signal of the H level is output from the latch circuit 4.
Second, in a case where the address data of the L level is to be stored in the circuit portion as shown in FIG. 1 by erasing the nonvolatile memory 8, the control circuit of the redundant circuit outputs the erase mode signal, and the switch Sw 1 controller 24 outputs the switch Sw 1 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 1 to its third contact, that is, to the unconnected contact. At the same time, the switch Sw 2 controller 23 outputs the switch Sw 2 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 2 to its first contact, that is, to the output terminal O 3 of the voltage converter 13, and the switch Sw 3 controller 22 outputs the switch Sw 3 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 3 to its third contact, that is, to the ground 5.
Thus, the drain 10 of the nonvolatile memory 8 is placed in a floating state, its gate 9 is grounded, and the source 11 is supplied with the DC voltage of 10 V. In this state, the DC voltage of 10 V is applied across the gate 9 and the source 11 of the nonvolatile memory 8, and the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 are ejected from the floating gate 12 to the source 11. Thus, the electrons are withdrawn from the floating gate 12, accomplishing the erasing operation of the nonvolatile memory 8.
When the switches Sw 1 and Sw 3 are connected to the supply voltage terminals 1 and 1', respectively, so that the drain 10 and the gate 9 are supplied with the supply voltages, and the switch Sw 2 is connected to the ground 5, with the nonvolatile memory 8 keeping the erased state, the nonvolatile memory 8 is in the conduction state. Thus, the potential of the connection point 7 is maintained at the L level because the source 11 is grounded, and hence the addressing signal of the L level is output from the latch circuit 4.
Next, in the case where the address data is not written to nor erased from the nonvolatile memory 8, the control circuit of the redundant circuit do not output the write mode signal nor the erase mode signal. In this state, the switch Sw 1 controller 24 outputs the switch Sw 1 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 1 to its second contact, that is, to the contact connected to the connection point 7. At the same time, the switch Sw 2 controller 23 outputs the switch Sw 2 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 2 to its second contact, that is, to the ground 5, and the switch Sw 3 controller 22 outputs the switch Sw 3 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 3 to its first contact, that is, to the power supply terminal 1'.
Thus, the drain 10 and the gate 9 of the nonvolatile memory 8 are connected to the connection point 7 and power supply terminal 1', respectively. In this state, the nonvolatile memory 8 sets the connection point 7 to the open state or the grounded state depending on whether the floating gate 12 stores electrons or not. Therefore, the address data of the H level or L level is output from the latch circuit 4 in accordance with the written state of the nonvolatile memory 8.
When the power is turned on in this state and supplied to the redundant circuit of the embodiment 1, the power supply terminals 1 and 1' are supplied with the supply voltages, and a start signal is applied to the timer 21. Thus, the supply voltages are applied to the drain and gate of the nonvolatile memory 8 so that the address data having been written in the nonvolatile memory 8 is latched by the latch circuit 4, and the timer 21 begins its time count operation. When the predetermined time has elapsed after the power on, and the output of the latch circuit 4 stabilizes, the output signal of the timer 21 falls to the L level, and the timer 21 outputs it as a switching command signal. Receiving the switching command signal, the switch Sw 3 controller 22 outputs the switch Sw 3 control signal instructing the switch Sw 3 to transfer to the third contact, that is, to the ground 5. This is different from the conventional apparatus in which the gate 9 is continuously fed with the power supply voltage throughout the power on to the power off. According to the embodiment 1, since the gate 9 is grounded as shown in FIG. 1 when the output of the latch circuit 4 stabilizes, the probability can be reduced that unnecessary electrons are injected to the floating gate 12 of the nonvolatile memory 8.
As described above, according to the present embodiment 1, an advantage can be gained of reducing the possibility that the unnecessary electrons are injected to the floating gate 12, and hence of substantially decreasing the possibility of bringing about the problem 1.
EMBODIMENT 2
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a switch control circuit for generating the switch control signals in an embodiment 2 of a redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention. The addressing circuit of the present embodiment 2 is the same as that of the embodiment 1 as shown in FIG. 1, and hence the illustration and description thereof is omitted here.
The individual components of the switch control circuit of FIG. 3 are the same as those of the switch control circuit of the embodiment 1 as shown in FIG. 2. However, the switch control circuit of FIG. 3 differs from that of FIG. 2 in that the switching command signal the timer 21 outputs after the predetermined time has elapsed is supplied to the switch Sw 1 controller 24 (second breaker means).
Next, the operation will be described.
The method of writing and erasing of the address data of the nonvolatile memory 8 is the same as that of the embodiment 1.
When the redundant circuit is powered up to read thus stored address data from the nonvolatile memory 8, the timer 21 starts counting time as in the embodiment 1. When the predetermined time has elapsed after the power up and the latch circuit 4 stabilizes, the output signal of the timer 21 falls to the L level, and the switching command signal is output to the switch Sw 1 controller 24 Receiving the switching command signal, the switch Sw 1 controller 24 produces the switch Sw 1 control signal for transferring the switch Sw 1 to the third unconnected contact. Thus, the drain 10 is set in a floating state at the point when the output of the latch circuit 4 stabilizes in the embodiment 2. This differs from the conventional counterpart, in which the drain 10 is continuously supplied with a voltage of the supply voltage level throughout the power on to the power off. This makes it possible to reduce the possibility that the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 of the nonvolatile memory 8 are discharged.
As described above, the embodiment 2 has an advantage that the possibility of bringing about the problem 2 can be substantially reduced because the possibility is reduced of emitting the electrons from the floating gate 12.
EMBODIMENT 3
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing part of the addressing circuit of an embodiment 3 of the redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention, in which a circuit portion corresponding to only one bit of the addressing circuit is shown. The addressing circuit comprises a plurality of circuit portions as shown in FIG. 4 corresponding to the number of bits in a memory address in which the redundant circuit is mounted. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the switch control circuit of the embodiment 3. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the same components as those of the addressing circuit of FIG. 1 and S the switch control circuit of FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted here.
In FIG. 4, the reference numeral 14 designates a counter (counting means) for counting a power-on signal, and thus counting the number of power-on operations of the redundant circuit; 15 designates an AND gate (write command signal output means) having its first input terminal connected to the output terminal of a predetermined bit of the counter 14, its second input terminal connected to the output terminal of the latch circuit 4, and its output terminal produce a write mode signal generating signal. The counter 14 includes a nonvolatile memory so that it can hold the counted value after the power of the information circuit is turn off. The switch control circuit of FIG. 5 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 2 except that the timer 21 is removed in FIG. 5.
Next, the operation will be described.
The method of writing or erasing the address data to or from the nonvolatile memory 8 is the same as that of the embodiment 1. In addition, the method of reading the address data thus stored in the nonvolatile memory 8 is the same as that of the embodiment 1.
In the present embodiment 3, the counter 14 counts the power-on signal indicating the switch-on each time the redundant circuit is turned on. When the counted number of the counter 14 reaches a predetermined number, the output bit of the counter 14 connected to the first input terminal of the AND gate 15 rises to the H level. On the other hand, if the bit of the nonvolatile memory 8 has already been written, the output of the latch circuit 4 is placed at the H level. Thus, the output terminal of the AND gate 15 becomes the H level so that the write mode signal generating signal is produced which commands the rewrite of the nonvolatile memory 8. This makes it possible to recharge the floating gate 12 with electrons within a time range while the written state of the nonvolatile memory 8 can be still recognized because of a small degree of natural discharge, in that time range, of the electrons held in the floating gate 12 of the nonvolatile memory 8, even if they are gradually discharged with time owing to some process defects.
As described above, according to the present embodiment 3, the written state of the floating gate 12 of the nonvolatile memory 8 can be nearly regularly refreshed. This has an advantage of preventing the problem 3.
EMBODIMENT 4
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing part of the addressing circuit of an embodiment 4 of the redundant circuit in accordance with the present invention, in which a circuit portion corresponding to only one bit of the addressing circuit is shown. The addressing circuit comprises a plurality circuit portions as shown in FIG. 6 corresponding to the number of bits in a memory address of the memory in which the redundant circuit is mounted. In FIG. 4, the same components as those of the addressing circuit of FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted here. The switch control circuit of the present embodiment 4 is the same as that of the embodiment 3 as shown in FIG. 5.
In FIG. 6 the reference numeral 16 designates an N-channel transistor having its drain connected to the connection point 7, and its source grounded; 17 designates an inverter having its input terminal connected to the output terminal of the timer 21, and its output terminal connected to the gate of the transistor 16; and Sw 4 designates a switch (breaker means) interposed between the connection point 7 and the latch circuit 4 (holding means), with its on/off control signal fed from the output of the timer 21.
Next, the operation will be described.
The method of writing or erasing the address data to or from the nonvolatile memory 8 is the same as that of the embodiment 1. In addition, the method of reading the address data thus stored in the nonvolatile memory 8 is the same as that of the embodiment 1.
When the power of the redundant circuit is turned on in the present embodiment 4, the power supply terminals 1 and 1' are fed with the supply voltages, and a start signal is applied to the timer 21, by which the timer 21 begins its time count operation, and the H level output signal is supplied to the input terminal of the inverter 17 and the switch Sw 4 . This turns off the N-channel transistor 16 and turns on the switch Sw 4 . When the predetermined time, during which the output of the latch circuit 4 stabilizes, has elapsed after the power on, the output signal of the timer 21 falls to the L level. Receiving this switching command signal, the transistor 16 turns on and the switch Sw 4 turns off. Thus, the output level of the latch circuit 4 is held unchanged, and the connection point 7 is grounded through the transistor 16. This can prevent the drain 10 of the nonvolatile memory 8 from being supplied with the potential of the supply voltage level, and substantially reduce the probability that the electrons stored in the floating gate 12 are emitted therefrom.
As described above, according to the present embodiment 4, an advantage can be gained of substantially reducing the possibility that the electrons are emitted from the floating gate 12 of the nonvolatile memory 8 in the written state, and hence of preventing the problem 2.
Although the foregoing embodiments employ the timer 21 as the time counting means to transfer the switches after the predetermined time has elapsed, the time counting means of the present invention is not limited to the timer 21. For example, a CR delay circuit as shown in FIG. 7 can be used. In FIG. 7, the reference numeral 1" designates a power supply terminal, 71 designates a resistor, 72 designates a capacitor and 73 designates an inverter.
Next, the operation will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. 8.
In FIG. 8, the symbol A designates a voltage waveform at the connection point of the power supply terminal 1" and resistor 71; B designates a voltage waveform at the connection point of the resistor 71 and capacitor 72; and C designates a voltage waveform of the output terminal of the inverter 73.
When the redundant circuit is turned on and the voltage waveform A rises, the capacitor 72 is gradually charged at the time constant determined by the resistance of the resistor 71 and the capacitance of the capacitor 72, and thus the voltage waveform B gradually rises. Although the output signal of the inverter 73 assumes the H level at first, it falls to the L level when the voltage of the voltage waveform B reaches the threshold voltage of the inverter 73. Thus, the voltage waveform C can be utilized as the switching command signal by setting the delay time until the rise of the voltage waveform C longer than the stabilization time of the output of the latch circuit 4. Incidentally, in FIG. 8, the horizontal axis is a time axis and the vertical axis is a voltage axis.
Although the foregoing embodiments employ MOS transistors as the switches, a transmission gate 90 as shown in FIG. 9 can also be used as a switch. In FIG. 9, the reference numeral 91 designates an N-channel transistor with its gate 92, source 93 and drain 94; and 95 designates a P-channel transistor with its gate 96, source 93 and drain 94.
Next, the operation will be described.
When turning on the transmission gate 90, an H level signal is applied to the gate 92 of the N-channel transistor 91 and an L level signal is applied to the gate 96 of the P-channel transistor 95, thereby establishing conduction across the sources 93 and drains 94. On the other hand, when turning off the transmission gate 90, the L level signal is applied to the gate 92 of the N-channel transistor 91 and the H level signal is applied to the gate 96 of the P-channel transistor 95, thereby breaking the conduction across the sources 93 and drains 94.
Using the transmission gate 90 as the switches in this way makes it possible to eliminate the variations in the threshold voltage of the MOS transistor during the switching operation. Thus, the transmission gates can reduce the loss of the supply voltage, and are preferably applied to a low-voltage drive. | The present invention includes a redundant circuit for addressing redundant memory cells. The redundant circuit solves a problem of a conventional redundant circuit caused by injection of electrons into and leakage of electrons from a floating gate of a non-volatile memory cells provided for respective bits of the addressing circuit of the redundant circuit. The redundant circuit has a timer that counts an elapsed time from power-on of the redundant circuit. The timer produces a timing signal when a fixed duration time period has elapsed. A breaker breaks the application of a supply voltage to the gate of a non-volatile memory cell in response to the timing signal. | 6 |
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/316,208, filed Feb. 2, 1989 now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a selective call radio receiver, and in particular to an apparatus for performing a serial comparison of two binary words. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for performing the serial comparison of successive data words received by a selective call radio receiver (pager) with a stored reference word (address). Still more particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for performing the serial comparison of a data word or the inverse thereof with a stored reference word.
A personal paging device typically comprises a binary digital FM receiver consisting of a radio frequency (RF) section and a decoder section. A page is received via an RF carrier that is frequency modulated by a coded binary sequence. The circuits in the RF section perform the RF/IF conversions, frequency demodulations, and the logic-level decision functions to recover the audio output signal that represents the coded binary data. A control section processes the coded data using digital techniques to control the audible and/or visual alerts.
Many types and formats of signal coding may be utilized in present day paging systems. One known type is the Golay Sequential Code (GSC). GSC is a selective call paging protocol, a full description of which may be found in a paper entitled "Selective Signalling for Portable Applications" by Leonard E. Nelson, 28 IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, Denver, Colo., Mar. 22-24, 1978. The GSC is a synchronous paging format that allows pagers to be transmitted individually or in batches, and accommodates tone-only, tone-and-data, and tone-and-voice paging. It also provides improved battery-saving capability and an increased code capacity. A positive logic convention is used.
The GSC utilizes a single-call address format which consists of a preamble, a start code, and an address code, and an activation code for voice paging. Individual receivers within the system are divided into groups by means of a preamble. The start code marks the end of the preamble and supplies timing information for batch mode decoding. The address code uniquely identifies each receiver, and the activation code controls the audio circuits for voice paging.
A data message consists of an address followed by one or more data blocks. These data messages may be transmitted individually in the single-call mode, or intermixed with address-only pages in the batch mode of transmission.
The address information is transmitted as two Golay address words (W1 and W2) each comprised of 23 bits. The W1 code set comprises 50 words and their complements while the W2 code set consists of approximately 2,000 words and their complements. Thus, the unique W1/W2 combinations selected from the two code sets, provide for 100,000 GSC codes.
A GSC code is a unique combination of a first GSC binary word (W1) and a second GSC binary word (W2) that may be assigned to a specific pager, and each GSC code is capable of providing four different functional addresses (W1W2, W1 W2 , W1 W2, and W1 W2 . Each functional address defines how the addressed pager responds. Some available functions are tone only page, tone only page with priority, voice page, alphanumeric data page, etc. Thus, it is necessary that the pager be capable of decoding two binary words and/or their inverse words or complements. As is well known, inverse binary words are created by substituting binary ones for binary zeroes and binary zeroes for binary ones within the binary stream.
The pager decoder must compare incoming binary addresses with the GSC address code assigned to and stored within the pager. Many techniques for comparing binary words are known, the simplest involving storing each word in a register each comprised of a series of storage elements and comparing the contents of the storage elements in parallel to determine if a match exists. This process is quick but requires dedicated circuitry for each bit to be compared. In the case of a GSC code, twenty-three bits are transmitted to the pager, and the pager samples each bit four times resulting in a 92 bit data stream. Obviously, a parallel comparison of a 92 bit address word with an internally stored word would require very large registers.
Alternatively, it is known to compare binary data words serially (bit by bit). If a perfect match were required, the comparison process could be terminated as soon as a mismatched between corresponding bits in each word was detected. In the case of Golay, twelve errors may be found in the 92 bit data stream and still result in a match. Unfortunately, it is not known whether the received word is in its true or complement form. Therefore, a detection of greater than twelve errors does not necessarily mean a mismatch. It may mean that the inverse word (W1/ or W2/ ) is being received.
In order to provide for the decoding of the word in either its true or complement form, it is known to serially compare each bit of the 92 bit word and if either less than thirteen errors or more than 79 errors are detected, a match is declared. That is, if less than thirteen errors are detected it is presumed that the correct word W1 or W2 in its true form has been received. If, alternatively, more than 79 errors has been detected, it is assumed that the correct word in its inverse form (W1 or W2 ) has been received. Unfortunately, this approach requires that all of the bits in the 92 bit data stream be compared. This takes a great deal of time and requires consumption of a significant amount of power which, in the case of a battery operated pager, is disadvantageous.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for performing a serial comparison between two binary words.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for performing the serial comparison of two data words which utilizes less circuitry and consumes less power.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for performing the serial comparison of successive data words received by a selective call radio receiver (pager) with a stored reference word (address).
It is another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for performing a serial comparison of a data word or the complement thereof with a stored reference word.
According to a broad aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for comparing first and second binary words each including a plurality of bits occupying specific bit positions, each bit capable of assuming first and second states. First means are provided for serially comparing the bits of the first and second binary words occupying corresponding bit positions and including means for generating a first output signal for each match detected and a second output signal for each mismatch detected. Counting means provides first and second counts of the first and second output signals being detected, the counts identifying the relative correlation between the second binary word and the first and second states of the first binary word. An error count generating means generates a first error count signal when the first count exceeds a first predetermined number, and a second error count signal when the second count exceeds a second predetermined number. In response to the coincidence of the first and second error count signals being generated, further comparison of the first and second binary words by the first means is disabled.
The above objects, features and the advantages of the present invention would be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a selective call paging receiver; and
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the inventive serial comparison apparatus.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a selective call radio receiver apparatus (i.e. a pager). The system comprises receiver 10 equipped with antenna 12, a bit synchronization circuit 14, a synchronization codeword detector 16, a clock and timing generator 18, a decoding controller 20, an alert and output signal generator 22, and an address codeword detector 23.
A modulated signal is received at receiver 10 by means of antenna 12. The operative receiver 10 is applied to a bit synchronization circuit 14 whose function it is to synchronize the bit decision circuit elements therein with the received signal bit stream. When the apparatus is first turned on, it will attempt to achieve bit synchronization. If bit synchronization is established, bit synchronization circuit 14 will activate synchronization codeword detector 16 which searches for a synchronization codeword.
Synchronization codeword detector 16 functions as a bit-by-bit correlator, and if a received bit sequence differs from the synchronization codeword sequence in less than a predetermined number of bit positions, the synchronization codeword detector informs decoding controller 20 that a synchronization codeword has been detected. Decoding controller 20 then switches the reference codeword sequence to the address sequence of the pager, and address codeword detector 23 then searches for address codewords. Address codeword detector 23 is capable of detecting as many as four different functions associated with one address word.
When address function is detected, one or more alert signals are generated by alert and output signal generator 22. A different alert pattern may be generated for each of the four functions associated with a single address. The alerts may be visual, audible, and/or tactile (vibratory).
Clock and timing generator 18 may include a crystal controlled clock oscillator and a timing chain driven by the oscillator. Generator 18 provides all the timing signals required for the operation of the bit synchronization circuit 14, synchronization codeword detector 16, address codeword detector 23, alert and output signal generator 22, and decoder control 20. Timing signals into alert and output signal generator 22 determine the alert signal frequencies and durations.
Finally, decoding controller 20 controls the overall operation. Decoding controller 20 may be comprised of specific circuits or may in fact consist of a host microcomputer such as an MC146805H2 made commercially available by Motorola, Inc.
For a more detailed description of the structure and operation of a selective call radio paging receiver of the type shown in FIG. 1, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,961 issued May 21, 1985 and entitled "Universal Paging Device With Power Conservation"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,583 issued Mar. 10, 1987 and entitled "Radio Paging Device With Improved Test Modes"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,816 issued Jul. 5, 1988 and entitled "Battery Saving Methods for Selective Radio Paging Receiver", the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the inventive serial comparison apparatus which may be used to compare the incoming address with both the true and complement versions of an address assigned to the specific pager and stored therein. The address assigned to the pager comprises a plurality of bits each occupying a specific bit position and may be stored in register 24. The incoming binary address word also comprising a plurality of bits each occupying a specific bit position, is stored in register 26. The outputs of registers 24 and 26 are applied to inputs or mulitplexers 28 and 30 respectively.
As long as the output of NAND gate 32 is high, AND gate 34, having a first input coupled to the output of NAND gate 32 and a second input coupled to a source of clock signals (CLK), will pass the clock signals to multiplexers 28 and 30. The clock pulses will enable multiplexers 28 and 30 to serially apply corresponding bits of the address words stored in register 24 and the incoming address words stored in register 26 to first and second inputs of exclusive OR logic 36. 5 If the bits applied to the inputs of exclusive OR logic 36 from multiplexers 28 and 30 are the same, exclusive OR logic 36 will generate a low or logical "0" at its output. If, on the other hand, the bits applied to exclusive OR logic 36 are opposite (i.e. a logical "0" and a logical "1"), the output of exclusive OR logic 36 will go high indicating an error. Stated differently, when the bits occupying corresponding bit positions in registers 24 and 26 differ, and are applied to the inputs of exclusive or logic 36, a logical high error signal will be produced. The output of exclusive OR logic 36 is applied to the input of error counter 38 and, after inversion in inverter 40, to the input of match counter 42. Thus, if corresponding bits differ, a logical one is generated which is counted in error counter 38. Since this high signal will be inverted by inverter 40, match counter 42 is not incremented. If, on the other hand, the bits being compared are the same, a logical "0" will appear at the output of exclusive OR logic 6 which causes a logical "1" to appear at the output of inverter 40. In this case, match counter 42 would be incremented.
A third register 44 stores a binary representation of a number (E) of errors which will be tolerated in the received address word. The binary representation of E is applied to first sets of inputs of comparators 46 and 48. The contents of binary error counter 38 is applied to a second set of inputs of comparator 46, and the contents of binary match counter 42 is applied to a second set of inputs of comparator 48.
As stated previously, the received address word may be the true version of the address word stored in register 24 or may in fact be its complement. If it were determined early in the comparison phase that the received address word is neither the true nor complement version of the stored address word, the comparison process could be terminated thus consuming less power. This is accomplished as follows. When the contents (C1) of error counter 38 exceeds the contents of register 44 (i.e. C1=E+1) as determined by comparator 46, a flip-flop 50 is set thus generating a signal F1. This signal indicates that the received address word contains too many errors to be the true version of the stored address word.
When the contents (C2) of binary match counter 42 exceeds the contents of register 44 (C2=E+1), comparator 48 would generate a signal which sets flip-flop 52 causing a signal F2 to be generated. Flip flops 50 and 52 are reset at the beginning of each comparison cycle.
Referring now to NAND gate 32, signals F1 and F2 generated by flip-flop 50 and 52 respectively are applied to first and second inputs of gate 32. As long as both F1 and F2 are not high, the output of gate 32 will be high thus enabling AND gate 34. If, however, both F1 and F2 are high, gate 32 will generate a logical "0" thus disabling AND gate 34 and preventing clock pulses (CLK) from passing therethrough. In this case, multiplexers 28 and 30 will be disabled and the comparison process halts.
In summary, if, after comparing the address word with the stored word, flip-flop 50 is set (F1 high) and flip-flop 52 is reset (F2 low) it may be concluded that the received address word is the inverse of the address word stored in register 34. If, on the other hand, F2 is high and F1 is low at the end of the comparison process, it may be concluded that the received address word matches the address stored in register 24. If both F1 and F2 become high, the received address word is neither the true nor the complement version of the address word stored in register 24, and as soon as both Fl and F2 become high, the comparison process may be discontinued.
The above description is given by way of example only. Changes in form and details may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, while a number of errors and matches are shown as being compared to the same error threshold (E), it is certainly possible to use different error thresholds for the true and complement versions of the input address word. | An apparatus for determining if a received binary word corresponds to the true or complement version of a stored binary word includes means for serially multiplexing the bits of each binary word to the inputs of an exclusive OR gate. The exclusive-OR gate generates a logical high signal each time a mismatch occurs. These signals are applied directly to an error counter and, after inversion, to a match counter. The contents of the error counter and match counter are compared to a stored threshold number. A first signal is generated if the contents of the error counter exceeds the threshold. A second signal is generated if the contents of the match counter exceeds the threshold. Upon the occurrence of both signals, the serial comparison process is terminated. | 6 |
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention relates generally to optical components including those used in optical communication networks.
[0002] In optical communication networks, a waveguide core may extend across a semiconductor substrate. The core may be covered by an upper cladding and may be positioned over a lower cladding. The core may define an optical signal path. The cladding may have a lower refractive index than the core.
[0003] In some cases the optical characteristics of the core may be thermally modified. For example, thermo-optic devices may be operated through the application of heat. The refractive index of an optical device may be changed by heating. Thermo-optic switches may be used in Mach-Zehnder interferometers and directional couplers, as two examples.
[0004] Generally, the more heat that is dissipated by the thermo-optic device, the more the power requirements of the overall component. It is desirable to reduce the heat transfer to only that needed to achieve the thermo-optic effect.
[0005] Thus, there is a need for ways to reduce the amount of heat loss in thermo-optic devices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] [0006]FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention at an early stage of manufacture;
[0007] [0007]FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention at a subsequent stage of manufacture;
[0008] [0008]FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention at a subsequent stage of manufacture;
[0009] [0009]FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention at a subsequent stage of manufacture;
[0010] [0010]FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention at a subsequent stage of manufacture; and
[0011] [0011]FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention at a subsequent stage of manufacture.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Referring to FIG. 1, a waveguide core 12 may be defined on a lower cladding 11 over a semiconductor substrate 10 . In one embodiment, the core 12 may be part of a planar lightwave circuit. The core 12 and lower cladding 11 may, in turn, be covered by an upper cladding 14 as shown in FIG. 2.
[0013] Referring to FIG. 3, an electric resistance heater 16 may be defined over the upper cladding 14 atop the core 12 . The heater 16 may be a more resistive material coupled to a source of power by a less resistive material. The electrical resistance heater 16 is selectively operable to change the optical properties of the core 12 in the vicinity of the heater 16 . For example, in one embodiment, a thermo-optic switch may be formed.
[0014] Referring to FIG. 4, a pair of trenches 18 may be formed on either side of the heater 16 and core 12 . The trenches 18 may be spaced from the core 12 to leave protective upper cladding 14 around the core 12 , in one embodiment. The trenches 18 may extend through the upper cladding 14 and the lower cladding 11 down to the semiconductor substrate 10 in one embodiment of the present invention. A thermo-optic device 26 is defined between the trenches 18 , in one embodiment.
[0015] Using the thermo-optic device 26 as a mask, an isotropic etch may be implemented into the substrate 10 through the trenches 18 to form the undercut regions 20 , in one embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 5. The etchant is more selective of the substrate 10 material and is less selective of the cladding material 11 and 14 . Because of the isotropic nature of the etching, the etching extends under the lower cladding 11 on opposed sides of each trench 18 . By the term isotropic, it is intended to refer to an etchant that etches outwardly under a mask that defines an opening for the etchant to etch an underlying material.
[0016] The resulting regions 20 extend under the structure that includes the core 12 and the heater 16 . One result of this under-etching is to reduce the amount of substrate 10 material underneath the core 12 and the heater 16 .
[0017] Referring to FIG. 6, the trenches 18 may guide the anisotropic etching from the bottoms of the regions 20 . The etchant is more selective of the substrate 10 than of the cladding 11 or 14 . As a result, an anisotropically etched trench 22 extends below the regions 20 formed by isotropic etching. A substantial portion of the substrate 10 material underneath the core 12 and the heater 16 is removed, leaving a relatively thin pillar 24 of substrate 10 .
[0018] The inventors of the present invention have determined that a substantial portion of the heat loss from heater 16 occurs through the semiconductor substrate 10 . By reducing the amount of available substrate 10 underneath the heater 16 , this heat loss may be reduced. The heat loss may increase the power needs of the device and dispersed heat may adversely affect the optical properties of surrounding components.
[0019] In some embodiments, the regions 20 and the trenches 22 may be filled with a thermally isolating material. Also, in some embodiments, the trenches 18 may also be filled or covered with a thermally isolating material.
[0020] While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention. | A thermo-optic device may be formed with trenches that undercut the substrate beneath the thermo-optic device. Through the removal of the underlying substrate, the heat dissipation of the thermo-optic device may be reduced. This may reduce the thermal budget of the device, reducing the power requirements for operating the device in some embodiments. | 6 |
This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 156,145, filed on Feb. 16, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,446.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to implantable electrical leads, and in particular to electrical stimulation leads.
In the early days of pacing, a cardiac pacing lead was viewed simply as a wire connecting the pacemaker to the heart. However, those skilled in the art have come to appreciate that a cardiac pacing lead as implanted is part of a complicated electrical, mechanical and chemical system.
In an effort to improve performance, manufacturers of pacing leads have selected specific commercially available alloys which have particularly advantageous mechanical and electrical properties when used in pacing leads. These include stainless steels, Elgiloy® alloy, MP35N alloy, and DBS/MP. DBS is a drawn-brazed-strand, having a silver core surrounded by strands of stainless steel or of MP35N alloy. All of these conductors, when coiled, display appropriate mechanical and electrical characteristics for use in electrical stimulation leads.
Although most early pacing leads were fabricated using silicone rubber to insulate the conductors, manufacturers have become aware of the superior mechanical properties of commercially available polyether urethanes. These include Pellethane 80A and Pellethane 55D polyurethanes manufactured by Dow Chemical Company. These polyurethanes are less thrombogenic than silicone rubber and higher in tensile strength. In addition, they slide easily against one another when moistened with body fluids. This property facilitates the use of two leads in a single vein, which was difficult with the older silicone rubber bodied leads. Unfortunately, recent experience has suggested that cobalt, chromium and molybdenum, commonly used in lead conductors, may accelerate oxidative degradation of polyurethanes used in pacing leads. MP35N, Elgiloy and DBS/MP all include cobalt, molybdenum and chromium as significant constituents. To a lesser degree, it appears that stainless steels may also accelerate polyurethane degradation.
An additional set of improvements in implantable electrical leads has been the trend toward fabrication of multiconductor coils, rather than separate, mutually insulated coils. Early leads, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,548 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,329 show separate conductor coils in a side by side or coaxial configuration, insulated from one another by sheaths covering the entirety of the coils. More recently, multipolar coiled conductors having individually insulated coil wires have been pursued, as disclosed in Canadian Pat. No. 1,146,228, for a Multipolar Pacing Conductor, issued May 10, 1983 to Upton. This patent discloses a single, multiconductor DBS coil having individually insulated wires, appropriate for use in conjunction with a polyurethane outer insulation and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed toward an optimal construction for a pacing lead or other medical electrical lead of the type having a conductor wire including a transition metal which accelerates polyurethane degradation and having polyetherurethane insulative sheathing. Cobalt, chromium, and molybdenum are three examples of such transition metals. Other transition metals including iron are also believed to accelerate polyurethane degradation. By coating the conductor wire with an inert material such as platinum, titanium, niobium or tantalum, which does not interact with polyurethane, a chemically stable lead configuration is produced. By providing an extremely thin coating of the inert metal, the desirable mechanical characteristics of the basic materials used in lead conductor wires are retained. Preferably, the coating is limited to a coating no more than 200 microns in thickness. The coating may also be provided by a sputtering technique which can produce an extremely thin coating, but still functional, of less than 1000 angstroms in thickness. This thinner coating is advantageous because it does not alter the mechanical characteristics of the wire.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a bipolar pacing lead according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the lead of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view through one of the conductor wires used in a lead according to FIG. 1
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a wire transport used in sputtering conductor wires.
FIG. 5 is a side, cutaway view of an apparatus for sputtering conductor wires.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a cardiac pacing lead according to the present invention. The pacing lead 10 includes a connector assembly at its proximal end, including a first conductive surface 12, a second conductive surface 14, and two insulative segments 16 and 18. Insulative segments 16 and 18 are each provided with a plurality of sealing rings 20. Extending from the connector assembly is an elongated lead body, including an outer insulative sheath 22, which is preferably fabricated of polyurethane. Appropriate polyurethanes include Pellethane 80A and Pellethane 55D, both products of Dow Chemical Co. Within insulative sheath 22 is located a quadrifilar, multiconductor coil. Two of the conductors within the coil are coupled to conductive surface 12. The other two are coupled to conductive surface 14. Although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 employs a bipolar, quadrifilar coil, the conductor wires described herein may also be used advantageously in unipolar leads and in leads employing coils having three or more mutually insulated conductors.
At the distal end of the lead are located a ring electrode 24, coupled to two of the conductors, and a tip electrode 26, coupled to the other two of the four conductors of the quadrifilar coil. Extending between ring electrode 24 and tip electrode 26 is an additional polyurethane sheath 28. Fixation of the electrode within the heart is assisted by a plurality of flexible tines 30, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,501, issued to Citron et al. Tines 30 may be fabricated of polyurethane or silicone rubber.
FIG. 2 shows a cross section through the lead of FIG. 1, intermediate the connector assembly and the ring electrode 24. In this view, the quadrifilar coil within sheath 22 is visible. This coil consists of four individual conductors 32A, B, C and D. The multifilar coil is provided with an internal lumen 26, which allows for the passage of a stylet. A Teflon® plastic liner 27 within lumen 26 may be provided to protect conductors 32A, B, C and D from nicks that might otherwise occur due to passage of the stylet.
FIG. 3 shows a cross section of one of the individual conductors of the coil, 32A. Conductor 32A consists essentially of a core 28 fabricated of an alloy such as MP35N or Elgiloy® alloy or fabricated of DBS. The outer surface of conductor 32A is coated with a thin coating of an insulative, flexible polymer 38. Polymer coating 38 is preferably Tefzel® fluorocarbon coating manufactured by Dupont. Coating 38 is preferably applied using an extrusion process. Other appropriate insulative coatings, including Teflon®, plastic, polyurethanes and polyamids, may also be used.
Intermediate coating 38 and core 36 is a thin layer 34 of an inert body compatible metal, free of cobalt, molybdenum and other materials which negatively interact with polyether urethanes. Preferably, this layer consists of platinum, niobium, tantalum, titanium or alloys thereof, such as a platinum/niobium alloy. Other biocompatible metals, which are inert when in body fluids and in contact with polyurethanes may also be appropriate substitutes. An appropriate process for providing coating 34 is a sputtering process as set forth below. This process preferably is employed to provide a coating of between 300-500 Å.
FIG. 4 illustrates a top plan view of a wire transport apparatus useful for sputter coating conductor wire according to the present invention. Wire 102 is initially loaded onto payoff reel 110. Payoff reel 110 is provided with a drag 114 which maintains wire tension. The wire 102 then passes to idler pulley 116, through wire guide 120 and then onto grooved spool 124. There is also provided a second grooved spool ÅThe wire 102 is wound between the grooved spools 124 and 128 so that it makes a plurality of passes across the process area 130. By providing for multiple passes through the process area, the wire transport mechanism allows for much more rapid processing of the wire than would a single pass system.
The wire 102 comes off of grooved spool 128 and passes through wire guide 138 to the idler pulley 142 and then to level winder 146. The level winder 146 is operated by means of cylindrical cam 147. The wire is taken up by the take-up spool 148 which is motor driven. In the embodiment illustrated, the take-up spool 148 is conductive, but insulated from the rest of the wire transport, as is wire 102. A negative bias may be applied to take-up spool 148 by means of contact 154.
The transport of FIG. 4 is intended for use with a sputtering cathode mounted horizontally above the process area 130. However, the arrangement of the transport mechanism may vary from that shown. For example, the grooved spools 124 and 128 may be mounted vertically and the magnetron cathode and anode also mounted vertically. This alternative arrangement allows for the use of two cathodes, one on either side of the grooved spools. In addition, by duplicating the parts of the wire transport, sputtering of two or more wires simultaneously may be accomplished. Regardless of the specific configuration chosen, it is important that the wire's path does not include any bends or exposure to sharp edges which would damage the wire or alter its mechanical properties. It is desirable to employ a tension monitor along the wire path in order to detect breaks or other malfunctions of the wire transport system. In the device of FIG. 4, the tension monitor 150 is coupled to idler pulley 142.
FIG. 4 is intended only as one example of a usable wire transport system. Other systems, such as that illustrated in PCT Patent Application PCT/GB84/00246, International Publication No. W085/00462, might also be utilized.
FIG. 5 is a side, cutaway view of the assembled apparatus for sputtering conductor wire. The illustrated device employs a magnetron sputtering process, in which plasma of an inert gas, such as argon, is generated by means of an electric field. The apparatus employs a bias sputtering technique in which the wire conductor may be held at a negative potential relative to the vacuum chamber and plasma. A discussion of this type of sputtering as applied to the coating of wires is contained in PCT Patent Application No. PCT/GB84/00246, published Jan. 31, 1985, as International Publication No. W085/00462 for "Wire and Cable", by O'Brien et al. This published application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application also discloses alternative methods of wire coating which may also be advantageously employed in providing an inert metal coating on a conductor according to the present invention. These methods include RF sputtering, evaporative coating, activated evaporation, ion plating, and plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition.
The apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5 is adapted for batch sputtering of wire conductor, and includes a vacuum chamber 100 which contains the complete wire transport mechanism 101. In this view, the criss-cross pattern of wire 102 intermediate the grooved spools 124 and 128 is visible. Shaft 104 which drives take-up reel 148 is also visible. The magnetron cathode 132 and anode 134 are mounted to the removable top 140 of vacuum chamber 100. Cooling lines 150, 152 and power cable 160 are routed to the magnetron cathode 132 via housing 162. In the specific embodiment employed by the inventors, a 4 inch D.C. magnetron cathode, Type C, manufactured by Vac-Tec Systems is used. For best results, the wire 102 should pass within 3 or 4 inches of the cathode 132. The target which comprises the metal to be sputtered is mounted to cathode 132. Vacuum is applied to the chamber by means of vacuum port 156. Argon gas is supplied to the chamber by means of gas port 158.
The thickness of the coating provided by the apparatus of FIG. 5 is dictated by a combination of factors, including distance to target, argon gas pressure, wire speed, number of passes and magnetron power setting. In general, it has been found that a coating rate of approximately 1000 Angstroms per minute provides an adequate coating. However, other coating rates may be used. Preferably, a layer of about 500 AÅ or less is deposited. The apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5 is useful in depositing platinum, tantalum, niobium and titanium, as well as other materials.
The general operation of the device of FIG. 5 to provide a sputtered platinum coating on MP35N alloy or DBS wire of about 0.1 to 0.3 mm in diameter is as follows. After loading the wire onto the wire transport system, the vacuum chamber 100 is evacuated to about 5×10 -7 Torr and the cooling system for the magnetron cathode 132 is activated. After pressure has stabilized, argon gas is admitted via gas port 158, with gas pressure in the chamber regulated to about 2 milliTorr. The magnetron 132 is then activated in its DC mode, and adjusted to a power output of approximately 0.5 kilowatts. After the power level stabilizes, the motor driving take-up reel 148 is activated, and a negative bias may be applied to take-up reel 148. Bias voltages from 0 to negative 100 volts result in satisfactory coatings. Wire transport speed should be adjusted to provide the desired coating thickness. These parameters will of course vary depending upon the number, type, and arrangement of sputtering cathodes employed.
It has been found that proper cleaning of the wire prior to sputtering enhances the deposition and adhesion of the sputtered material. One satisfactory method of cleaning the wire is to sequentially pass the wire through cleaning baths such as trichloroethane, isopropyl alcohol, a mild alkali based detergent solution, de-ionized water, isopropyl alcohol and freon, in that order. The solvents may be contained in ultrasonic cleaners, with the exception of the freon. The wire should stay immersed in each solvent for long enough to assure thorough cleaning. A time of 2-3 minutes has been found to be adequate. Vapor degreasing systems such as disclosed in the above-cited PCT application are also believed appropriate.
When used in leads having multiconductor coils, it is expected that at least some of the wires will be provided with a layer of insulating material in order to provide electrical isolation of the individual conductors in the coil. However, in unipolar leads and other leads not employing multiconductor coils, the coated wire may be used without an insulative layer. In either embodiment, the metal coated wire provides significant advantages. In embodiments not employing an outer insulative layer, niobium, tantalum and titanium are believed especially preferable.
Conductor wires produced according to the present invention are believed particularly advantageous for use in cardiac pacing leads. Testing by the inventors has indicated that pacing leads employing polyurethane insulation and conductor wires coated using the process described above have a substantially increased resistance to oxidative degradation compared to similar leads having uncoated conductor wires. For this testing, the insulative layer was omitted.
As used in pacing leads, conductor wires are typically less than 0.25 mm in diameter, and are wound into extremely small diameter coils, having diameters of 3 mm, or less and typically 2 mm or less. With sputter coated wire, winding of coil sizes appropriate for use in pacing leads causes the sputtered coating to develop small breaches or cracks. However, simply covering a high percentage of the surface area of the conductor provides substantial improvement in resistance to oxidative degradation of the polyurethane sheath. Moreover, the inventors have determined that actual physical contact between the conductor and the polyurethane insulation is a significant factor in the oxidative degradation of the polyurethane insulation. Even in the absence of an insulative outer layer, the typical cracks and breaches in the sputtered coating due to winding are unlikely to produce significant areas of contact between the base metal of the coil and the polyurethane insulation.
The importance of actual physical contact between the conductor base metal and the polyurethane leads to another surprising result. The inventors have determined that a prewound conductor coil, sputtered using the method and apparatus described above, and not employing an outer, insulative layer, still provides a substantial increase in resistance to oxidative degradation of the polyurethane sheath. Although the innermost portions of the coil will not be covered by the sputtered coating, the outer portion of the coil which will directly contact the polyurethane insulation will be coated, and this appears to be sufficient.
Although the specific embodiment disclosed in the present application is a cardiac pacing lead, the teaching of the application and the claims hereof are believed equally applicable to other implantable electrical leads, such as neurostimulation leads or leads employing electrical transducers. In addition, in embodiments employing a single electrode, using either a monofilar coil or a unipolar, multifilar coil, the polymer coating 38 may be dispensed with entirely. | A medical electrical lead having a polyurethane outer sheath and one or more coiled metal conductors. The metal conductors are optimized for use in conjunction with a polyurethane sheath and are provided with a barrier coating of a biocompatible metal. The conductors may additionally be provided with an outer, insulative coating. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
My invention relates generally to devices to help locate missing persons stranded at sea or the like and particularly to devices that can be visually located by means of an elongate brilliantly colored streamer attached to a life jacket or lifesaving vessel, such as a boat or raft.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
During recent years, airline and maritime travel have increased in record numbers, both commercially and privately, as well as in the armed services. A direct consequence of the increased travel over large bodies of water, such as oceans and lakes, has been a proportional increase in the number of maritime accidents which often result in persons stranded on the grand expanse of the water surface. Very few of these people are successfully rescued due to the difficulty in locating their bodies on the open ocean in daylight hours, let alone at night in which most rescue efforts are called off.
Up until now there have been three major features lacking in the "state of the art" emergency locating devices for persons lost at sea: (1) a device which is automatically deployed and sustained for an indefinite time; (2) a device which can be located from great altitudes and distances during both daylight and nighttime hours; and (3) an inexpensive simple device which can be supplied to all overseas traveller/enthusiasts and is not subject to electronic malfunctions.
My invention increases the likelihood of locating individual persons or life boats afloat at sea in an inexpensive, continuous manner, thus making the common traveler, worker, or water enthusiast more relaxed when separated from land.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of my invention is to provide a visual enhancement means or streamer, which when deployed will provide a much larger and more distinct visual target, thus increasing the chances of a successful aerial rescue of a person lost at sea.
Another object of my invention is to provide a continuous uninterrupted visual signal to airborne rescuers, which can be detected during all hours of the day or night.
Still another object of my invention is to provide a visual enhancement means or streamer which can be deployed with relative ease.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide a means for storing the streamer in a compact manner, until such time as when the streamer is deployed.
Another object of my invention is to provide a streamer which is foldable into a small size and is contained in a water-release container which is mounted on a person's life jacket when not in use. A larger version of the streamer can also be mounted to the back (or side) of a lifesaving vessel, such as a raft or boat.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide a streamer that is automatically or manually deployed and sustained for an indefinite period of time upon contact with water and is detectable during both daylight and nighttime hours.
Another object of my invention is to provide a streamer which can be inexpensively produced, providing all commercial, private, and military travelers with an increased chance of surviving in an open ocean, any large water mass, desolate land area, or outer space.
In summary, my invention provides a locator assembly with a streamer which is rolled up and stored in a water-release container on a life jacket or lifesaving vessel, such as a lifeboat or life raft. The streamer is a roll of thin lightweight and buoyant material, that can be colored or dyed with fluorescent, phosphorescent (pigment), or mirror-like reflector material. The streamer is automatically or manually unraveled and outstretched on the surface of the ocean. The brilliantly colored streamer can be visually detected from great altitudes and distances during both daylight and nighttime air searches. My invention is a lifesaving device which provides an inexpensive, fully automatic, non-electronic distress signal which can be detected twenty-four hours a day.
Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my visual locating device or locator assembly, shown attached to a life vest.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of my locator assembly showing the multipurpose storage container in an open position and the rolled-up streamer removed therefrom.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged top view of the locator assembly showing a fastener strap in an open position and the end of the lanyard and lanyard clip secured to the streamer.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the streamer of the locator assembly being deployed on the body of water, with the missing person wearing the stowage container as a hat.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the combination storage container configured as a hat and worn by the missing person.
FIG. 6 is a top aerial view showing a plurality of streamers deployed on the water surface.
FIG. 7(a) is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 in FIG. 4.
FIGS. 7(b), 7(c) and 7(d) are cross-sectional views similar to FIG. 7(a), showing other embodiments of the struts used in the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
My invention relates to enhancing the aerial visibility of a person stranded at sea or on land by effectively marking their position by means of a locator assembly comprising a long, brilliantly colored, high visibility streamer which is attached to a life jacket or life raft. The locator assembly is attached to the life jacket worn by a survivor and deployed on the surface of the water as a brilliantly colored streamer. The streamer is rolled up in a stowage container that converts into a hat with sun-protective, water-catchment, and radar-visual reflective capabilities.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my visual locating device or locator assembly 2 attached to a life jacket 4 worn by a missing person 6. The locator assembly 2 includes a storage container 8 in a rolled position secured to the life jacket 4 by a lanyard clip 10. The container 8 may be configured into a hat which is adapted to catch rain water and made from radar/visual reflective material to aid in locating the missing person. Fastener strips 14 and 16 with VELCRO (trademark) hooks and loops, respectively, permit the locator assembly 2 to be stowed in the rolled-up position within the container 8. A strap 18 with Velcro (trademark) hooks and loops at its ends is disposed around the container 8. The Velcro hooks and loops may be replaced by a water soluble adhesive which will advantageously allow the container 8 to be opened automatically upon submersion in water for an extended period of time in the case when the missing person has a debilitating injury or is unconscious. The strap 18 helps keep the locator assembly 2 stowed in the container 8 and also serves as a chin strap when the container 8 is utilized as a hat.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the locator assembly 2 showing the container 8 in an open position and a rolled-up streamer 20 removed therefrom. The storage container 8 consists of oppositely disposed stowage container ends 22 and sides 24. The container 8 converts to a hat 26 with crown 28 and brim 30, as best shown in FIG. 5. The brim 30 comprises the ends 22 and sides 24. The hat 26 is configured to include a water catchment trough 31 defined by the ends 22, sides 24 and the crown 28. The crown 28 is shown in a folded and stored position in FIG. 2 and 3. The container 8 is advantageously made from a radar and light reflective (mirror-like) material, such as two sheets of thin Mylar plastic with intervening wire mesh, reflective Mylar, etc.
The streamer 20 shown FIG. 2 is in the rolled-up position after being removed from the container 8. A fastener strap 36 with VELCRO (trademark) hooks and loops at its ends 38 and 40 serves to keep the streamer 20 in the rolled-up position prior to deployment and after repeated deployment and retrievals. The fastening means for the strap 36 may be replaced with water-soluble glue to aid in the deployment of the streamer 20. A lanyard or rope 42 includes a loop of rope 43 pivotably attached to a roll-up core 44 and a rope 45 slidably secured to the rope 43. The core 44 acts as a backbone to the streamer 20 in its rolled-up position and permits the streamer 20 to be peeled or rolled out during deployment by turning in a rolling motion. The core 44 may include an axial through-opening through which the rope 43 is threaded to provide the pivotable action between the core 44 and the rope 43. One end of the rope 45 is looped around the rope 43 and the other end to the clip 10. The lanyard clip 10 includes a swivel feature which counteracts or cancels any twisting motion of the lanyard 42 and the streamer 20. The strap 36 remains secured to the lanyard rope 43 after its ends 38 and 40 are unfastened, thus permitting the user to repeatedly stow the streamer 20 into the rolled-up position when deployment is not desired. It should be understood that other means may be used to keep the streamer 20 in the rolled-up position.
The streamer 20 has buoyant support struts 46 that advantageously enhance the horizontal and vertical planar flotation of the streamer 20, prevents the twisting of the streamer sheet 21 and enhances the overall strength of the deployed streamer 20. The struts 46 also advantageously provides rigidity and strength to the streamer sheet 21. The struts 46 effectively makes the streamer sheet 21 to somewhat behave like multiple interconnected sections between adjacent pairs of struts, helping the streamer 20 to dampen and dissipate the wave actions. The struts 46 also advantageously prevents the streamer sheet 21 from maintaining its rolled-up configuration in memory and thereby interfere in the deployment by effectively breaking up the continuous streamer sheet 21 into multiple sections. The buoyant support struts 46 are small diameter tubes secured by adhesive or other conventional means to the streamer sheet 21 at regular intervals substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the streamer sheet 21 such that the struts 46 are parallel to the core 44 when in the rolled-up position. The small diameter of the struts 46 advantageously permit the streamer 20 to be rolled up into a relatively small total diameter.
The hooks and loops in the fastener strips 14 and 16 and the strap 18 enable the storage container 8 to be opened to remove the rolled-up streamer 20 inside. In the case when the lost person is debilitated or unconscious, the hooks and loops associated with the fastener strips 14 and 16 and the straps 18 and 36 may be replaced with a water-soluble adhesive to enable the fasteners to peel off after prolonged exposure to water, permitting the streamer 20 to deploy/unroll automatically with the aid of water/wind currents and the differential drift component of a person versus the streamer material. Upon removal of the streamer 20 from the container 8 and placement of the hat 26 on the person, the streamer 20 is deployed simply by manually rolling out the streamer material as the water/wind currents take it away from the person. The missing person can also swim in the opposite direction during the un-rolling of the streamer 20. The stowage container ends 22 and sides 24 of the convert into the brim 30 of the hat 26 and provides water catchment trough 31 upon removal and deployment of the streamer 20.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged top view of the locator assembly 2 with the fastener strap 18 in the open position. The straps 14 and 16 are shown in the closed position. The strap 36 is not shown for simplicity. The lanyard clip 10 is for advantageously securing to the life jacket, life raft, person, other locators, or any floating object with the lost person. The ends of the lanyard rope 43 are attached to the roll-up core 44 in the center of the streamer 20 and functions by permitting the rolled streamer 20 to roll-out or roll-in freely in a rolling motion. The minimal thickness of the streamer 20 permits large lengths of the streamer to be rolled up into a small diameter. The streamer sheet 21 is advantageously made from a single sheet of high density polyethylene which has been oriented and cross-laminated with a thickness of 3 mil and available from Bainbridge Aquabatten Inc., 252 Revere street, Canton, Mass. 02021. The streamer sheet 21 is dyed or coated with phosphorescent or fluorescent colors on both sides.
The crown 28 of the hat 26 is folded into a cylindrical shape to form part of the container 8. The sides 24 and the crown 28 of the hat 26 may be made from a single sheet material to facilitate folding into a cylindrical shape of the container 8.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the streamer 20 being unrolled by the missing person 6 floating on the water and showing the stowage container 8 being used as the hat 26 by the missing person. The streamer 20 is shown attached to the person's life jacket 4. The crown 28 of the hat 26 is in optimum position to keep the sun off the person's head, reflect radar and sunlight for search vehicles/parties and catch drinking water. The streamer 20 is outstretched to achieve maximum visible surface area. The streamer 20 is composed of a thin planar, nearly non-elastic, buoyant sheet material. Small air-pockets may be impregnated or superimposed on the streamer material to enhance flotation if so desired. The streamer 20 may include, but is not limited to, the following radiation reflective surface colors/materials: a pigmented material (fluorescent), night glowing material (phosphorescent), mirror-like reflective material or any combination of the above or other vision enhancing, eye catching material. The phosphoric material will enable natural and/or artificial light from the normal operation of the respective vessel (aircraft or maritime) to charge the phosphoric particles contained in the night glowing material, producing a signal which will "glow in the dark" in the case of a nighttime accident. If an accident takes place during the day or if the missing person is not found within the first day, the natural radiation emanating from the sun will effectively charge the phosphoric particles in the streamer 20, providing an enhanced nighttime signal for an infinite number of nights (recharged each day). A potential alternative light source for the deployed streamer 20 is the recently developed chemical extract from the "fire fly" insect.
In addition to the coloring of the sheet material, an International Distress Signal indicia 50 may be imprinted on the free-end of the streamer 20 and can be located in additional places along the length of the streamer 20 for additional signalling. The indicia 50 comprises a black square indicia 52 disposed next to a black circle indicia 53. At least one visually enhancing section is required, but additional ones increase the likelihood of visual detection under a variety of environmental conditions. Alternating sections of visually enhancing materials can be arranged vertically as a striped pattern. Many other patterned combinations are possible, including horizontal stripes which may be the most cost efficient to manufacture. In addition, the visually enhanced character of the streamer 20 can be found on both sides of the streamer material to maximize aerial visibility, especially in the possible case where the material may become twisted.
The streamer 20 is maintained in a horizontal planar position on the surface of the water by the intrinsic buoyancy of the streamer material and by the buoyant support struts 46 affixed to the streamer 20 at fixed intervals. The buoyant support struts 46 enhance the horizontal and vertical planar flotation of the streamer 20, prevent the twisting of the streamer material and enhance the overall strength/durability of the deployed streamer 20, especially in rough water conditions. The buoyant support struts 46 are small in diameter to permit the streamer 20 to be rolled up into a relatively small total diameter. In case the streamer 20 becomes twisted or tangled by rough seas or any other unforeseeable processes, the lanyard clip 10 with its fully rotatable swivel about the axis of twisting advantageously permits the streamer 20 to be untwisted, thus keeping the streamer 20 at its maximum signal surface area.
The struts 46 are plastic tubes with their ends sealed with clear Silicone adhesive or other conventional means for greater flotation, as best shown in FIG. 7(a). The struts 46 are available as Fisher Brand Disposable Clear Polystyrene Serological Pipets, Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219.
The struts 46 can have other cross-sectional shapes, such as cylindrical 51, square 53, flat 55, etc. and made from other lightweight materials such as styrofoam, etc., floatable on water, as best shown in FIGS. 7(b), 7(c) and 7(d).
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the container 8 configured into the hat 26 and worn by the missing persons floating in the water. The fastener strap 18 secures the hat 26 to the person's head during high wind and wave episodes. The hat 26 may be made from Mylar plastic material that includes a metallic wire mesh 52 that is radar-reflective. The hat may also be light reflective (mirror-like) to reflect the sun to keep person's head cool and to signal air search vehicles. The person may also hold the hat 26 and manually reflect the sunlight into the eyes of search party/vehicle as a mirror-reflector. The hat 26 is also effective in advantageously protecting the person from the cold by keeping some of the person's body heat from escaping through the head. The wide brim 30 with the sides 24 and ends 22 provide the water catchment trough 31 for collecting water during rain and air moisture episodes.
FIG. 6 is a top aerial view showing the streamers 20 deployed on two people 6 and on a life raft 54. The International Distress Signal indicia 50 are clearly visible on the ends of the streamers 20. The roll-up cores 44 and the lanyards 42 are secured to the life jackets of the persons 6 and the life raft 54. The streamer 20 secured to the life raft 54 is a larger version of the invention.
It should be understood that the streamer 20 described herein is not limited to any particular size or dimensions. The greater the length and width of the streamer 20, the greater the enhancement in airborne visibility. In addition, larger versions of the streamers can be used for life rafts, boats, aircraft, spaceships, satellites and any other potentially lost object. It is to be understood that my invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the terminology and phraseology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not limitation.
While this invention has been described as having preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modification, uses and/or adaptations following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essential features set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims. | A signalling device for indicating, by day or night, the position of a person lost at sea (on land or in space) comprises an elongate brilliantly colored streamer made up of flat, flexible, inherently buoyant material with built-in support struts to keep the material at maximum outstretched surface area. The streamer can be coated with any one or more of the following in any combination: brilliant color, phosphorescent pigment, reflective material, or International Distress Signal indicia. The device may be attached to a life jacket and rolls up into a water-release container secured to the life jacket. Upon deployment, the container converts into a sun-protective, radar-visual reflective, and water catchment hat. The streamer is extended manually or automatically and can remain in an outstretched manner indefinitely. | 1 |
[0001] This Application is a Section 371 National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/KR2010/009236, filed Dec. 23, 2010 and published, not in English, as WO2011/078586 on Jun. 30, 2011.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure is contrived to solve the problems in the related art and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator that minimize energy loss, ensures operability of a boom, and restores recoverable energy of the boom while excavating that is the main use of the excavator, even with a use of an electric motor, and a method of controlling the system.
[0003] The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
SUMMARY
[0004] A system for driving a boom in a hybrid excavator according to the present disclosure includes: an electric motor that operates as a motor or an electricity generator; a capacitor that stores electricity generated by the electric motor; a hydraulic pump motor that is driven by the electric motor and supplies working fluid to a boom; a boom control valve that constitutes a closed circuit selectively connecting/disconnecting a discharge line and an intake line of the hydraulic pump motor to/from a head or a rod of the boom; a main pump that is driven by a driving source disposed separately from the electric motor and supplies the working fluid to a bucket, a traveling motor, or an arm; a boom-assistant valve that allows the working fluid discharged from the main pump and the hydraulic pump motor to meet each other by connecting the discharge line of the main pump to the discharge line of the hydraulic pump motor; and a control unit that controls the electric motor, the hydraulic pump motor, and the boom control valve.
[0005] The first control valve is selectively switched when the boom is lifted, and is disconnected when the boom is descended, and the second control valve is disconnected when the boom is lifted, and is selectively switched when the boom is descended.
[0006] Further, the first control valve may be connected and allow the flow rate flowing into the hydraulic pump motor from the boom cylinder to flow into the tank, when the flow rate flowing into the hydraulic pump motor from the boom cylinder exceeds the available capacity of the hydraulic pump motor or the capacity of the electric motor when the boom is descended.
[0007] A method of controlling a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to the present disclosure includes: detecting the amount of operation of a boom joystick; determining lifting or descending of a boom due to operation of the boom joystick; opening a first control valve when the boom is lifted; comparing the driving power of the boom according to the amount of operation of the boom joystick with the maximum suppliable power of an electric motor when the boom is lifted and comparing the consumed flow rate of a boom cylinder with the maximum flow rate of a hydraulic pump motor when the driving power of the boom is smaller than the maximum suppliable power of the electric motor; disconnecting the boom-assistant valve, when the consumed flow rate of the boom cylinder is smaller than the maximum flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor; connecting the boom-assistant valve, when the driving power of the boom is larger than the maximum suppliable power of the electric motor; opening the second control valve when the boom is descended, comparing the recovery flow rate of the boom cylinder with the available flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor, when the recovery power of the boom is larger the maximum recoverable power of the electric motor by comparing the recovery power of the boom with the maximum recoverable power of the electric motor; disconnecting the first control valve, when the recovery flow rate of the boom cylinder is smaller than the available flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor; connecting the first control valve, when the recovery flow rate of the boom cylinder is larger than the available flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor; and connecting the first control valve, when the recovery power of the boom is larger than the maximum recoverable power of the electric motor.
[0008] According to the system for driving a boom in a hybrid excavator and a control method thereof of the present disclosure, it is possible to minimize energy loss, ensure operational performance of a boom and recover recoverable energy of the boom, while excavating that is the main use of the excavator, even with a use of an electric motor.
[0009] That is, it is possible to improve fuel efficiency by removing a loss generated in a hydraulic system in a low-flow rate fine operation by driving the boom, using the electric motor and the boom hydraulic pump motor when the boom is lifted.
[0010] Further, the flow rate required for the initial fine operation section when the boom operates alone is supplied from the electric motor and the boom hydraulic pump motor, and the part exceeding the part corresponding to the maximum suppliable flow rate of the boom and power can be supplied by using the existing hydraulic system with the main pump.
[0011] Further, it is possible to ensure operation performance of the boom equivalent to the existing excavator while using small-capacity electric motor and pump motor, and recover the energy of the boom, and when high power and a large flow rate are suddenly required, it is possible to ensure the performance equivalent to the existing excavator by assisting power and flow rate by using the existing hydraulic system.
[0012] Further, when there is suddenly large recovery energy, the part exceeding the capacity is bypassed, and it is possible to supply most energy required to drive the boom from only the capacities of the hydraulic pump and the electric motor of about the maximum suppliable flow rate of the boom and the maximum power of the engine, and it is possible to recover most of the recoverable energy of the boom.
[0013] Further, it is possible to remove a loss in the existing hydraulic system and simplify the structure of the main control valve, by separating the boom from the existing hydraulic system.
[0014] Further, it is possible to improve operational performance of the arm and the bucket by making two main pumps in charge of the arm and the bucket.
[0015] This summary and the abstract are provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. The summary and the abstract are not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor are they intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a lifting state of the boom of FIG. 1 .
[0018] FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a descending state of the boom of FIG. 1 .
[0019] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0000]
100: Boom
105: Boom cylinder
106: Head
107: Rod
110: Electric motor
115: Capacitor
116: Electricity storage
120: Hydraulic pump motor
121: Discharge line
122: Intake line
125: Boom control valve
126: Normal-directional connecting portion
127: Cross-connecting portion
128: Disconnecting portion
129: Check valve
140: Main pump
141: Engine
144: Boom-assistant valve
145: Boom-assistant line
151: First control valve
152: Second control valve
160: Control unit
170: Tilting angle control device
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Hereinafter, preferable embodiments of a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to the present disclosure and a method of controlling the system will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The thicknesses of lines or sizes of components illustrated in the drawings may be exaggerated for the clarity and convenience of the following description. Further, the terminologies described below are terminologies determined in consideration of the functions in the present disclosure and may be construed in different ways by the intention of users and operators or a custom.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a lifting state of the boom of FIG. 1 , FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a descending state of the boom of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0022] Referring to FIG. 1 , a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an electric motor 110 that is operated as a motor or an electricity generator, a capacitor 115 that stores electricity generated by the electric motor 110 , a hydraulic pump motor 120 that is driven by the electric motor 110 and supplies working fluid to a boom 110 , and a boom control valve 125 that selectively connects/disconnects a discharge line 121 and an intake line 122 of the hydraulic pump motor 120 to/from a head 106 or a rod 107 of the boom 100 . The capacitor of the present exemplary embodiment can be supplied with most power by the operation of a motor/electricity generator (not shown) connected to an engine.
[0023] The boom control valve 125 is connected to a main pump 140 by a boom-assistant line 145 through which working fluid is supplied. Two main pumps 140 are provided and supply the working fluid to a bucket, a traveling motor, or an arm by being driven by an engine 141 .
[0024] The hydraulic pump motor 120 is connected with the discharge line 121 through which the working fluid is discharged and the intake line 122 through which the working fluid flows inside. The discharge line 121 and the intake line 122 are connected to the head 106 or the rod 107 of a boom cylinder 105 by the boom control valve 125 . That is, the hydraulic circuit contact point of the discharge line 121 and the intake line 122 is connected or disconnected by the boom control valve 125 .
[0025] The boom control valve 125 has a normal-directional connecting portion 126 for lifting the boom 100 by connecting the discharge line 121 with the intake line 122 in a normal direction, a cross-connecting portion 127 that connects the discharge line 121 with the intake line 122 in the opposite direction, and a disconnecting portion 128 that cuts the connection between the discharge line 121 and the intake line 122 . The boom control valve 125 is operated by an electronic proportional control valve or a separate pilot hydraulic line and changes the connection state between the discharge line 121 and the intake line 122 .
[0026] A check valve 129 is disposed in the discharge line 121 of the hydraulic pump motor 120 to prevent a backward flow and the boom-assistant line 145 is connected close to the check valve 129 from the hydraulic pump motor 120 . A first control valve 151 for connection with a tank is connected between the hydraulic pump motor 120 and the discharge line 121 of the boom control line 125 . A second control valve 152 for connection with the tank is connected between the connection portion of the boom-assistant line 145 and the hydraulic pump motor 120 . The operations of the electric motor 110 , the hydraulic pump motor 120 , the boom control valve 125 , the first control valve 151 , and the second control valve 152 are controlled by a control unit 160 .
[0027] Referring to FIG. 2 , when a signal for lifting the boom 100 is input to the control unit 160 from a boom joystick 161 , the electric motor 110 is operated as a motor by the control unit 160 and drives the hydraulic pump motor 120 as a pump. Further, the outlet of the hydraulic pump motor 120 is connected to the head 106 of the boom 100 through the discharge line 121 and the rod 107 of the boom 100 is connected to the inlet of the hydraulic pump motor 120 through the intake line 122 of the hydraulic pump motor 120 , by switching the boom control valve 125 . In this process, the boom 100 starts to be lifted by the flow rate discharged from the hydraulic pump motor 120 and the speed of the boom 100 is controlled by control of the revolution speed of the electric motor 110 and tilting angle control performed by a tilting angle control device 170 .
[0028] A closed circuit is implemented between the hydraulic pump motor 120 and the boom cylinder 105 and the flow rate supplied to the hydraulic pump motor 120 from the boom cylinder 105 is smaller than the flow rate supplied to the boom cylinder 105 from the hydraulic pump motor 120 by a cylinder area difference. The deficit of the flow rate is supplied from the tank by connecting the first control valve 151 .
[0029] Further, the control unit 160 calculates the power of the electric motor 110 from the torque and rotation speed of the electric motor 110 and monitors the flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor 120 from the tilting angle and the rotation speed outputted from the tilting angle control device 170 .
[0030] Meanwhile, when the control signal of the boom joystick 161 increases over the flow rate supplied from the hydraulic pump motor 120 or the capacity of the electric motor 110 , the control unit 160 supplies the flow rate of the main pump 140 to the boom cylinder 105 by controlling the boom-assistant valve 144 . The control unit 160 controls opening/closing of the boom-assistant valve 144 such that the boom cylinder 105 can follow the signal of the boom joystick 161 . The boom-assistant valve 144 is switched to the right by the control unit 160 when being disconnected, and the boom-assistant line 145 is connected to the main pump 140 driven by the engine 141 .
[0031] Referring to FIG. 3 , when a signal for descending the boom 100 is inputted to the control unit 160 from the boom joystick 161 , the hydraulic pump motor 120 is operated by the flow rate returning from the boom cylinder 105 by the control unit 160 , the electric motor 110 is operated as an electricity generator by the driving force of the hydraulic pump motor 120 , and the generated power is stored in an electricity storage 116 equipped with the capacitor 115 .
[0032] As the boom 100 is descended, the boom control valve 125 is switched and the head 106 of the boom 100 is connected to the inlet of the hydraulic pump motor 120 by the intake line 122 , and the rod 107 of the boom 100 is connected to the outlet of the hydraulic pump motor 120 by the discharge line 121 . The descending speed of the boom 100 is controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the hydraulic pump motor 120 by controlling the tilting angle through the tilting angle control device 170 , and the amount of electricity generated by the electric motor 110 is also controlled.
[0033] Further, a closed circuit is implemented between the hydraulic pump motor 120 and the cylinder and the flow rate supplied to the hydraulic pump motor 120 from the boom cylinder 105 is larger than the flow rate supplied to the boom cylinder 105 from the hydraulic pump motor 120 by an area difference of the boom cylinder 105 due to whether there is the rod 107 . The excessive flow rate supplied from the hydraulic pump motor 120 to the boom cylinder 105 is discharged to the tank, as the second control valve 152 connected to the discharge line 121 is connected by a signal of the control unit 160 .
[0034] Further, when a flow rate over the available flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor 120 or the capacity of the electric motor 110 is discharged from the boom cylinder 105 and supplied to the hydraulic pump motor 120 , the control unit 160 can discharge an excessive flow rate over the capacities of the hydraulic pump motor 120 and the electric motor 110 to the tank by connecting the first control valve 151 . The first control valve 151 discharges the excessive flow rate of the working fluid flowing to the hydraulic pump motor 120 through the intake line 122 from the boom cylinder 105 to the tank.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first control valve 151 can supply insufficient working fluid to the boom cylinder 105 by connecting the tank when the boom 100 is lifted, and on the contrary, it is disconnected except for when an excessive flow rate is generated to the hydraulic pump motor 120 from the boom cylinder 105 , when the boom 100 is descended.
[0036] Further, the second control valve 152 that has been disconnected when the boom 100 is lifted discharges the flow rate excessively supplied to the boom cylinder 105 from the hydraulic pump motor 120 to the tank by being connected when the boom 100 is descended, The second control valve 152 can be controlled when being open as the boom is descended, as described above, but it may be additionally controlled, as described below.
[0037] That is, the second control valve 152 may be controlled to be opened only when the flow rate supplied through the hydraulic pump motor 120 is larger than the flow rate necessary for the boom head 106 , while keeping closed when the boom 100 is descended.
[0038] Further, when the hydraulic pump motor 120 supplies an unnecessarily excessive flow rate due to various problems, the flow rate circulating is drained to prevent a safety accident and damage to the system, in which it is more preferable that the first control valve 151 operates with the second control valve 152 to be opened such that the working fluid is drained.
[0039] Further, the boom-assistant valve 144 is connected by the control unit 160 such that the flow rate of the main pump 140 is supplied to the boom cylinder 105 , when the control signal of the boom joystick 161 increases over the flow rate supplied from the hydraulic pump motor 120 or the capacity of the electric motor 110 .
[0040] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4 , a method of controlling a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes (a) detecting the amount of operation of the boom joystick 161 , (b) determining lifting or descending of the boom 100 due to the operation of the boom joystick 161 , (c) opening the first control valve 151 when the boom 100 is lifted, (d) comparing the driving power of the boom 100 according to the amount of operation of the boom joystick 161 with the maximum suppliable power of the electric motor 110 when the boom 100 is lifted, and (e) comparing the consumed flow rate of the boom cylinder 105 with the maximum flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor 120 when the driving power of the boom 100 is smaller than the maximum suppliable power of the electric motor 110 .
[0041] When the consumed flow rate of the boom cylinder 105 is smaller than the maximum flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor 120 , (f) disconnecting the boom-assistant valve 144 is performed. Further, when the driving power of the boom 100 is larger than the maximum suppliable power of the electric motor 110 , (g) supplying insufficient working fluid by connecting the main pump 140 by opening to the boom-assistant valve 144 is included.
[0042] Meanwhile, when the boom 100 is descended, (h) opening the second control valve 152 and (i) comparing the recovery power of the boom 100 with the maximum recoverable power of the electric motor 110 is included. Further, when the recovery power of the boom 100 is smaller the maximum recoverable power of the electric motor 110 , (j) comparing the recovery flow rate of the boom cylinder 105 with the available flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor 120 is included. When the recovery flow rate of the boom cylinder 105 is smaller than the available flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor 120 , (k) disconnecting the first control valve 151 is included. On the contrary, when the recovery flow rate of the boom cylinder 105 is larger than the available flow rate of the hydraulic pump motor 120 , (l) discharging the excessive flow rate to the tank by connecting the first control valve 151 is included. Further, when the recovery power of the boom 100 is larger than the maximum recoverable power of the electric motor 110 , (m) discharging the excessive flow rate to the tank by connecting the first control valve 151 is included.
[0043] As described above, the system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure and a method of controlling the system can improve fuel efficiency by removing a loss generated in a hydraulic system in a low-flow rate fine operation by driving the boom 100 by using the electric motor 110 and the hydraulic pump motor 120 when the boom 100 is lifted.
[0044] Further, the flow rate required for the initial fine operation section when the boom 100 operates alone is supplied from the electric motor 110 and the hydraulic pump motor 120 , and the part exceeding the part corresponding to the maximum suppliable flow rate of the boom 100 can be supplied by using the existing hydraulic system with the main pump 140 .
[0045] Further, it is possible to ensure operation performance of the boom 100 equivalent to the existing excavator even while using the small-capacity electric motor 110 and pump motor, and recover the energy of the boom 100 . Further, the hybrid driving system using the electric motor 110 and the hydraulic pump motor 120 can perform most energy supply and energy recovery in excavating.
[0046] Further, when high power and large flow rate are suddenly required, it is possible to ensure the performance equivalent to the existing excavator by assisting power and flow rate by using the existing hydraulic system. Further, when there is a suddenly large recovery energy, the part exceeding the capacity is bypassed, and it is possible to supply most energy required to drive the boom 100 from only the capacities of the hydraulic pump and the electric motor 110 of about the maximum suppliable flow rate of the boom 100 and the maximum power of the engine 141 , and it is possible to recover most of the recoverable energy of the boom 100 .
[0047] The present disclosure may be applied to a system for driving a hybrid excavator in construction equipment.
[0048] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary and preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. | Disclosed are a system for driving a boom of a hybrid excavator, and a method for controlling same. The disclosed system comprises: an electric motor operating by means of a motor or generator; a capacitor for storing electricity generated by the electric motor; a hydraulic pump motor driven by the electric motor to supply working oil to a boom; a boom control valve having a closed circuit for selectively connecting/disconnecting a discharge line and an inlet line of the hydraulic pump motor to/from a head or a load of the boom; a main pump driven by a driving source arranged separately from the motor so as to supply working oil to a bucket, driving motor, or arm; a boom-assisting valve, which connects a discharge line of the main pump to the discharge line of the hydraulic pump motor, such that working oil discharged from the main pump and the hydraulic pump motor can be combined; and a control unit for controlling the electric motor, the hydraulic pump motor, and the boom control valve. The system of the present disclosure minimizes the loss of energy during excavation, which is the main use of an excavator, while using the electric motor, ensures the operating performance of the boom, and recovers regenerative energy from the boom. | 4 |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/756,376; entitled: “Method and Apparatus for Delivering an Agent to a Kidney”; filed on May 31, 2007, the entire disclosure of with is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many diseases that affect organs develop over a decade or more. During this time, the function of the organ diminishes. The end-stage of many of these diseases is a transplant or some other treatment to supply artificially the organ's function—dialysis in the case of kidney disease such as end-stage renal disease, for example. A number of factors including immune system disorders or diabetes can cause these types of diseases.
[0003] Different diseases call for different treatments depending upon the dysfunction of the organ. For many of these diseases, the standard for treatment, short of a transplant, is drug-based. Drug-based treatments are usually systemic and typically use a pill or infusion of a solution of the drug in a carrier. These delivery methods are systemic because the patient's whole system is treated. But systemic treatment requires supplying the whole system drugs at levels high enough to be effective at the target organ. Achieving effective levels at the target organ frequently requires delivering toxic levels throughout the remainder of the system.
[0004] On the other hand, locally delivering the drug can alleviate some of the problems with systemic treatment. For instance, local delivery side-steps supplying the drug system-wide allowing for effective local drug levels while maintaining much lower system-wide levels, which are frequently benign to the patient.
[0005] But local delivery presents its own set of challenges. Typically, with local delivery, the drug enters the bloodstream upstream of the desired treatment site. Another technique involves injecting the drug into a (temporarily) unperfused region of the vasculature near or in the diseased organ. This technique can use an occlusion device upstream of the delivery region to inhibit or stop blood flow. In either case, the natural laminar flow of blood does not always promote effective mixing between the drug and blood.
[0006] Ineffective mixing can prevent the drug from evenly reaching its target organ or region's cells. For example, delivery upstream of an arterial branch coupled with ineffective mixing can result in more drug being delivered down one branch than another.
[0007] What is needed is a delivery technique for local delivery that provides effective mixing between the blood and the drug. This need is especially acute for delivery to the kidney because the kidney contains a highly branched arterial vasculature.
SUMMARY
[0008] In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, a device comprising a catheter with a main body, an expandable diffusion member, and a drug delivery lumen is disclosed. The expandable diffusion member comprises a body in some embodiments. In these or other embodiments, the body comprises a preformed shape memory material such as nitinol materials, Copper-based materials, or polymeric materials.
[0009] In these or other embodiments, the expandable diffusion member comprises a net-like, braided structure. In some of these embodiments, the net-like braided structure comprises one, two, or more wires or filaments. In other embodiments, the expandable diffusion member comprises a toric or donut structure.
[0010] In some embodiments the donut structure comprises a substantially cylindrical body with a length, a largest diameter, and a passage coaxial or substantially coaxial to the cylindrical axis. In other embodiments, the passage penetrates the structure in a direction similar to that of the cylindrical axis, but not necessarily coaxial to that axis. In some embodiments comprising the donut structure, the length ranges from 1 to 10 times the largest diameter of the body. In some of these embodiments, the body has a diameter that ranges from 50 to 105% of the vessel diameter. In some of these embodiments, the passage has a diameter that ranges from 15 to 80% of the largest diameter of the cylinder. Some examples of embodiments that comprise the donut structure further comprise a connecting member that joins the main body to the expandable diffusion member.
[0011] In some embodiments of the device, the body of the expandable diffusion members comprises a ball of wire or a ball of filament. In some of these embodiments, the wire or filament is formed into a set of co-planer, serpentine curves. Some subsets of these embodiments comprise two or more sets of co-planer curves that can be situated in different planes and that can be substantially parallel to each other.
[0012] In some embodiments of the device, the expandable diffusion member further comprises an occlusion balloon.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The features, aspects, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of a method for delivering a treatment agent to an organ or region.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of a kidney and a method for delivering a treatment agent to the kidney.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a catheter and an expandable diffusion member.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a catheter and an embodiment of an expandable diffusion member.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a catheter and an embodiment of an expandable diffusion member.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the catheter and an embodiment of an expandable diffusion member.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the distal end, in cross-section, of the catheter and expandable diffusion member of FIG. 6 .
[0021] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the catheter and an embodiment of an expandable diffusion member.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken along the A-A plane of FIG. 8 showing an embodiment of an expandable diffusion member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] The following description of several embodiments describes non-limiting examples that further illustrate the invention. All titles of sections contained in this document, including those appearing above, are not to be construed as limitations on the invention, but rather they are provided to structure the illustrative description of the invention that is provided by the specification.
[0024] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this document have the same meanings as commonly understood by one skilled in the art to which the disclosed invention pertains. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “fluid” refers to one or more fluids, such as two or more fluids, three or more fluids, etc.
[0025] For purposes of this document, the portion of a delivery device designed to create turbulence in the blood flow is called a diffusion member or an expandable diffusion member.
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of a method for delivering a treatment agent to a kidney. In one embodiment, the method includes introducing a delivery device to a point within a renal artery or a renal segmental artery that supplies the renal cortex (block 102 ). Alternatively, the point may be within the renal cortex. The delivery device broadly includes any medical device for insertion into a physiological lumen to permit injection or withdrawal of fluids of varying viscosities to maintain patency of a blood vessel lumen or an area defining the lumen, or for other purposes. The delivery device may further include any medical device capable of releasing a treatment agent after insertion into a physiological lumen. The point at which the delivery device is introduced may be a treatment site or a region adjacent to a treatment site. The treatment site may be a diseased region within a renal vessel or other tissue of a kidney or other organ.
[0027] In one embodiment, the treatment agent is delivered according to conditions that create turbulent blood flow within a vessel region where the treatment agent is delivered (block 104 ). The term “turbulent blood flow” as used in this document generally refers to a flow profile characterized by a chaotic or agitated blood flow or otherwise modified flow profile that may include rapid variations of pressure, flow direction or velocity. For example, in some embodiments, turbulent blood flow arises from partially occluding the vessel lumen by about 60% to about 95%.
[0028] Typically, the flow profile of blood flowing through the renal artery to the kidney is laminar, meaning the fluid flows in parallel layers, or streams, with little or no disruption between the layers. This profile continues along the kidney opening, or Ilium, and into the segmental arteries leading to the glomerular capillaries within the renal cortex. Thus, when the delivery device releases the treatment agent from a single point into one of these streams of a healthy kidney, blood flow carries most of the treatment agent only to the kidney region at the end of the stream. In this respect, only a small portion of the kidney receives the treatment agent.
[0029] Moreover, blood flow to diseased regions especially in need of the treatment agent may be reduced or stopped altogether because of the disease. In such cases, even where the treatment agent is released into a path normally destined for the diseased region, it will not reach that region. Delivery may overcome such problems by creating turbulence within the flow profile followed by treatment agent delivery into the turbulent blood flow. In particular, these types of turbulent conditions will facilitate mixing of the treatment agent with the blood and disrupt the pathways typically found within the kidney so that the treatment agent is more evenly distributed throughout the kidney.
[0030] In one aspect, conditions creating turbulent blood flow may include partially occluding a region of the artery lumen so as to provide a constricted pathway for blood flow (e.g., about 1% to 99%, about 25% to 98%, or about 60% to about 95% lumen occlusion). The narrowed pathway causes the speed of the blood flowing through the narrower region to increase resulting in turbulent blood flow. The treatment agent may then be injected into the turbulent blood flow. Turbulent blood flow may further be created within a lumen of a delivery device. In this aspect, a fluid, such as saline or blood, may be delivered through the lumen of the device and a treatment agent may be injected into the flowing fluid. In other embodiments, the conditions creating a turbulent blood flow may include injecting a treatment agent within a vessel lumen in a direction perpendicular to the direction of blood flow. In this aspect, the stream of treatment agent alters the normal direction of blood flow, bisecting the normal flow path causing turbulence. This turbulence homogeneously distributes the treatment agent throughout the blood for delivery to the treatment site. In addition, this turbulence may disrupt the downstream laminar flow profiles within the kidney. The homogenous distribution of the treatment agent throughout blood flowing to the kidney and disruption of flow profiles within the kidney facilitates a substantially uniform distribution of the treatment agent solution throughout the kidney tissues.
[0031] Preventing backflow of the treatment agent further maximizes delivery of the treatment agent to the treatment site. The term “backflow” as used in this document generally refers to a flow of treatment agent in a direction opposite that of the desired delivery direction. For example, in some cases the treatment site is unable to retain the full volume of delivered treatment agent. In this aspect, the excess treatment agent flows back up the vessel. And where delivery is within the renal artery, the excess flows into the adjacent aorta (i.e. backflows). In one embodiment, partially or fully occluding a vessel region upstream from the treatment site before delivering the treatment agent prevents such backflow. Blocking may be accomplished, by expanding, for example, a balloon or a sheath of the delivery device within the vessel. The balloon or sheath substantially backstops any unabsorbed treatment agent delivered to the treatment site diminishing any flow toward the balloon or sheath. Alternatively, releasing the treatment agent from a delivery port of the delivery device at a flow rate less than a natural flow rate of the artery may prevent backflow. For example, the flow rate of blood through the renal artery to the kidney is about 500 milliliters per minute (ml/min). Thus, treatment agent delivery to the renal artery at a flow rate less than about 500 ml/min may prevent backflow.
[0032] In other embodiments, altering the particle size of the treatment agent may maximize delivery of an effective amount of the treatment agent to the treatment site. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a lower branch of aorta 200 feeds blood to kidney 204 through renal artery 202 . Renal artery 202 branches into renal segmental arteries 206 , 208 , 210 , and 212 and arterioles 214 . Each arteriole 214 in turn leads to a tuft of capillaries 216 : a glomerulus. Blood from segmental arteries 206 , 208 , 210 and 212 flows into the glomerulus at the end of each segmental artery 206 , 208 , 210 , and 212 where the blood is filtered to remove fluid and solutes. In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , a distal end of delivery device 224 may be positioned at a point within renal artery 202 . Alternatively, one may position the delivery device 224 at a point within renal segmental arteries 206 , 208 , 210 , and 212 . A proximal portion of delivery device 224 remains outside of the body to facilitate loading of the treatment agent within delivery device 224 .
[0033] Representatively, a femoral artery may be punctured and delivery device 224 may be advanced through the femoral artery, to aorta 200 and then into renal artery 202 . Alternatively, one may advance the delivery device 224 through a brachial artery, down aorta 200 and into renal artery 202 . In still further embodiments, an external iliac artery may be punctured and delivery device 224 may be advanced through the external iliac artery to a common iliac artery, to aorta 200 and then into renal artery 202 .
[0034] It is further contemplated that delivery device 224 may be introduced to a point within kidney 204 using retroperitoneal insertion. In this aspect, a distal end of delivery device 224 may be inserted through a back of a patient adjacent kidney 204 . Delivery device 224 may then be advanced through a surface of kidney 204 to a point within renal cortex 218 adjacent to glomerulus 216 . In this aspect, when the treatment agent is delivered with delivery device 224 , it localizes within an area proximal to glomerular capillaries within the kidney. Alternatively, delivery device 224 may be introduced through a back region of the patient and into renal artery 202 . In this embodiment, the treatment agent may then be delivered by delivery device 224 through renal artery 202 to a desired treatment site.
[0035] In an embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 , a treatment agent loaded within delivery device 224 may be released into, for example, renal artery 202 such that the treatment agent flows through segmental artery 208 and into glomerulus 216 . In one embodiment, the treatment agent may be loaded into a carrier having a large enough diameter such that the carrier lodges within a narrow lumen of a capillary within the glomerulus 216 . The exploded view of glomerulus 216 of FIG. 2 shows this aspect. In this embodiment, treatment agent 220 flows into glomerulus 216 and lodges within the lumen. For example, in some embodiments the treatment agent may have a diameter from about 8 microns to about 15 microns. Thus, release of the treatment agent from within the carrier localizes it at glomerulus 216 , and the treatment agent remains at a specific treatment site within the kidney.
[0036] Useful treatment agents will be discussed below after discussing several embodiments of delivery devices according to embodiments of the invention.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 3 , the device 310 sits within the lumen of vessel 320 before delivering the drug. As shown in FIG. 3 , the device 310 has a catheter portion 330 connected to an expandable diffusion member 340 . The catheter portion 330 contains a diffusion member delivery lumen 350 and a drug delivery lumen 360 . In the figure, the drug delivery lumen 360 is shown coaxial with the diffusion member delivery lumen 350 . But this need not be the case for any embodiments described in this document. For each of the embodiments in this document described as having a diffusion member delivery lumen 350 coaxial with the drug delivery lumen 360 , a corresponding embodiment exists in which these lumens are not coaxial.
[0038] In operation, the device 310 is placed into a desired vessel 320 upstream of the desired treatment region or organ. The expandable diffusion member 340 is deployed creating a region of increased turbulence in the blood flow near the expandable diffusion member 340 . Upstream of the expandable diffusion member 340 within the region of increased blood turbulence or upstream of that region, the can be released from drug delivery lumen 360 .
[0039] When the drug reaches the turbulent region, it mixes more thoroughly with the blood than it would have if the expandable diffusion member 340 were not present. Past the turbulent region, the blood and drug mixture returns to laminar flow 370 . After drug delivery, the expandable diffusion member 340 is retrieved.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 4 , the device 410 is situated within the lumen of the vessel 420 before delivering the drug. As shown in FIG. 4 , the device 410 has a catheter portion 430 connected to an expandable diffusion member 440 . In this embodiment and others like it, the expandable diffusion member 440 is made up of filaments 445 that have been braided or woven to give expandable member 440 a net-like structure.
[0041] Stainless steel, silver, platinum, tantalum, palladium, cobalt-chromium alloys such as L605, MP35N, or MP20N, niobium, iridium, any equivalents thereof, alloys thereof, and combinations thereof, nylon, urethane, polyurethane, polyvinylchloride, polyester, PEEK, PTFE, PVDF, Kyner, polyimide, or polyethylene of various suitable densities, nickel titanium, polyamides, silicone modified polyurethanes, fluoro-polymers, polyolefins, polyimides, polyimines, (methyl)acrylic polymers, polyesters, polyglycolide, polyglycolide (PGA), poly(L-lactide) (PLLA), poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA), poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PDLGA), poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), polydioxanone, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(vinyl alcohol), and co-polymers thereof.
[0042] The catheter portion 430 also contains a diffusion member delivery lumen 450 in the drug delivery lumen 460 (shown coaxial to diffusion member delivery lumen 450 ).
[0043] In operation, device 410 is placed into desired vessel 420 upstream of the desired treatment region. The expandable diffusion member 440 is deployed by retracting a sheath (not shown). The expandable diffusion member 440 then self-expands or is expanded to create a net-like structure, essentially as shown in FIG. 4 .
[0044] In some embodiments, this net-like structure creates a series of objects in the path of the flowing blood, which creates turbulence in the blood flow within a region encompassing the vicinity of the expandable diffusion member 440 .
[0045] Upstream of the expandable diffusion member 440 , either within the region of increased blood turbulence or up-stream of it, the drug solution can be released from the drug delivery lumen 460 .
[0046] When the drug reaches the turbulent region, the net-like structure causes the drug solution and surrounding blood to travel paths around the filaments 445 of the net-like expandable member 440 . The change in direction is believed to cause increased mixing between the blood and the drug solution, though the inventors do not wish to be bound by this theory. In any case, the blood mixes with the drug solution and returns to substantially laminar flow 470 downstream of the expandable diffusion member 440 . After drug delivery, the expandable diffusion member 440 is covered or retracted to return it to an unexpanded size and is removed from vessel 420 .
[0047] Referring to FIG. 5 , the device 510 is situated within the lumen of vessel 520 upstream of the desired treatment region or organ before delivering the drug. As shown in FIG. 5 , the device 510 has a catheter portion 530 connected to an expandable diffusion member 540 . In this embodiment and others like it, the expandable diffusion member 540 is composed of a shape memory material (such as nitinol) that has been formed into an elongated ball of material containing an atraumatic tip 545 .
[0048] As one example, the wire may be heat set by wrapping it around a fixture such that it has the desired shape, and then the fixture may be inserted within a heated salt bath or other environment at 400-500 degrees Celsius for approximately 1-15 minutes. The fixture may be removed from the heated environment to quench the wire and then the shaped wire may be removed from the fixture. The wire may be straightened simply by placing it within the lumen of a straightened catheter. When the wire is advanced from the catheter, it will resume the set shape.
[0049] Alternatively, the wire may be straightened by applying tension to the entangled portion of the wire. After straightening the wire, it may be shape set by subjecting the wire to cooling below its transition temperature, which varies based on the percentage composition of material constituents. When the wire is advanced into the blood stream, its temperature will rise above the transition point and it will resume the set shape.
[0050] Other shape memory materials include: copper-zinc-aluminum and copper-aluminum-nickel (note that these may not be ideal for medical use), biodegradable polymers, such as oligo(ε-caprolactone)diol, oligo(ρ-dioxanone)diol, and non-biodegradable polymers such as, polynorborene, polyisoprene, styrene butadiene, polyurethane-based materials, vinyl acetate-polyester-based compounds, and others yet to be determined.
[0051] The catheter portion 530 also contains a diffusion member delivery lumen 550 and a drug delivery lumen 560 (shown coaxial to diffusion member delivery lumen 550 ).
[0052] In operation, the device 510 is placed into a desired vessel 520 upstream of the desired treatment region or organ. The expandable diffusion member 540 is deployed by slowly pushing the wire or filament of shape memory material out of the distal end of the device 510 through the diffusion member delivery lumen 550 . As the shape memory material enters the blood environment, the blood warms it above its phase transition temperature, which causes it to return to the shape that it had before being straightened—to return to an elongated ball of wire or filament.
[0053] In some embodiments, the elongated ball is similar to a ball of steel wool. Thus, it creates a multiplicity of fluid paths from the semi-random wire or filament structure now located in the lumen of vessel 520 . The act of forcing the blood to take many paths that separate, reform, and cross each other as it moves through the elongated ball of shape memory material creates a region of turbulent blood flow in the vicinity of the ball of shape memory material (composing the expandable diffusion member 540 ).
[0054] Upstream of the expandable diffusion member 540 and, in some embodiments, upstream of the turbulent region, the drug emerges from the drug delivery lumen 560 .
[0055] When the drug reaches the turbulent region, the turbulence causes it to mix with the blood better than if the expandable diffusion member 540 were not present. At some point downstream of the turbulent region, the blood and drug mixture returns to substantially laminar flow 570 .
[0056] Once drug delivery is completed, the expandable diffusion member 540 is removed from the lumen of the vessel 520 by retracting the wire or filament back into the diffusion delivery lumen 550 .
[0057] Referring to FIG. 6 , the device 610 is situated in the lumen of vessel 620 upstream of the desired treatment region or organ before drug delivery. As shown in FIG. 6 , the device 610 has catheter portion 630 connected to expandable diffusion member 640 . In this embodiment, and others like it, the expandable diffusion member 640 is constructed from a filament or wire of shape memory material, such as nitinol. As seen in FIG. 6 , the expandable diffusion member 640 is shaped into one or more planar, serpentine curves 690 that substantially occupy the space between the walls of the lumen of vessel 620 . In some embodiments, the plane that contains a serpentine curve 690 is substantially perpendicular to the direction of blood flow. For those embodiments with more than one set of planes of serpentine curves 690 , curves of subsequent planes can be aligned in the same direction as the serpentine curves 690 in the first plane or they can be aligned in different directions.
[0058] As seen in FIG. 7 device 610 has diffusion member delivery lumen 650 seen end on. The figure also shows that the device 610 has a drug delivery lumen 660 , seen end on. Both the diffusion member delivery lumen 650 and the drug delivery lumen 660 are situated upstream of expandable diffusion member 640 .
[0059] In operation, the device 610 is placed into desired vessel 620 upstream of the desired treatment region or organ. The expandable diffusion member 640 is deployed by slowly pushing the wire or filament of shape memory material out of the distal end of the device 610 through the diffusion member delivery lumen 650 . As the shape memory material enters the blood environment, the blood warms it above its phase transition temperature causing the material to return to the shape that it had before being straightened—to return to a substantially regular plane or substantially regular planes of serpentine curves 690 .
[0060] In some embodiments, the serpentine curves are similar to a screen. Thus, they create a multiplicity of fluid paths from the screen structure now located in the lumen of vessel 620 . The act of forcing the blood to take many paths that separate, reform, and cross each other as it flows through the screen of shape memory material creates a region of turbulent blood flow in the vicinity of the screen of shape memory material (composing the expandable diffusion member 640 ).
[0061] Upstream of the expandable diffusion member 640 and, in some embodiments, upstream of the turbulent region, drug emerges from the drug delivery lumen 660 .
[0062] When the drug reaches the turbulent region, the turbulence causes it to mix with the blood better than if the expandable diffusion member 640 were absent. At some point downstream of the turbulent region, the blood and drug mixture returns to substantially laminar flow 670 .
[0063] Once drug delivery is completed, the expandable diffusion member 640 is removed from the lumen of the vessel 620 by retracting the wire or filament back into the diffusion delivery lumen 650 .
[0064] Referring to FIG. 8 , the device 810 is situated within the lumen of vessel 820 before drug delivery. As shown in FIG. 8 , the device 810 has a catheter portion 830 connected, through a control arm 835 , to an expandable diffusion member 840 . This expandable diffusion member 840 has a toric or donut shape. This donut structure can be rigid or semi-rigid, metallic, polymeric, foam, or of any other suitable construction or structure as one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize from the object's function.
[0065] The catheter portion 830 contains a diffusion member delivery lumen 850 and a drug delivery lumen 860 . In the figure, the drug delivery lumen 860 is shown coaxial with the diffusion member delivery lumen 850 .
[0066] In operation, the device 810 is placed into desired vessel 820 upstream of the desired treatment region or organ. The expandable diffusion member 840 is deployed creating a region of increased turbulence in the blood flow in the vicinity of the expandable diffusion member 840 . Upstream of the expandable diffusion member 840 within the region of increased blood turbulence or upstream of that region, drug or drug solution can be released from drug delivery lumen 860 .
[0067] When the drug reaches the turbulent region, it mixes more thoroughly with the blood than it would have if the expandable diffusion member 840 were not present. After the turbulent region, the blood and drug mixture returns to laminar flow 870 .
[0068] After drug delivery, the expandable diffusion member 840 is retrieved.
[0069] The expandable diffusion member 840 has a toric or donut shape with a passage 943 . In some embodiments, the outer wall 945 of the toric expandable diffusion member 940 presses against the walls of vessel 920 . This can be seen in FIG. 9 . In other embodiments the outer wall 945 of the toric expandable diffusion member 940 ends substantially short of the walls of vessel 920 .
[0070] This fitment between the outer wall 945 and the walls of vessel 920 either prevents or allows blood to pass between the outer wall 945 and the walls of vessel 920 depending on which embodiment of the two described is under consideration. For embodiments with close fitment between the outer wall 945 of the toric expandable diffusion member 940 , all of the blood flow to the vessel is routed through the center of the expandable diffusion member 940 . For those embodiments with loose fitment between the outer wall 945 of the expandable diffusion member 940 , some blood flows between the outer wall 945 and the walls of vessel 920 and some blood flows through the passageway 943 in the toric expandable diffusion member 940 . For both embodiments, the toric expandable diffusion member 940 causes a velocity change in the blood flow creating a turbulent region of blood near the expandable diffusion member 940 .
[0071] Each of the embodiments described above comprising an expandable diffusion member can be combined with an upstream occlusion balloon. The occlusion balloon is used to temporarily stop blood flow through a vessel. Occlusion occurs when the balloon is inflated and seals against the vessel wall.
Treatment Agents
[0072] As used in this document, treatment agents are intended to include, but are not limited to, drugs, biologically active agents, chemically active agents, therapeutic agents, and the like, and pharmaceutical compositions thereof, which can be used to deliver a treatment agent to a treatment site within a kidney as described in this document. Treatments agents may contain a mixture of active agents.
[0073] In one embodiment, the treatment agent may include a property to inhibit a biological process contributing to nephropathy. Such biological processes may include, but are not limited to, changes in glomerular basement membrane, changes in mesangial matrix deposition and podocyte attachment or apoptosis.
[0074] In one embodiment, the treatment agent may include a drug. The drug may have a property to inhibit undesirable effects of the renin-angiotensin system in the kidneys. The renin-angiotensin system responds to a decrease in the perfusion of the juxtaglomerular apparatus found in afferent arterioles of the glomerulus of the kidney by constricting glomerular arterioles. Such constriction causes blood to build up in the glomerulus and increase glomerular pressure. Representative drugs that may act to inhibit this process include, but are not limited to, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and renin inhibitors.
[0075] In still further embodiments, the treatment agent may include a drug to inhibit protein kinase C. Representative drugs may include, but are not limited to, ruboxistaurin (LY333531), enzastaurin (LY317615), bisindolylmaleimide IX, chelerythrine, edelfosine, edelfosina, ET180CH3, H-7, HA-100, H89, HA-1004, Ro 31-8220, rottlerin, staurosporine and quercetin.
[0076] The transforming-growth-factor-beta system contributes to the progression of renal damage due to stimulation of extracellular matrix deposition. Thus, in some embodiments, the treatment agent may include an agent having a property to inhibit transforming growth factor beta, its receptor and SMAD and other signaling molecules downstream of the receptor. Representative inhibitors may include, but are not limited to antisense molecules, ribozymes, siRNA, antibodies, receptor kinase inhibitors and other small molecule inhibitors such as halofuginone, sirolimus, everolimus, biolimus ABT578 and nuclear receptor agonists such as estradiol, retinoids, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) agonists.
[0077] It is further recognized that connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is present in glomeruli in patients with diabetic nephropathy. CTGF is a member of the centrosomin (CCN) family of proteins, which regulate biological processes including stimulation of cell proliferation, migration, and adhesion. Probably, expression of CTGF in diabetic kidneys contributes to the development of glomerulosclerosis by affecting matrix synthesis and its turnover. In this aspect, the treatment agent may include an agent having a property to inhibit connective tissue growth factor. Representative agents having a property to inhibit connective tissue growth factor may include, but are not limited to antibodies, interleukin-1 (IL-1) alpha and beta, Rho A GTPase inhibitors, and p38 MAP kinase inhibitors.
[0078] In some embodiments, the treatment agent may be modified to enhance its uptake into the desired tissue. In this aspect, the treatment agent may be delivered to the desired tissue in a formulation that may include vasoactive agents as enhancers of vascular permeability called excipients, such as thrombin, bradykinin and histamine. These excipients have properties that increase endothelial porosity and thereby enhance uptake of the treatment agent into the tissue.
[0079] The treatment agent may be delivered in a form including, but not limited to, a solution. For example, in some embodiments, a desired amount of treatment agent is mixed with saline or an iodine-free contrast media to form the solution.
[0080] In some embodiments, the treatment agent may be delivered to the desired tissue in a carrier. In one aspect, the carrier may be a sustained-release carrier that allows for controlled release of the treatment agent over time at the desired treatment site. “Carrier” includes a matrix that contains one or more treatment agents. A suitable carrier may take the form of a nanoparticle (e.g., nanosphere), microparticle (e.g., microsphere) or liposome as the situation may dictate. The carrier with encapsulated treatment agent may be incorporated into a solution including an oily material for delivery to the desired tissue.
[0081] The carrier may be a bioerodable carrier (sometimes used interchangeably with “sustained-release carriers”) infused with a treatment agent. Suitable materials for sustained-release carriers include, but are not limited to, encapsulation polymers such as poly (L-lactide), poly (D,L-lactide), poly (glycolide), poly (lactide-co-glycolide), polycaprolactone, polyanhydride, polydioxanone, polyorthoester, polyamino acids, or poly (trimethylene carbonate), and combinations of these materials.
[0082] Treatment agents, including treatment agents combined with a carrier (e.g., a sustained release carrier), having a size greater than about 10 microns can become trapped in the glomerular capillaries when introduced into the renal artery. In this aspect, the treatment agent may be released over time at a point within the glomerular capillaries. In other embodiments, the carrier size may be between about 1 micron to 100 microns, still further between about 8 microns to about 15 microns and in some embodiments between about 1 micron to 2 microns. In other embodiments, the carrier size may be between about 10 microns and 14 microns. In still further embodiments where the treatment agent is delivered at a point outside of a vessel lumen, such as the kidney cortex, the treatment agent or a carrier encapsulating the treatment agent may be any size capable of being delivered through a lumen of the delivery device, such as for example, a size as small as one nanometer to as large as about 100 microns.
[0083] Various methods may be employed to formulate and infuse the carrier with one or more treatment agents. The embodiments of the composition of infused carrier may be prepared by conventional methods where all components are combined then blended. In some embodiments, carriers may be prepared using a predetermined amount of a polymer or a pre-polymer that is added to a predetermined amount of a solvent or a combination of solvents. The solvent is mutually compatible with the polymer and is capable of dissolving the polymer into solution at the desired concentration. Examples of solvents may include, but are not limited to, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), Dimethyl Acetamide (DMAC), chloroform, acetone, water (buffered saline), xylene, acetone, methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, tetrahydrofuran, 1-butanone, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, cyclohexanone, ethyl acetate, methylethylketone, propylene glycol monomethylether, isopropanol, N-methyl pyrrolidinone, toluene and mixtures of these materials.
[0084] By way of example, and not limitation, the polymer may comprise from about 0.1% to about 35%, more narrowly about 2% to about 20% by weight of the total weight of the total solution, and the solvent may comprise from about 65% to about 99.9%, more narrowly about 80% to about 98% by weight, of the total weight of the total solution. Specific weight ratios depend on factors such as the material from which the delivery device is made and the geometrical structure of the device.
[0085] Sufficient amounts of treatment agent are dispersed or dissolved in the carrier. The amount of treatment agent introduced into the carrier may be any amount sufficient to inhibit a biological process, such as a biological process contributing to nephropathy, when released within the renal system. The treatment agent may be dissolved or suspended. If the treatment agent is not completely soluble in the composition, operations including mixing, stirring, or agitation may be employed to effect homogeneity. The treatment agent may be added so that the dispersion is in fine particles. The mixing of the treatment agent may be conducted in an anhydrous atmosphere, at ambient pressure and at room temperature.
[0086] In some embodiments using microparticles or nanoparticles, the microparticles or nanoparticles may be sustained release carriers prepared by a water/oil/water (WOW) double emulsion method. The WO phase, an aqueous phase containing treatment agent, is dispersed into the oil phase containing polymer dissolved in organic solvent (e.g., dichloromethane) using a high-speed homogenizer. Examples of sustained-release polymers that may be used include, but are not limited to, poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), poly(D,L-lactide) (PLA) or PLA-PEEP co-polymers, poly-ester-amide co-polymers (PEA) and polyphophazines. The primary water-in-oil (WO) emulsion is then dispersed to an aqueous solution containing a polymeric surfactant, e.g., poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and further homogenized to produce a WOW emulsion. After stirring for several hours, the microparticles or nanoparticles are collected by filtration.
[0087] In some embodiments, the sustained-release carrier is a liposome. “Liposomes” are approximately spherical artificial vesicles and can be produced from natural phospholipids and cholesterol. In one method, phospholipids are mixed with cholesterol in chloroform. Suitable phospholipids include, but are not limited to, dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline or dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine. In some embodiments, a hydrophobic treatment agent may be added with an optional co-solvent. After mixing, the solvent (and optional co-solvent) may be evaporated with heat or ambient temperature in a round bottom flask. Resultant lipids may be deposited on the glass surface. In some embodiments, a hydrophilic treatment agent and water may be added to the flask and sonicated to form liposomes. The resultant solution may be pressure filtered through ceramic pore size controlled filters to reduce liposome particle size. In still further embodiments, the carrier is a micro-bubble formed by any technique deemed desirable.
[0088] In some embodiments, a surface of the carrier may be modified to enhance affinity of the encapsulated treatment agent to tissue lining the walls of the glomerular capillaries. In this aspect, the surface may be coated with binding agents. The binding agent may include a protein or small molecule that will facilitate retention of the carrier and encapsulated treatment agent at the treatment site to induce or modulate a therapeutic response through interaction with a specific binding site (e.g., a receptor within a cell or on a cell surface). Representative binding agents and their associated receptors include, but are not limited to, CD1 lb/CD1 8 (MAC-1) or aL/beta2 integrin (LFA-1) and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) receptor, integrin avb3 which binds to RGD-containing peptide and E-selectin which binds to Sialyl-Lewis glycoprotein.
[0089] A surface charge of the carrier may further be modified (e.g. positively, negatively or neutral) to accommodate and enhance binding characteristics to the glomerular tissue. The endothelial cells and basement membrane along the normal glomerular capillary walls are typically electronegatively charged. As diseases such as glomerulosclerosis and diabetic nephropathy progress, however, these cells slowly lose the electronegative charge. It is believed that modifying the carriers to have an electropositive charge will enhance binding of the carrier and encapsulated agent to the cells or membrane.
[0090] In this aspect, a carrier encapsulating the treatment agent may be modified by any standard method suitable for providing the carrier surface with an electropositive charge. In one embodiment, positively charged carriers may be synthesized by coating carriers with Chitosan. Alternatively, positively charged carriers may be made, for example, entirely of Chitosan in a water-in-oil emulsion process and crosslinked with glutaraldehye or genipin. In this aspect, the treatment agent may be swell-loaded in the crosslinked spheres. Still further, if the treatment agent is soluble at pH 5, the treatment agent may be incorporated into the initial Chitosan solution, if it does not subsequently react with the aldehyde crosslinker. Another approach for forming cationic carriers may include using a polylysine graft of PLGA.
[0091] In still further embodiments, a surface of the carrier may be coated with active agents or other species to enhance the range of functionalities of the product. For example, the surface may be coated with a monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to proteins expressed within the glomerulus (glomerular endothelium, basement membrane, podocytes) and tubules (tubular epithelium and basement membrane). A representative example is the monoclonal antibody anti CD90/Thy 1 that binds to OX-7 a glomerular basement membrane protein. Other useful proteins include nephrin and podocin.
[0092] The following aspects are representative. They disclose various features or combination of features as examples only and are not intended to limit the more general description of the invention as described above and in the claims.
[0093] Aspect (1)—A device comprising a catheter including a main body, an expandable diffusion member comprising a body, and a drug delivery lumen.
[0094] Aspect (2)—The device of aspect 1 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body comprises a pre-formed shape memory material.
[0095] Aspect (3)—The device of aspect 2 wherein the pre-formed shape memory material comprises nitinol.
[0096] Aspect (4)—The device of aspect 1 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body comprises a net-like, braided structure.
[0097] Aspect (5)—The device of aspect 4 wherein the netlike, braided structure comprises one, two, or more wires or filaments.
[0098] Aspect (6)—The device of aspect 1 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body comprises a donut structure.
[0099] Aspect (7)—The device of aspect 6 wherein the donut structure comprises a body with a cylinder with a length and a passage coaxial to the cylindrical axis.
[0100] Aspect (8)—The device of aspect 7 wherein the length ranges from one to ten times the largest diameter of the body.
[0101] Aspect (9)—The device of aspect 8 wherein the cylinder has a diameter of 50-105% of the vessel.
[0102] Aspect (10)—The device of aspect 9 wherein the passage has a diameter that ranges from 15-80% of the diameter of the cylinder.
[0103] Aspect (11)—The device of aspect 10 further comprising a connecting member that joins the main body to the expandable diffusion member comprising a body.
[0104] Aspect (12)—The device of aspect 7 further comprising a connecting member that joins the main body to the expandable diffusion member comprising a body.
[0105] Aspect (13)—The device of aspect 12 wherein the length ranges from one to ten times the largest diameter of the body.
[0106] Aspect (14)—The device of aspect 13 wherein the cylinder has a diameter of 50-105% of the vessel.
[0107] Aspect (15)—The device of aspect 15 wherein the passage has a diameter that ranges from 15-80% of the diameter of the cylinder.
[0108] Aspect (16)—The device of aspect 1 wherein the expandable diffusion member has a body with a length wherein the length ranges from one to ten times the largest diameter of the body.
[0109] Aspect (17)—The device of aspect 7 wherein the cylinder has a diameter of 50-105% of the vessel.
[0110] Aspect (18)—The device of aspect 7 wherein the passage has a diameter that ranges from 15-80% of the diameter of the cylinder.
[0111] Aspect (19)—The device of aspect 1 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body further comprises a ball of wire or filament.
[0112] Aspect (20)—The device of aspect 19 wherein the ball of wire or filament comprises a set of coplanar serpentine curves.
[0113] Aspect (21)—The device of aspect 20 wherein the ball of wire or filament comprises two or more sets of one or more coplanar, serpentine curves each set situated in different planes.
[0114] Aspect (22)—The device of aspect 21 further comprising two or more sets of one or more coplanar, serpentine curves each set situated in different planes wherein one or more sets of planes are substantially parallel to each other.
[0115] Aspect (23)—The device of aspect 1 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body further comprises an occlusion balloon.
[0116] Aspect (24)—The device of aspect 1 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0117] Aspect (25)—The device of aspect 2 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0118] Aspect (26)—The device of aspect 3 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0119] Aspect (27)—The device of aspect 4 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0120] Aspect (28)—The device of aspect 5 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0121] Aspect (29)—The device of aspect 6 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0122] Aspect (30)—The device of aspect 7 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0123] Aspect (31)—The device of aspect 8 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0124] Aspect (32)—The device of aspect 9 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0125] Aspect (33)—The device of aspect 10 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0126] Aspect (34)—The device of aspect 11 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0127] Aspect (35)—The device of aspect 12 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0128] Aspect (36)—The device of aspect 13 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0129] Aspect (37)—The device of aspect 14 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0130] Aspect (38)—The device of aspect 15 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0131] Aspect (39)—The device of aspect 16 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0132] Aspect (40)—The device of aspect 17 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0133] Aspect (41)—The device of aspect 18 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0134] Aspect (42)—The device of aspect 19 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0135] Aspect (43)—The device of aspect 20 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0136] Aspect (44)—The device of aspect 21 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0137] Aspect (45)—The device of aspect 22 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0138] Aspect (46)—The device of aspect 23 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0139] Aspect (47)—A method comprising delivering a portion of a device to a blood vessel wherein the device comprises a catheter including a main body, an expandable diffusion member comprising a body, and a drug delivery lumen.
[0140] Aspect (48)—The method of aspect 47 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body comprises a pre-formed shape memory material.
[0141] Aspect (49)—The method of aspect 48 wherein the pre-formed shape memory material comprises nitinol.
[0142] Aspect (50)—The method of aspect 47 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body comprises a net-like, braided structure.
[0143] Aspect (51)—The method of aspect 50 wherein the net-like, braided structure comprises one, two, or more wires or filaments.
[0144] Aspect (52)—The method of aspect 47 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body comprises a donut structure.
[0145] Aspect (53)—The method of aspect 52 wherein the donut structure comprises a body with a cylinder with a length and a passage coaxial to the cylindrical axis.
[0146] Aspect (54)—The method of aspect 53 wherein the length ranges from one to ten times the largest diameter of the body.
[0147] Aspect (55)—The method of aspect 54 wherein the cylinder has a diameter of 50-105% of the vessel.
[0148] Aspect (56)—The method of aspect 55 wherein the passage has a diameter that ranges from 15-80% of the diameter of the cylinder.
[0149] Aspect (57)—The method of aspect 56 further comprising a connecting member that joins the main body to the expandable diffusion member comprising a body.
[0150] Aspect (58)—The method of aspect 53 further comprising a connecting member that joins the main body to the expandable diffusion member comprising a body.
[0151] Aspect (59)—The method of aspect 58 wherein the length ranges from one to ten times the largest diameter of the body.
[0152] Aspect (60)—The method of aspect 59 wherein the cylinder has a diameter of 50-105% of the vessel.
[0153] Aspect (61)—The method of aspect 60 wherein the passage has a diameter that ranges from 15-80% of the diameter of the cylinder.
[0154] Aspect (62)—The method of aspect 47 wherein the expandable diffusion member has a body with a length wherein the length ranges from one to ten times the largest diameter of the body.
[0155] Aspect (63)—The method of aspect 53 wherein the cylinder has a diameter of 50-105% of the vessel.
[0156] Aspect (64)—The method of aspect 53 wherein the passage has a diameter that ranges from 15-80% of the diameter of the cylinder.
[0157] Aspect (65)—The method of aspect 47 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body further comprises a ball of wire or filament.
[0158] Aspect (66)—The method of aspect 65 wherein the ball of wire or filament comprises a set of coplanar serpentine curves.
[0159] Aspect (67)—The method of aspect 66 wherein the ball of wire or filament comprises two or more sets of one or more coplanar, serpentine curves each set situated in different planes.
[0160] Aspect (68)—The method of aspect 67 further comprising two or more sets of one or more coplanar, serpentine curves each set situated in different planes wherein one or more sets of planes are substantially parallel to each other.
[0161] Aspect (69)—The method of aspect 47 wherein the expandable diffusion member comprising a body further comprises an occlusion balloon.
[0162] Aspect (70)—The method of aspect 47 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0163] Aspect (71)—The method of aspect 48 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0164] Aspect (72)—The method of aspect 49 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0165] Aspect (73)—The method of aspect 50 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0166] Aspect (74)—The method of aspect 51 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0167] Aspect (75)—The method of aspect 52 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0168] Aspect (76)—The method of aspect 53 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0169] Aspect (77)—The method of aspect 54 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0170] Aspect (78)—The method of aspect 55 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0171] Aspect (79)—The method of aspect 56 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0172] Aspect (80)—The method of aspect 57 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0173] Aspect (81)—The method of aspect 58 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0174] Aspect (82)—The method of aspect 59 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0175] Aspect (83)—The method of aspect 60 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0176] Aspect (84)—The method of aspect 61 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0177] Aspect (85)—The method of aspect 62 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0178] Aspect (86)—The method of aspect 63 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0179] Aspect (87)—The method of aspect 64 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0180] Aspect (88)—The method of aspect 65 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0181] Aspect (89)—The method of aspect 66 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0182] Aspect (90)—The method of aspect 67 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0183] Aspect (91)—The method of aspect 68 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0184] Aspect (92)—The method of aspect 69 wherein the devise further comprises an occlusive device proximal to the drug delivery lumen.
[0185] Aspect (93)—The method of aspect 47 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0186] Aspect (94)—The method of aspect 48 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0187] Aspect (95)—The method of aspect 49 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0188] Aspect (96)—The method of aspect 50 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0189] Aspect (97)—The method of aspect 51 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0190] Aspect (98)—The method of aspect 52 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0191] Aspect (99)—The method of aspect 53 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0192] Aspect (100)—The method of aspect 54 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0193] Aspect (101)—The method of aspect 55 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0194] Aspect (102)—The method of aspect 56 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0195] Aspect (103)—The method of aspect 57 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0196] Aspect (104)—The method of aspect 58 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0197] Aspect (105)—The method of aspect 59 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0198] Aspect (106)—The method of aspect 60 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0199] Aspect (107)—The method of aspect 61 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0200] Aspect (108)—The method of aspect 62 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0201] Aspect (109)—The method of aspect 63 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0202] Aspect (110)—The method of aspect 64 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0203] Aspect (111)—The method of aspect 65 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0204] Aspect (112)—The method of aspect 66 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0205] Aspect (113)—The method of aspect 67 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0206] Aspect (114)—The method of aspect 68 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0207] Aspect (115)—The method of aspect 69 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0208] Aspect (116)—The method of aspect 70 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0209] Aspect (117)—The method of aspect 71 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0210] Aspect (118)—The method of aspect 72 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0211] Aspect (119)—The method of aspect 73 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0212] Aspect (120)—The method of aspect 74 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0213] Aspect (121)—The method of aspect 75 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0214] Aspect (122)—The method of aspect 76 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0215] Aspect (123)—The method of aspect 77 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0216] Aspect (124)—The method of aspect 78 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0217] Aspect (125)—The method of aspect 79 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0218] Aspect (126)—The method of aspect 80 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0219] Aspect (127)—The method of aspect 81 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0220] Aspect (128)—The method of aspect 82 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0221] Aspect (129)—The method of aspect 83 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0222] Aspect (130)—The method of aspect 84 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0223] Aspect (131)—The method of aspect 85 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0224] Aspect (132)—The method of aspect 86 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0225] Aspect (133)—The method of aspect 87 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0226] Aspect (134)—The method of aspect 88 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0227] Aspect (135)—The method of aspect 89 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0228] Aspect (136)—The method of aspect 90 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0229] Aspect (137)—The method of aspect 91 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0230] Aspect (138)—The method of aspect 92 wherein delivering comprises delivering the device upstream of a bifurcation in the vessel.
[0231] While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications can be made without departing from the embodiments of this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the embodiments of this invention. Additionally, various embodiments have been described above. For convenience's sake, combinations of aspects composing invention embodiments have been listed in such a way that one of ordinary skill in the art may read them exclusive of each other when they are not necessarily intended to be exclusive. But a recitation of an aspect for one embodiment is meant to disclose its use in all embodiments in which that aspect can be incorporated without undue experimentation. In like manner, a recitation of an aspect as composing part of an embodiment is a tacit recognition that a supplementary embodiment exists that specifically excludes that aspect. All patents, test procedures, and other documents cited in this specification are fully incorporated by reference to the extent that this material is consistent with this specification and for all jurisdictions in which such incorporation is permitted.
[0232] Moreover, some embodiments recite ranges. When this is done, it is meant to disclose the ranges as a range, and to disclose each and every point within the range, including end points. For those embodiments that disclose a specific value or condition for an aspect, supplementary embodiments exist that are otherwise identical, but that specifically exclude the value or the conditions for the aspect. | Devices for delivering drugs or other treatment agents locally to the vasculature of a mammal are disclosed. These devices have several related structures and are designed to deliver the drugs to facilitate rapid mixing with the blood flowing past the devices. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention is related to a novel form of NiO possessing the (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface, preferably as a so-called nanosheet structure, which contains hexagonal holes, as well as to a novel method of preparing the same, and various uses thereof. In particular, the invention is related to the template-free, halide-free, wet chemical route to synthesize the NiO nanosheets with hexagonal holes possessing the (111) lattice plane as the main surface from a nickel salt, preferably nickel nitrate, as a starting material.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] A major challenge in materials engineering is the controlled assembly of purposefully designed molecules or ensembles of molecules into meso-, micro-, and nanostructures to provide an increasingly precise control at molecular levels over structure, properties and function of materials (Michal, D. W. Nature 2000, 405, 293 and Dai. Z. F. et al., Adv. Mater. 2001, 13, 1339). The controlled synthesis and characterization of low dimensional crystalline objects is a major objective in modern materials science, physics and chemistry (J. Polleux, at al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2006, 45, 261 and Angew. Chem. 2005, 118, 267). Recently, one-dimensional nanostructures such as nanorods, nanowires and nanotubes have been intensively studied due to their novel properties and potential application as components and interconnects in nanodevices (Xia, Y. N. et al., Adv. Mater. 2003, 15, 353).
[0003] However, nanosheets with desired holes have not been widely studied due to a lack of the knowledge for their preparation. There are only two articles regarding the synthesis of platinum nanosheets containing hexagonal holes which used graphite as a template (Shirai, M. et al., Chem. Comm. 2000, 623; Shirai, M. et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 2001, 105, 7211), but there is no report on the synthesis of metal oxides nanosheets with hexagonal holes.
[0004] Moreover, hard template assisted processes may have shortcomings for practical application due to the high cost and time requirement (Yang, Z. Z. et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2003, 42, 1943 ; Angew. Chem. 2003, 115, 1987).
[0005] Nickel oxide is a particularly interesting oxide because of its chemical and magnetic properties. There are numerous potential attractive applications in a variety of fields, such as catalysis, battery cathodes, gas sensors, electrochromic films, magnetic materials, active optical fibers and fuel cell electrodes (Makus, R. C. et al., J. Electrochem. Soc. 1994, 141, 3429; and Lunkenheimer, P. et al., Phys. Rev. B 1991, 44, 5927).
[0006] The traditional method for preparation of NiO is the thermal decomposition of either nickel salts or nickel hydroxides, which results in inhomogeneity of morphology, crystallite size and low surface area. Many efforts have been exerted to prepare NiO possessing controlled shapes and morphologies. Wire-like nickel was prepared by inserting nickel into carbon nanotubes using metal organic chemical vapour deposition of nickelocene (Matsui, K. et al., Chem. Commun. 1999, 1317). Monodisperse nanoparticles of Ni and NiO were synthesized employing the thermal decomposition of metal-surfactant complexes (Park, J. et al., Adv. Mater. 2005, 17, 429). Macroporous NiO and metallic Ni with 250-500 nm monodisperse voids were synthesized based on templated precipitation and subsequent chemical conversion of the precursors to macroporous metal or metal oxides (Yan, H. et al., Adv. Mater. 1999, 11, 1003). NiO hollow spheres have been synthesized by thermal decomposition of the as-synthesized Ni(OH) 2 hollow spheres (Wang, Y. et al., Chem. Commun. 2005, 5231). NiO and à-Ni(OH) 2 nanostructures mixture of nanosheets and nanorods were also synthesized by a NiC 2 O 4 conversion method (Li X. et al., Nano Lett. 2001, 1, 264; Li, X. L. et al., Mater. Chem. Phys. 2003, 80, 222; and Liang, Z. H. et al., J. Phys. Chem. B. 2004, 108, 3488). α-Ni(OH) 2 nanostructures were synthesized by a sonochemical method (Mater. Chem. Phys. 2003, 80, 22). These studies imply the importance of controlling size and shape in NiO synthesis, however, these polycrystalline NiO samples usually consist of randomly oriented particles exposing several crystallographic faces. Preparations of NiO (111) have thus far been limited to prolonged cycles of metal nickel oxidation on a substrate in UHV at elevated temperature followed by high temperature annealing (Rohr, F. et al., Surf. Sci. 1994, 315, L977).
[0007] Benzyl alcohol has been found to be a successful medium to tailor metal oxides with well-controlled shape, size and crystallinity under anhydrous conditions, for example, TiO 2 nanoparticles of anatase phase in the 4-8 nm size range (Niederberger, M. et al. Chemistry of Materials 2002, 14, 4364-4370). Vanadium oxide nanorods and tungsten oxide nanoplatelets with identical morphology (Niederberger, M. et al., Journal of the American Chemical Society 2002, 124, 13642-13643) were synthesized in this medium by Stucky and co-workers from metal chloride precursors. Bimetallic oxides of Perovskite structured BaTiO 3 , BaZrO 3 , LiNbO 3 (Niederberger, M. et al. Angewandte Chemie—International Edition 2004, 43, 2270-2273) and SrTiO 3 , (Ba, Sr)TiO 3 nanoparticles (Niederberger, M. et al., Journal of the American Chemical Society 2004, 126, 9120-9126) with controlled particle size and high crystallinity have also been prepared through a suggested C—C bond formation mechanism using metal alkoxides as the starting materials. In all of these studies, no selectivity in surface growth and no nanosheets with desired holes were found.
[0008] A general drawback of the above sot-gel processes employing benzyl alcohol for tailoring metal oxides with well-controlled shape, size and crystallinity, is the amorphous nature of the derived materials, and the following heat treatment to induce crystallization which usually leads to undesired particle morphology.
[0009] To explore new efficient template-free and practical methods for synthesis of nickel oxide nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface with hexagonal holes will open possibilities for new applications or improve existing performances.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0010] It is therefore the object of the invention to provide with a novel template-free, halide-free wet chemical method to synthesize the novel NiO nanosheet structure with hexagonal holes possessing the (111) lattice plane as the main surface.
[0011] The additional object of the invention is providing an intermediate product of the synthesis, being a plate-like NiO nanosheet precursor, having the crystalline nature of the desired particle morphology before calcination.
[0012] The further object of the invention is to provide for a novel NiO nanosheet structure with hexagonal holes possessing the (111) lattice plane as the main surface.
[0013] Still another object of the invention is novel uses of the novel NiO nanosheet structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] According to the invention, the first object is met by a method for preparing a NiO nanosheet structure possessing (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface with hexagonal holes, comprising the following steps: preparing a methanol solution of a nickel salt selected from the group consisting of nickel nitrate, nickel sulphate, nickel chlorate, nickel acetate, and nickel phosphate, or a mixture thereof; adding benzyl alcohol (BZ), optionally substituted with alkyl, nitro, halo or amino, or a mixture thereof and urea to the solution in a ratio of Ni to BZ or substituted BZ of at least 1; and solvent removal and calcination in air of the mixture.
[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the nickel salt is nickel nitrate.
[0016] Preferably, the ratio of Ni to BZ or substituted BZ is between 1:1 to 1:3.
[0017] In a specific embodiment, the solvent removal is accomplished by a supercritical treatment.
[0018] The invention is also directed to a intermediate product of the above synthesis, being a plate-like NiO nanosheet precursor, having the crystalline nature of the desired particle morphology before calcination. According to the invention, this plate-like NiO nanosheet precursor before calcination has the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of FIG. 1 , and the transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of FIG. 2 .
[0019] The invention is also directed to NiO nanosheet structure possessing (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface with hexagonal holes, in which the distance of the lattice planes in high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) when imaging the nanosheets edge-on is 0.24-0.25 nm, and having the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of FIGS. 3 a and b , the transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of FIGS. 4 and 5 , and the high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images of FIGS. 6 a , 8 c and 8 d , and the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of FIG. 7 .
[0020] Preferably, the nanosheets have a thickness of less than 20 nm.
[0021] Advantageously, the edges of the hexagonal holes are substantially straight and parallel to each other, and/or the edge angles of the hexagonal holes are about 120°.
[0022] The NiO nanosheet structure preferably has the following electron diffraction data:
[0000]
TABLE 1
The index planes of NiO nanosheets.
D observed [Å]
D calculated [Å]
Indexing
2.4049
2.4218
111
2.0826
2.0973
200
1.4742
1.4830
220
1.2584
1.2647
311
1.2051
1.2109
222
[0023] Finally, the invention is directed to novel uses of the inventive NiO nanosheet structure with hexagonal holes as a catalyst for methanol decomposition as formation at low temperature, more preferably, in fuel cells, electrochemical cells, and still more preferably in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), for example, for an electric vehicle propulsion, and optionally in alternative energy technologies, for example, for hydrogen generation or storage.
[0024] The invention is finally also directed to the use of the novel NiO nanosheet structure with hexagonal holes as a component or interconnect in nanodevices, as well as in electronic or magnetic devices.
[0025] Thus, a novel, one-pot approach for the synthesis of NiO nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface with hexagonal holes is provided using the inexpensive precursor nickel nitrate, optionally containing crystal water, as starting material. In the synthesis system, benzyl alcohol is used to control the synthesis of NiO (111) nanosheets. It is noted that NiO nanosheets with hexagonal holes possessing the (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface are synthesized by the process of the present invention without using any templates or surfactants, thus avoiding subsequent complicated procedures of removing those substances.
[0026] Here, for the first time a template-free, halide-free efficient wet chemical method to synthesize NiO nanosheets with hexagonal holes possessing the (111) lattice plane as the main surface using nickel nitrate as starting materials is reported, and the synthesis process leads to excellent yields and high crystallinity of the products. The NiO (111) nanosheets are active for methanol decomposition at low temperature, which shows its potential application in, for example, fuel cells.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates SEM images of plate-like NiO precursor crystals before calcinations. The as-synthesized organic-inorganic crystals can be seen.
[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates TEM images of plate-like NiO precursor crystals before calcinations on porous carbon film.
[0029] FIGS. 3 a and b illustrate SEM images of NiO nanosheets at two different magnifications.
[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates TEM images of NiO nanosheets with holes.
[0031] FIG. 5 illustrates TEM images of an isolated NiO nanosheet with holes. There are a lot of hexagonal holes in an isolated nanosheet and the edge angles are 120°.
[0032] FIG. 6 illustrates HRTEM image and FIG. 6 illustrates local FFT of the selected area in image of FIG. 6 of NiO nanosheets. The observed lattice spacings of 0.241 nm correspond to a set of (111) lattice planes forming the main surface of the NiO nanosheet crystal. The observed lattice spacings of 0.241 nm are in excellent agreement with literature known d-spacings for periclase (Rooksby H., Acta Crstallogr., 1948, 1, 226).
[0033] FIG. 7 illustrates the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of (a) the as-synthesized or organic-inorganic crystals of the plate-like NiO nanosheets precursor and (b) the NiO nanosheets structure possessing the (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface.
[0034] FIG. 8 illustrates (a) TEM image of the as-synthesized organic-inorganic crystals on porous carbon film; (b) TEM image of an isolated NiO (111) nanosheet with a lot of hexagonal holes; (c) HRTEM images and local FFT of NiO nanosheets, the observed lattice spacings of 0.241 nm correspond to a set of (111) lattice planes forming the main surface of the NiO nanosheet crystal and (d) HRTEM images and local FFT of NiO nanosheets, The observed lattice spacings of 0.241 nm correspond to two sets of (111) lattice planes forming the main surface of the NiO nanosheet crystal, the observed lattice spacings of 0.241 nm are in excellent agreement with literature known d-spacings (Rooksby, H. Acta Crstallogr., 1948, 1, 226).
[0035] FIG. 9 illustrates DRIFTS of methanol vapour at (a) 1 torr, (b) 0.1 torr and (c) 0.005 torr in equilibrium with NiO (111) nanosheets at room temperature.
[0036] FIG. 10 illustrates DRIFTS of methanol adsorption and reaction on NiO (111) nanosheets at different time (a) 5 min, (b) 10 min, (c) 15 min at 70° C.
[0037] FIG. 11 illustrates the mechanism of methanol oxidation and decomposition on the surface of NiO (111) nanosheets.
[0038] FIG. 12 illustrates DRIFTS of NiO (111) nanosheets treated under high vacuum at (a) room temperature, (b) 100° C., (c) 500° C.
[0039] FIG. 13 illustrates DRIFTS of the as-synthesized organic-inorganic crystals of the plate-like NiO nanosheets precursor at room temperature.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0040] For the first time, the direct synthesis of NiO nanosheets with hexagonal holes by an efficient wet chemical synthetic approach, where the (111) facets form the main surfaces, has been accomplished. The NiO can maintain the sheet-like structure of the as-synthesized organic-inorganic crystals of the plate-like NiO nanosheet precursor before calcination due to the high crystallinity of the intermediate. The obtained NiO nanosheets with novel structure have potential application in nanodevices, can be used as a highly active solid catalysts and provide a prototype for the study of surface structure and surface reactions of polar oxide surfaces.
[0041] The NiO (111) nanosheets according to the invention have great commercial and technical potential. Nickel oxide is a promising material in several fields of applied technology such as in catalysis, high density magnetic data storage and the production of fuel cells. To synthesize nickel oxide with this novel structure will find its optional applications or improve existing performances. The starting materials are cheap, the synthetic process is simple, low-cost and practical, it is easy to scale up.
[0042] The NiO (111) nanosheets according to the invention material can be readily identified through a combination of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and the transmission electron microscope (TEM) image.
EXAMPLE
[0043] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the synthesis of the NiO nanosheets structure, 9 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O was dissolved in 100 ml absolute methanol. After the Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O totally dissolved, 1 g urea and benzyl alcohol was added to the mixture in the ratio Ni:BZ=2 (molar ratio). After stirring for 1 h, the mixture solution was transferred to an autoclave. The autoclave containing the reaction mixture was purged with 10 bar (7500 torr) Ar 5 times, and then a pressure of 10 bar (7500 torr) Ar was imposed before heating starts. The mixture was heated to 200° C. for 5 h, then heated to 265° C. and maintained at that temperature for 1.5 h, at last, the vapour inside was vented (thereby removing the solvent in the supercritical state). A dry jade-green powder was collected and subsequently calcined with a ramp rate of PC/min to 500° C., then maintained at 500° C. for 6 h. The powder produced from this preparation contains solely the NiO nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes with hexagonal holes (edge angles of 120°).
[0044] The materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) using a Siemens D5000 X-ray diffractometer with nickel filtered Cu Kα radiation (λ=1.5418 Å) at a scanning rate of 0.1°·min −1 in the 2θ range of 5-80°.
[0045] Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) characterization of the as-synthesized organic-inorganic hybrid materials of the plate-like NiO nanosheet precursor before calcination and NiO samples was carried out on a JEM-2010 operated at 200 kV. The samples were prepared by spreading an ultrasonicated suspension in ethanol.
[0046] In-situ DRIFTS investigation: A Thermo 4700 IR spectrometer with liquid nitrogen cooled detector, a high temperature chamber and DRIFT accessory were used with the following parameters: 64 scans, 600-4000 cm −1 scan range, 4 cm −1 resolution.
[0047] In-situ DRIFTS investigation of NiO (111) nanosheets: The sample temperature was measured through a thermocouple inserted into the sample holder directly in contact with the sample. A spectrum of the KBr was collected at room temperature under high vacuum and was used as the background. 10 mg of sample was placed into a high temperature sample holder; the chamber was evacuated and pressure remained 0.005 torr. The spectra were collected under high vacuum at room temperature. Following this scan, the temperature was raised to 100° C., and another scan was taken. After this scan, the temperature was raised to 500° C. and maintained for 1 h, finally, the last spectra was collected.
[0048] In-situ DRIFTS investigation of methanol adsorption and surface reaction: 10 mg sample was pretreated at 500° C. for 1 h under high vacuum to remove any water or other impurities from its surface. A spectrum of the clean sample surface was collected following this procedure at the adsorption temperature (room temperature or 70° C.) under high vacuum and was used as the background. Methanol vapour was obtained by evapouration under high vacuum. The high vacuum reactor, directly connected to the DRIFT chamber, allows us to work in flow conditions. Methanol was introduced into the reaction chamber at 0.005 torr while the NiO sample was maintained at the adsorption temperature (room temperature or 70° C.). For in-situ DRIFT spectra at room temperature, when the reaction chamber was evacuated to 1, 0.1 and 0.005 torr, respectively, the vacuum valve was closed and the spectra was collected after 2 minutes of equilibrium. For the experiments at 70° C., after introduction of methanol and equilibrium for 3 minutes, the methanol introduction valve was closed; and the spectra were collected every several minutes.
[0049] The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the NiO nanosheets is shown in FIG. 7 a . The intensity of the peak at 2θ=12.5° is very strong, indicating the as-synthesized product is highly crystalline. After calcination at 500° C., the grey powder product is a single phase of well crystallized NiO with the Fm-3m structure (Rooksby, H. Acta Crstallogr., 1948, 1, 226). The XRD pattern of the grey powder ( FIG. 7 b ) shows peaks of (111), (200), (220), (311) and (222) corresponding to the d-spacing 2.4049, 2.0826, 1.4742, 1.2584 and 1.2051 Å, respectively, that match well with the JCPDF 65-2901 card. These peaks are relatively broad, corresponding to a particle size of 14.9 nm according to the Debye-Scherrer equation.
[0050] Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images reveal the morphology differences of the as-synthesized product and NiO. The as-synthesised product shows a sheet-like structure ( FIG. 8 a ). DRIFT spectroscopy results prove the presence of organic species in the highly crystalline sheet-like structure ( FIGS. 12 and 13 ). The bands at 1082, 2805, 2876 and 2930 cm −1 are indicative of the presence of methoxyl groups. The bands at 3660 and 1647 cm −1 corresponding to stretching and bending vibrations of OH respectively indicate the presence of hydroxyl group. The bands at 1513, 1294 and 2187 cm −1 indicate the surface carbonate species which may result from the hydrolysis of urea (Diao, Y., et al., Chem. Mater. 2002, 14, 362). There is no indication of the skeletal vibration of aromatic rings, indicating that the benzyl alcohol has been removed during the supercritical drying process. The DRIFTS and XRD results suggest that the as-synthesized product is a highly crystalline material containing hydroxyl groups, methoxyl groups and CO 3 2− . In the synthesis system, benzyl alcohol and the NH 4 OH from the slow hydrolysis of urea adjust the hydrolysis and gelation rate of nickel nitrate, and help form the sheet-like organic-inorganic hybrid structure. After calcination, the NiO maintained the sheet-like structure with a typical thickness of 3-10 nm which may due to the high crystallinity of the as-synthesized organic-inorganic compound and there are a number of hexagonal holes formed in the nanosheets ( FIG. 8 b ). The edges of these hexagonal holes (AB) are straight and parallel to each other. The BC and AC edges are also straight and parallel to each other. Moreover, the angles between two straight lines from three AB, BC and AC directions are oriented at 120°.
[0051] NiO is a p-type semiconductor; the novel structure should have potential applications as components and interconnects in nano devices. HRTEM analysis of the NiO nanosheets shows that the main surface of the nanosheets are parallel to the (111) lattice planes. The NiO (111) facet is composed of alternating layers of oxygen and nickel atoms and thus, the surface of NiO (111) has a strong electropolarity. When operating by directing the incident electron beam perpendicular to the facet of the nanosheet, the HRTEM images exhibit lattice fringes with a distance of 0.24-0.25 nm parallel to the main surface of the nanosheet in good agreement with the {111} lattice spacing in NiO ( FIGS. 8 c and d ). Theoretical studies suggest that the (111) surface is stabilized by hydroxyl groups (Langell, M. A., et al. J. Phys. Chem. 1995, 99, 4162). The stretching frequencies of hydroxyl groups decrease with the coordination number from 3735 cm −1 (1-coordination) to 3630 cm −1 (penta-coordination). In our case, the peak at 3690 cm −1 should be attributed to tri-coordinated hydroxyl groups corresponding to the (111) structure where one surface oxygen anion coordinates with three Ni 2+ ( FIG. 12 ). The hydroxyl groups are stable at 500° C., in view of the inherent instability of polar surfaces, the observed OH groups on NiO (111) may be rationalized to be due to a stabilization of the (111) surface by hydroxyl groups.
[0052] Methanol is a “smart” molecular probe that can provide fundamental information about the number and the nature of surface active sites (Badlani, M., et al., Catal. Lett. 2001, 73, 3-4, 137). The decomposition of methanol provides both fundamental knowledge about the surface and is also interesting for potential applications in direct methanol fuel cells. In order to increase our understanding about the surface structure, properties and potential applications of the NiO (111) nanosheets, in the present work, we have characterized the NiO (111) nanosheets systematically and investigated methanol adsorption and reaction on the surface of NiO (111) nanosheets at low temperature. DRIFT spectra of NiO (111) nanosheets exposed to methanol vapour pressures of 1, 0.1 and 0.005 torr at room temperature were collected. The presence of gas-phase and weakly adsorbed methanol in the DRIFT spectra obtained after exposure of the NiO (111) nanosheets to methanol at room temperature, is suggested by the characteristic adsorptions in the spectral region of C—O stretching ( FIG. 9 a, 1050, 1034, and 1015 cm − ) and is confirmed by the broad and intense O—H bands (between 3500 and 3200 cm − ) and C—H bands (between 2700 and 3200 cm −1 ) stretching contributions. The negative peak at 3690 cm −1 suggests that surface hydroxyl groups react with methanol by forming a hydrogen bond or forming water by methanol dissociative chemisorption. It is noteworthy that an intense peak at 1606 associated with a pair of bands at 1452 and 1320 is observed, which is assigned to the OCO asymmetric and symmetric stretching modes of an intermediate formate species adsorbed on the NiO (111) nanosheets surface. These results indicate that methanol can be oxidized on the surface of NiO (111) nanosheets at room temperature. Both undissociated and dissociated methanol have been observed when NiO (111) nanosheets are exposed to methanol at 70° C. ( FIG. 10 ). A large amount of CO 2 formed upon exposure to methanol at 70° C. (peaks at 2360 and 2341 cm −1 ) and increased with time. A weak, pair of peaks at 1764 and 1743 cm −1 , can be attributed to the C═O asymmetric stretching of CO and formic acid (Millikan, R. C., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1958, 80, 3515; Kustov, L. M., et al., Catal. Lett. 1991, 9, 121). The bands of CO 2 at 2360 and 2341 cm −1 increase and the bands of C—H stretching between 2800 and 3100 cm −1 decrease in intensity with the time, indicating that the methanol decomposition continues with time. This suggests that NiO (111) nanosheets are active for methanol decomposition. In comparison with the spectra at room temperature, the region of O—H stretching has no distinct change; indicating that methanol interacts primarily with surface oxygen anions and oxygen defects at 70° C. This implies that the main active sites for methanol decomposition are oxygen defects and oxygen anions. The detailed methanol adsorption and decomposition mechanism is shown in Scheme 1 ( FIG. 11 ). Methanol reacts with the hydroxyl groups and oxygen defects on the surface of NiO (111) nanosheets to form methoxyl groups (I), then, the methoxy groups interact with the surface oxygen anions to lose hydrogen and mutate to formate species (II), finally, formate species decomposition and dehydrogenation produce CO 2 (III). This result is relevant for applications in fuel cells and other alternative energy technologies. Methanol is also an excellent fuel in its own right and it can also be blended with gasoline, although it has half the volumetric energy density relative to gasoline or diesel (Olah, G. A., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 2636 ; Angew. Chem. 2005, 117, 2692). It is also used in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). Performance of the liquid feed methanol fuel cells is already attractive for some applications and is approaching the levels required for electric vehicle propulsion (Kustov, L. M. et al., Catal. Lett. 1991, 9, 121). In these electrochemical cells, methanol is directly oxidized with air to carbon dioxide and water to produce electricity, without the need to first generate hydrogen (Surumpudi, S. et al., J. Power Sources 1994, 47, 217; Prakash, G. K. S. et al., J. Fluorine Chem. 2004, 125, 1217). This greatly simplifies the fuel cell technology and makes it available to a broad range of applications. The conventional Cu/ZnO-based methanol synthesis catalysts performed poorly in the methanol decomposition (Cheng, W., Acc. Chem. Res. 1999, 32, 685). The catalysts suffered from rapid deactivation. The activity and stability of the catalysts have been two major challenges associated with methanol decomposition. The NiO (111) nanosheets can decompose methanol at low temperature and their preparation is simple and has scale-up potential. The large-scale application of NiO (111) nanosheets catalysts without transition metals for low temperature methanol decomposition or formation may be feasible.
[0053] The features disclosed in the foregoing description, drawings and claims may, both separately and in any combination thereof, be material for realizing the invention in diverse forms thereof.
Example 1
[0054] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the synthesis of the NiO nanosheets structure, 9 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O was dissolved in 100 ml absolute methanol. After the Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O totally dissolved, 1 g urea and 6.7 g benzyl alcohol was added to the mixture in the ratio Ni:urea:BZ=1:0.5:2 (molar ratio). After stirring for 1 h, the mixture solution was transferred to an autoclave. The autoclave containing the reaction mixture was purged with 10 bar (7500 torr) Ar 5 times, and then a pressure of 10 bar (7500 torr) Ar was imposed before heating starts. The mixture was heated to 200° C. for 5 h, then heated to 265° C. and maintained at that temperature for 1.5 h, at last, the vapour inside was vented (thereby removing the solvent in the supercritical state). A dry jade-green powder was collected and subsequently calcined with a ramp rate of 3° C./min to 500° C., then maintained at 500° C. for 6 h. The powder produced from this preparation contains solely the NiO nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes with hexagonal holes (edge angles of 120°). The typical diameter of these nano-sheets is about 1 μm, and the typical size of holes is 20-100 nm.
Example 2
[0055] 9 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O was dissolved in 100 ml absolute methanol. After the Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O dissolved completely, 6.7 g benzyl alcohol was added to the mixture in the ratio Ni:benzyl alcohol=1:2 (molar ratio). After stirring for 1 h, the solution was transferred to an autoclave and the reaction mixture was purged with 7500 torr Ar 5 times, and then a pressure of 7500 torr Ar was imposed before initiating heating. The mixture was heated to 200° C. for 5 h, then to 265° C. and maintained at that temperature for 1.5 h; finally, the vapor inside was vented. After the supercritical fluid drying (SCFD), a green powder was collected and subsequently calcined in air with a ramp rate of 3° C./min to 500° C., then maintained at 500° C. for 6 h. The powder produced from this preparation contains solely the NiO nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes with hexagonal holes (edge angles of 120°). The typical diameter of these nano-sheets is about 3 μm, and the typical size of holes is 20-100 nm.
Example 3
[0056] 9 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O was dissolved in 100 ml absolute methanol. After the Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O totally dissolved, 2 g urea and benzyl alcohol was added to the mixture in the ratio Ni:urea:BZ=1:1:2 (molar ratio). After stirring for 1 h, the mixture solution was transferred to an autoclave. The autoclave containing the reaction mixture was purged with 10 bar (7500 torr) Ar 5 times, and then a pressure of 10 bar (7500 torr) Ar was imposed before heating starts. The mixture was heated to 200° C. for 5 h, then heated to 265° C. and maintained at that temperature for 1.5 h, at last, the vapour inside was vented. A dry jade-green powder was collected and subsequently calcined with a ramp rate of 3° C./min to 500° C., then maintained at 500° C. for 6 h. The powder produced from this preparation contains solely the NiO nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes with hexagonal holes (edge angles of 120°). The typical diameter of these nano-sheets is about 0.3 μm, and the typical size of holes is 20-100 nm.
Example 4
[0057] 9 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O was dissolved in 100 ml absolute methanol. After the Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O dissolved completely, 6.7 g benzyl alcohol was added to the mixture in the ratio Ni:benzyl alcohol=1:2 (molar ratio). After stirring for 1 h, the solution was transferred to an autoclave and the reaction mixture was purged with 7500 torr Ar 5 times, and then a pressure of 7500 torr Ar was imposed before initiating heating. The mixture was heated to 200° C. for 5 h, then to 265° C. and maintained at that temperature for 1.5 h; finally, the vapor inside was vented. After the supercritical fluid drying (SCFD), a green powder was collected and subsequently calcined in oxygen with a ramp rate of 3° C./min to 500° C., then maintained at 500° C. for 6 h. The powder produced from this preparation contains solely the NiO nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes with hexagonal holes (edge angles of 120°). The typical diameter of these nano-sheets is about 1 μm, and the typical size of holes is 20-100 nm.
Example 5
[0058] 9 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O was dissolved in 100 ml absolute methanol. After the Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O dissolved completely, 6.7 g benzyl alcohol was added to the mixture in the ratio Ni:benzyl alcohol=1:2 (molar ratio). After stirring for 1 h, the solution was transferred to an autoclave and the reaction mixture was purged with 7500 torr Ar 5 times, and then a pressure of 7500 ton Ar was imposed before initiating heating. The mixture was heated to 200° C. for 5 h, then to 265° C. and maintained at that temperature for 1.5 h; finally, the vapor inside was vented. After the supercritical fluid drying (SCFD), a green powder was collected and subsequently calcined in nitrogen with a ramp rate of 3° C./min to 500° C., then maintained at 500° C. for 6 h. The powder produced from this preparation contains solely the NiO nanosheets possessing the (111) crystallographic planes with hexagonal holes (edge angles of 120°). The typical diameter of these nano-sheets is about 3 μm, and the typical size of holes is 20-100 nm.
Example 6
[0059] 9 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O was dissolved in 100 ml absolute methanol. After the Ni(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O dissolved completely, 6.7 g benzyl alcohol was added to the mixture in the ratio Ni:benzyl alcohol=1:2 (molar ratio). After stirring for 1 h, the solution was transferred to an autoclave and the reaction mixture was purged with 7500 torr Ar 5 times, and then a pressure of 7500 torr Ar was imposed before initiating heating. The mixture was heated to 200° C. for 5 h, then to 265° C. and maintained at that temperature for 1.5 h; finally, the vapor inside was vented. After the supercritical fluid drying (SCFD), a green powder was collected and subsequently calcined in air with a ramp rate of 3° C./min to 350° C., then maintained at 350° C. for 0.5 h. The typical diameter of these nano-sheets is about 3 μm, and the typical size of holes is less than 10 nm. | Method for preparing a NiO nanosheet structure possessing (111) crystallographic planes as a primary surface with hexagonal holes, comprising the following steps: a) preparing a methanol solution of a nickel salt selected from the group consisting of nickel nitrate, nickel sulphate, nickel chlorate, nickel acetate, and nickel phosphate or a mixture thereof; b) adding benzyl alcohol (BZ), optionally substituted with alkyl, nitro, halo or amino, or a mixture thereof and urea to the solution of (a) in a ratio of Ni to BZ or substituted BZ of at least 1; c) solvent removal and calcination in air of the mixture, plate-like NiO nanosheet precursors therefore, NiO nanosheet structures obtainable by that method as well as various novel uses thereof. | 2 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/262,953, filed Oct. 20, 2009, which is herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method and apparatus for improving stability of histogram correlation.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A correlation based algorithm makes a decision by computing the correlation score between two signals/images. One of the challenges of a correlation algorithm is the stability of the correlation score. Small disturbance in the input signal/image can lead to fluctuation in the correlation score.
[0006] The histogram of the chromaticity of an image may contain peaks in close proximity, such peaks coupled with the discreteness nature of the histogram lead to unsmooth correlation score among adjacent video frames. Therefore, there exists a need for improving the stability of histogram correlation based image and video processing algorithms.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for improving stability of histogram correlation. The method includes computing a histogram for target signal and reference signal for generating a target histogram and a reference histogram, performing low pass filtering of the input signal and the reference signal and producing smoothed histograms, and performing correlation on the smoothed histograms for improving stability of histogram correlation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
[0009] FIGS. 1 ( a ) and ( b ) are embodiments depicting two consecutive shots of a brick wall, FIG. 1( c ) is the chromaticity histogram of (a), and FIG. 1( d ) is the histogram of (b);
[0010] FIG. 2 is an embodiment of an Illustration of moving an input histogram towards upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right direction;
[0011] FIG. 3 is an embodiment of Gaussian low pass filter;
[0012] FIGS. 4 ( a ) and ( b ) are embodiments of Gaussian low pass filtered histogram of FIG. 1( c ) and FIG. 1( d ), respectively, FIGS. 4( c ) and ( d ) are the new results of computing correlation score after low filtering;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting an embodiment of a method for improving stability of histogram correlation; and
[0014] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting another embodiment of a method for improving stability of histogram correlation
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] FIGS. 1 ( a ) and ( b ) are embodiments depicting two consecutive shots of a brick wall, FIG. 1( c ) is the chromaticity histogram of (a), and FIG. 1( d ) is the histogram of (b). In the histogram correlation based white balance algorithm, two consecutive shots of the same scene are taken. The histogram correlation score turned out to be very different for FIGS. 1 ( a ) and ( b ), and consequently the color temperature estimation and the white balance gains are very different.
[0016] The fluctuation in correlation score is due to the these factors: (1) the chromaticity histograms of these two images are narrowly concentrated in a small region, (2) the location of the peaks of the histograms are slightly different, and (3) both the histogram of the references and the histogram of the input image are discrete.
[0017] As a result of these properties, small disturbance of the histogram distribution can lead to a significant change of the correlation score, when the peak of the histogram of the input image overlaps with one of the peaks of the reference histogram, the correlation score will be very high, otherwise the score will be very low. The chromaticity histograms of the two images are shown in FIGS. 1 ( c ) and ( d ). Such instability has to be dealt with.
[0018] Since the fluctuation of the correlation score is caused mainly by the discreteness of the histograms (or any input signals to a correlation algorithm), and it is usually worsened by the very narrowly concentrated histograms. Thus, it may be beneficial to “move around” the input signal in a small neighborhood and correlate it with the references multiple times. FIG. 2 is an embodiment of an Illustration of moving an input histogram towards upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right direction.
[0019] Then, one may combine the correlation scores to get the final score, as shown in Eqn (1).
[0000]
Corr
Final
=
∑
k
w
k
·
CORR
(
H
(
i
-
n
k
,
j
-
m
k
)
,
G
(
i
,
j
)
)
(
1
)
[0020] This is equivalent to detecting a peak correlation in a neighborhood of the input signal, instead of just at one spot. This way the correlation score is more robust to small disturbance in the input histograms. In Eqn (1), CORR(H, G) is the operation of computing correlation between H and G. H is the target histogram/signal, G is the reference histogram/signal. w k is the weight applied to the k-th correlation. n k and m k are the amount of offset in shifting H.
[0021] Such an algorithm may be implemented by applying low pass filtering to the input histogram. The Gaussian low pass filter is given in Eqn (2)
[0000]
Gauss
(
m
,
n
)
=
C
·
-
m
2
+
n
2
2
σ
2
Where
(
2
)
C
=
1
∑
m
∑
n
-
m
2
+
n
2
2
σ
2
(
3
)
[0000] We chose σ=1.0 and the kernel size of the Gaussian filter to be 5×5.
[0022] FIG. 3 is an embodiment of Gaussian low pass filter. To improve the accuracy of the correlation, one may apply the Gaussian low pass filter to the reference histograms before computing the correlation. Now the correlation score is computed as follows:
[0000] Step 1: H =Gauss* H (4),
[0000] where H is the input histogram/signal
[0000] Step 2: G =Gauss* G (5),
[0000] where G is the reference histogram/signal
[0000] Step 3: Corr Final =CORR( H , G ), (6)
[0000] where the correlation operation CORR(H,G) is defined below:
[0000]
CORR
(
H
,
G
)
=
∑
m
∑
n
H
(
m
,
n
)
·
G
(
m
,
n
)
StdDev
(
H
)
·
StdDev
(
G
)
,
and
(
7
)
StdDev
(
X
)
=
1
M
·
N
∑
n
=
1
N
∑
m
=
1
M
X
(
m
,
n
)
2
(
8
)
[0023] The low pass filtering of the histograms make the histograms much more robust to small disturbance, and consequently leading to much more stable correlation scores. The filtered histograms and the resulting images are shown in FIG. 4 . FIGS. 4 ( a ) and ( b ) are embodiments of Gaussian low pass filtered histogram of FIG. 1( c ) and FIG. 1( d ), respectively, FIGS. 4( c ) and ( d ) are the new results of computing correlation score after low passing.
[0024] The technique described in this disclosure may be applied to improve the robustness and stability of any correlation algorithms in general, where the signals are low pass filtered to reduce the influence of noise. The selection of the parameter of the low pass filter is very important. In terms of a Gaussian filter, the kernel size should be at least 5 times of the standard deviation of the Gaussian filter, and the standard deviation should be small to avoid excessive expansion of the signal, as well as restraining computation to minimal.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting an embodiment of a method 500 for improving stability of histogram correlation. The method 500 starts at step 502 and proceeds to step 504 . At step 504 , the method 500 computes a histogram for target signal and reference signal. At step 506 , the method 500 performs low pass filtering of input and reference signal and produces smoothed histograms. At step 508 , the method 500 performs correlation on the smoothed histograms. The method 500 ends at step 510 .
[0026] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting another embodiment of a method 600 for improving stability of histogram correlation. The method 600 starts at step 602 and proceeds to step 604 . At step 604 , the method 600 computes a histogram for target signal and reference signal. At step 606 , the method 600 shifts the target histogram towards upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right in a neighborhood. At step 608 , the method 600 performs correlation between reference histogram and target histogram and between shifted target histogram and the referenced histogram. At step 610 , the method 600 combines correlation scores. The method 600 ends at step 612 .
[0027] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow. | A method and apparatus for improving stability of histogram correlation based image and video processing algorithms. The method includes computing a histogram for target signal and reference signal for generating a target histogram and a reference histogram, performing low pass filtering of the input signal and the reference signal and producing smoothed histograms, and performing correlation on the smoothed histograms for improving stability of histogram correlation. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to hair clippers and to arrangements for selectively releasing blade assemblies of such hair clippers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A blade assembly of a hair clipper typically includes a blade set having a fixed blade in face-to-face relation with a movable blade. An electric motor is drivingly connected to the movable blade to effect reciprocation thereof in response to actuation of the motor. A number of suitable motors and driving arrangements are known.
Hair clipper performance can generally be improved by cleaning cut hairs from around the blade set and the driving arrangement and by lubricating the blade set and the driving arrangement. To allow for this, the blade assembly is often configured to be movable from an operating position to an open position such that the blade set and the driving arrangement are exposed. Such movement also allows for the performance of other maintenance on the blade set and the driving arrangement.
In the past, blade assemblies had to be released and moved away from the housing through a direct manual force on the blade assembly, or by directly disengaging a hook from a corresponding recess in the lower front end of the housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first embodiment of the present invention is directed to a hair clipper including a housing, and a blade assembly coupled to the housing. The blade assembly is movable between an operating position and an open position. The hair clipper also comprises a motor supported by the housing and drivingly connected to the blade assembly when the blade assembly is in the operating position, and a release assembly including a release mechanism, the release assembly switchable between a hold state and a release state, wherein in the hold state the release assembly holds the blade assembly in the operating position, and in the release state, upon application of a force exerted by an operator on the release mechanism, the release assembly releases the blade assembly to permit the blade assembly to move to the open position in the absence of an additional force from the operator.
Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a hair clipper including a housing having a cutting end. The hair clipper also comprises a blade assembly coupled to the housing at the cutting end, the blade assembly movable between an operating position and an open position. An attachment assembly is at least partially disposed in the housing for coupling the blade assembly to the housing and biasing the blade assembly to the open position. A motor is supported by the housing and is drivingly connected to the blade assembly when the blade assembly is in the operating position. The hair clipper also comprises a release assembly having a release mechanism, the release assembly switchable between a hold state and a release state, wherein in the hold state the release assembly holds the blade assembly in the operating position, and in the release state, upon application of a force on the release mechanism, the release assembly releases the blade assembly such that the blade assembly moves to the open position.
The present invention is also directed to a method of removing a blade assembly from engagement with a housing of a hair clipper. The method comprises providing the hair clipper with an attachment assembly supporting the blade assembly for movement relative to the housing between an operating position and an open position and biasing the blade assembly to the open position. A release assembly has a release mechanism, the release assembly being switchable from a hold state to a release state wherein in the hold state the release assembly holds the blade assembly in the operating position and wherein in the release state the release assembly releases the blade assembly to permit the attachment assembly to bias the blade assembly to the open position. A force is applied to the release mechanism while the blade assembly is in the operating position to switch the release assembly from the hold state to the release state, whereby the release permits the attachment assembly to move the blade assembly to the open position. The method also comprises removing the blade assembly from the housing while the blade assembly is in the open position.
The invention also provides a hair clipper comprising a housing, a blade assembly including a frame and first and second blades supported by the frame, with at least one of the blades being movable relative to the other, the housing having thereon one of a projection and a recess, and the frame including the other of the projection and the recess, the projection being insertable in the recess, the one of the projection and the recess being mounted on the housing for movement such that, when the projection is inserted in the recess, the blade assembly is movable between an operating position and an open position, and the one of the projection and the recess being biased such that a biasing force biases the blade assembly toward the open position, a motor supported by the housing and drivingly connected to the blade assembly when the blade assembly is in the operating position, and a release mechanism supported by the housing for movement between hold and release positions, the release mechanism being biased to the hold position, and being movable by an operator to the release position, the release mechanism holding the blade assembly in the operating position when the release mechanism is in the hold position, and the release mechanism allowing the blade assembly to move to the open position under the influence of the biasing force when the release mechanism is in the release position, the blade assembly being removable from the housing by removing the projection from the recess when the blade assembly is in the open position.
Further objects of the present invention, together with the organization and manner of operation thereof, will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like elements have like numerals throughout the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hair clipper embodying various features of the invention, including a blade assembly in contact with a housing.
FIG. 2 is another perspective view of a portion of the hair clipper shown in FIG. 1 , including the blade assembly pivoted away from the housing.
FIG. 3 is another perspective view of a portion of the hair clipper shown in FIG. 1 with the blade assembly removed from the housing.
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the hair clipper shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the hair clipper taken along line 5 - 5 of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 6 is another cross-sectional view of the hair clipper taken along line 6 - 6 of FIG. 2 .
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A hair trimmer or clipper 10 according to the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 . The clipper 10 includes a housing 12 comprising an upper housing 22 and a lower housing 26 . The housing 12 is preferably made of injection-molded plastic, but can be made of any suitable material as in known in the art. The housing includes a cutting end 46 (shown in FIGS. 2-6 ) and an opening 70 (shown in FIG. 4 ). As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the lower housing 26 includes two seats 144 and two seats 154 . The upper housing 22 and the lower housing 26 enclose an electric motor 30 . An eccentric 38 is mounted on the output shaft of the motor 30 . A cord 34 provides electricity to the electric motor 30 via a switch 44 mounted in the lower housing 26 . An on/off switch actuator 36 is positioned for sliding movement along the side of the housing 12 . The switch 36 actuator is coupled to the switch 44 for activating and deactivating the motor 30 to turn the clipper 10 on and off, respectively. Many alternative devices and mechanisms can be used to turn the clipper 10 on and off, as well known in the art, and can be used as a substitute to the mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 .
As shown in FIGS. 4-6 , a support bracket 42 is coupled to the lower housing 26 with fasteners (not shown). The support bracket 42 supports the motor 30 and is fastened to the motor 30 by screws 68 . Any conventional fastener can be employed to secure the support member 42 to the motor 30 as just described, such as nails, rivets, pins, posts, clips, clamps, inter-engaging elements, and any combination of such fasteners. The support bracket 42 includes two extension portions 50 , each having a recess 52 . The purpose of the recesses 52 is explained below. In the illustrated embodiment, the recesses 52 are generally cylindrical. An aperture 48 is located between the extension portions for receiving a portion of the motor 30 . The support bracket 42 shown in the illustrated embodiment is molded from plastic. In other embodiments, the support bracket 42 can be formed of a different material or combination of materials.
As illustrated in FIG. 4 , a blade assembly 14 is located proximate the cutting end 46 of the upper housing 22 . The blade assembly 14 includes a blade frame 40 to support the components of the blade assembly 14 . The blade frame 40 includes a ridge 94 having a cam surface 146 (shown in FIG. 6 ), the reasons for which are explained below.
The blade assembly 14 also includes a blade set 106 having an inner blade 110 and an outer blade 114 . The inner blade 110 is moves relative to the outer blade 114 , which is fixed. The outer blade 114 is coupled to the blade frame 40 by screws 116 ( FIG. 2 ), although any suitable fastener can be employed to secure the outer blade 114 to the blade frame 40 . The inner blade 110 is coupled to a blade box 102 by screws (not shown) and is biased toward the outer blade 114 by a biasing spring 98 . The spring 98 is fixed to the outer blade 114 by screws 117 ( FIG. 6 ). A portion 104 of the blade box 102 receives the eccentric 38 , and the inner blade 110 and the blade box 102 are supported such that the inner blade 110 moves back and forth across the outer blade 114 in response to movement of the eccentric 38 , as is known in the art. The blade frame 40 also includes a tongue receiving member 130 (shown in FIGS. 5-6 ).
As illustrated in FIG. 4 , an attachment assembly 20 includes a tongue 126 for insertion into the tongue receiving member 130 of the blade frame 40 . The tongue 126 has thereon a sleeve 140 to help create a more snug fit between the tongue 126 and the tongue receiving member 130 , and to couple torsion springs 138 to the tongue 126 (discussed below). As shown in FIGS. 3-4 , the tongue 126 is generally a flat, rigid piece of plastic or metal fixed to a shaft 118 . In this embodiment, the tongue 126 is molded to the shaft 118 . In other embodiments, the tongue 126 may be fastened or otherwise linked to the shaft 118 for movement with or about the shaft 118 . The shaft 118 is supported on either end by reservoir cups 122 . The reservoir cups 122 are seated in the seats 144 of the lower housing 26 and are trapped or held in the seats by downwardly extending portions of the bracket 42 , as best shown in FIG. 3 . Preferably, the reservoir cups 122 are filled with lubricant (not shown), such as oil, binders with graphite or Teflon, ethers, silicones, or any such lubricant that dampens the rotation of the shaft 118 .
Along the shaft 118 , the tongue 126 is surrounded on either side by two torsion springs 138 . A first end 152 of each spring 138 fits within a respective seat 154 of the lower housing 26 . The ends 152 of the springs 138 are trapped or held in the seats 154 by downwardly extending portions of the bracket 42 , as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 . The other ends 156 of the springs 138 extend into the sleeve 140 , so that the sleeve 140 is biased to pivot in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6 . When the sleeve 140 is inserted in the tongue receiving member 130 of the blade frame 40 , the entire blade assembly is biased in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6 . The attachment assembly 20 supports the blade assembly 14 for pivotal movement relative to the housing 12 between an operating position ( FIG. 5 ) and an open position ( FIG. 6 ). The springs 138 bias the blade assembly toward the open position.
The clipper 10 also includes a release assembly 16 . The release assembly 16 includes a release mechanism 66 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 , the release mechanism 66 can include a button, a switch, a detent, or any similar device used to allow the state of a device to change. The release mechanism is preferably made of injection molded plastic and includes a button that extends through aperture 70 of the upper housing 22 . The release mechanism 66 also includes two hooks 74 each including a top edge 142 and cam surfaces 150 . The purpose of the hooks 74 is explained below.
The release mechanism also includes two downwardly extending projections or shafts 64 , each of which is vertically aligned with and extends into a respective recess 52 in the bracket 42 . Surrounding each 64 and extending into the associated recess 52 is a respective spring 58 . The upper end of each spring 58 contacts the underside of the release mechanism 66 , such that the springs 58 bias the release mechanism 66 upward. Upward movement of the release mechanism is limited by engagement of a shoulder on the release mechanism with the underside of the upper housing 26 . This is the upper position of the release mechanism.
The release assembly 16 generally has two states, a hold state (shown in FIG. 5 ) and a release state (shown in FIG. 6 ). The hold state occurs in the absence of a downward force on the button 66 . As illustrated in FIG. 5 , in the hold state of the release assembly 16 , the release mechanism is in its upper position, and the hooks 74 are engaged with the ridge 94 of the blade frame 40 to hold the blade assembly 14 in its operating position. The ridge 94 is held within the hooks 74 until force is applied to the release mechanism 66 to move the release mechanism downward, so that the release assembly is in its release state. By pushing the button 66 downward and thereby moving the hooks 74 downward, the hooks 74 are disengaged with the ridge 94 to allow the blade assembly to pivot to its open position. When the force on the button is removed, the springs 58 bias the release mechanism 66 back to the hold state. In other embodiments, a force applied to the release mechanism 66 can be in any direction to cause the release mechanism 66 and hooks 74 to move from the hold state to the release state. Alternatively, the release mechanism 66 can be pivoted, moved in a horizontal direction, moved in a vertical direction, or the like to move from the hold state to the release state.
As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 , in moving toward the open position, the blade assembly 14 pivots about the shaft 1118 . The lubricant in the reservoir cups 122 dampens the pivoting motion of the blade assembly 14 . When the shaft 1118 has rotated a specific amount, the blade assembly 14 will cease rotation when the springs 138 are in a free state (i.e., no force is applied to the blade assembly 14 by the springs 138 ).
During trimming operation of the clipper 10 , the user operates the clipper 10 with the blade assembly 14 in the operating position. For cleaning and replacement purposes, the blade assembly 14 is removable from the housing 12 of the clipper 10 , as illustrated in FIG. 3 . To remove the blade assembly 14 from the housing 12 , downward force F is first applied to the release mechanism 66 . The force F on the release mechanism 66 causes the release mechanism 66 and the hooks 74 to move downward against the force of the springs 58 . When the release mechanism 66 is lowered vertically to a point where the top edge 142 of each hook 74 is no longer in contact with the ridge 94 of the blade assembly 14 , the blade assembly 14 then begins pivoting toward the open position.
In the open position, the blade assembly 14 is capable of being removed from the housing 12 . By pulling the blade assembly 14 away from the attachment assembly 20 , the tongue receiving member 130 of the blade assembly 14 is detached from the tongue 126 of the attachment assembly 20 and thereby from the housing 12 . The blade set 106 of the blade assembly 14 may then be cleaned, repaired, or replaced.
The blade assembly 14 can be re-coupled to the attachment assembly 20 by inserting the tongue 126 and sleeve 140 into the tongue receiving portion 130 of the blade assembly 14 . The user can then pivot the blade assembly 14 clockwise as seen in FIG. 6 , against the force of the springs 138 , toward the closed or operating position. As the blade assembly approaches the operating position, the cam surface 146 of the ridge 94 engages the cam surfaces 150 of the hooks 74 and thereby causes the hooks 74 to pull the release mechanism 66 downward, against the force of the springs 58 , to allow the blade assembly to move fully to the operating position. After the ridge 94 clears the hooks 74 , the springs 58 push the release mechanism upward to its upper position, in which the hooks 74 engage the ridge 94 and thereby secure the blade assembly 14 in the operating position. The release assembly 16 has then returned to the hold state.
The embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present invention. As such, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in the elements and their configurations and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. | A hair clipper includes a housing and a blade assembly coupled to the housing. The blade assembly is coupled to the housing at a cutting end and is movable between an operating position and an open position. The clipper also includes a release assembly including a release mechanism. The release assembly is switchable between a hold state and a release state. In the hold state, the release assembly holds the blade assembly in the operating position. In the release state, upon application of a force on the release mechanism, the release assembly releases the blade assembly to permit the blade assembly to move to the open position in the absence of an additional force. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to digital computer systems, more particularly to microprocessor based small and business computer systems and most particularly to a compact system unit for small and business computer systems utilizing a compact arrangement of the system hardware, wherein the system hardware components are closely and firmly integrated. The compact integration of system hardware thus facilitates the reduced size of the system unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Continuous and competitive endeavors to research innovative designs resulting in new and progressively advanced computer systems, with enhanced features offering increased performance and improved efficiency are of paramount importance in the computer industry. Enhanced computational capability in conjunction with progressively smaller system units have always been priority items in the computer industry. Efforts toward satisfying the continuing need for smaller and more compact computer systems have resulted in the advent of technology utilizing large and very large scale integration of hardware. Such technology allows for an increased density of components on circuit boards and the reduced size of components. Smaller computer systems are desirable in view of the fact that the reduction in size basically promotes and enhances user convenience by providing additional working space and increased portability. Computer systems incorporating compact integration of hardware also advantageously decrease manufacturing costs.
Many existing computer systems that offer comparable hardware are relatively bulky and cumbersome to move, especially computer systems that incorporate a hard disk and a floppy disk.
To compensate for the inconvenience and alleviate the problems associated with bulky computer systems and to reduce manufacturing costs the improved method of integration as disclosed in the present invention incorporates the system hardware components enumerated as follows: a hard disk, a floppy disk, a power supply, a mother board, two optional boards, a floppy controller card and an EGA monitor controller board. The above-listed hardware is enclosed within a compact enclosure having considerably reduced dimensions, preferably with an estimated width of 16.04", an estimated length of 14.79" and an estimated height of 3.29" (with rubber feet the height is 3.42").
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed toward a compact system unit for small and business computer systems resulting from compact integration of system hardware. The compact system unit advantageously provides an increase in portability and desk top space thereby enhancing user convenience.
More specifically, the compact integration of system hardware results from an increased density of system units closely and firmly united and confined within a smaller space.
One feature facilitating such compact integration resides in the precise and structured arrangement of system hardware components whereby all the system hardware components are co-planar thereby advantageously utilizing all available space.
Another feature facilitating such compact integration exists in the effective utilization of space whereby the floppy controller card connects directly to the side of the mother board resulting in a co-planar arrangement.
Still another feature facilitating such a compact integration resides in the effective utilization of a bus expansion card which connects the optional expansion boards in parallel with the mother board. The bus expansion card is inserted vertically into connectors that are placed between two brackets, aligned along the same axis as the connectors, the brackets guiding the bus expansion card into the connectors and then holding it rigidly in place. An additional feature contributing to the stability of the bus expansion board is a modification in one of the horizontal ribs extending along the top of the system unit enclosure, positioned directly over the bus expansion card. The horizontal rib has two identical projections with a small opening in the center. The edge of the bus expansion card is received and held in this small opening to prevent deflection of the card.
Still another feature resides in the method of mounting a daughter board to the mother board in an effective way utilizing a minimum amount of space. Specifically, the daughter board is inverted and mounted directly to the mother board in a position which allows, alternatively, connectors on the mother board or the daughter board to fit through the same opening in an exterior panel of the system.
The above-stated improvements permit the integration of system hardware components in an effective and efficient way thereby providing a relatively compact system unit that incorporates a floppy disk drive and a hard drive with reduced dimensions. This configuration provides increased portability and reduced manufacturing costs. The compact system unit has a width of 16.04", a length of 14.79" and a height of 3.29" (with the rubber feet the height is 3.42").
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in and by the following drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts and in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital computer system illustrating a video display monitor and a compact system unit in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2. is a perspective view showing the rear of the unit of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the compact system unit of FIG. 1 with the upper cover removed to illustrate the compact arrangement of system hardware within.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partially cut away, illustrating a floppy controller card connected directly to a mother board whereby the mother board and floppy controller card are co-planar.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating a connector used for the co-planar arrangement of a floppy controller card and a mother board.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view, taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view illustrating a bus expansion card mounted vertically to a mother board.
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the bus expansion card of FIG. 7 mounted to a mother board.
FIG. 9a is a detailed perspective view illustrating a rib extending from the inside of the cover of the computer system and designed to keep an expansion bus card from deflecting.
FIG. 9b is a detailed view illustrating a rib extending from the inside of the base of the computer system and designed to support a mother board and prevent board deflection.
FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view illustrating a daughter board inverted over a mother board.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an inverted daughter board.
FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view illustrating a daughter board inverted and mounted to a mother board.
FIG. 13 is an elevation view illustrating the rear of the system unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates generally a digital computer 100 with a new and improved compact system unit 102 as disclosed in the present invention. Typically, the digital computer 100 comprises a video display monitor 104 having a flat base 106 and a CRT screen 108, the flat base 106 supporting the video monitor 104 on a generally flat support surface such as the compact system unit 102. Further, the flat base 106 is of sufficient area to enable the video monitor 104 to be stable when placed on the compact system unit 102.
The compact system unit 102 is housed within an enclosure 109. The enclosure 109 comprises two sections 110 and 111, wherein section 110 constitutes a lower section and section 111 constitutes an upper, larger section. Both the sections 110 and 111 are engaged to form the compact enclosure 109. The compact system unit 102 encased within the enclosure 109, further comprises an upper wall 112 and an opposing bottom wall 114. The flat base 106 of the video monitor 104 is supported on the upper wall 112. The compact system unit 102 further comprises identical opposing side walls 116 and 118, a front wall 120 and a rear wall 122. Horizontally centered along the opposing side walls 116 and 118, toward the upper end, are a plurality of elongate, rectangular slots 119 which are vertically aligned parallel to each other and are provided for ventilation purposes. Located toward the center of the front wall 120 is a diskette drive 124 including a narrow opening 128 through which a diskette (not shown) may be inserted. Located toward the right side of the front wall 120 is a panel 136, providing three indicator lights 138 oriented one below the other along a vertical axis, a key lock switch 140 and a reset button 142. The indicator lights 138 indicate the machine speed (10 MHz or 6 Mhz) and hard disk activity.
FIG. 2 illustrates the rear wall 122 having a rear system unit panel 144. Located on the extreme upper left corner of the rear system unit panel 144 is a power switch 145 and adjacently aligned with the power switch 145 is a 3-pin power socket outlet 146. Directly below the 3-pin socket 146 is a power inlet connector 148 and adjacent to the 3-pin socket and directly below the power switch 145 is an input voltage select switch 150. A cooling fan frame 158 covers a cooling fan 160 which is attached to the rear panel of the power supply 194 by screws 162, as best seen in FIG. 3. Located proximate the cooling fan 158, toward the lower end of the rear system unit panel 144 are a video port 164 and a circular keyboard connection port 166.
Proximate the keyboard connection port 166 are located three horizontally aligned ports: a serial 1 port 168, a serial 2 port 170 and a parallel port 172. Above the video port 164 and the keyboard connection port 166 is provided a large rectangular opening 174 used for expansion purposes. Horizontally aligned with the large rectangular opening 174 is a relatively larger rectangular opening 176; provided for I/O purposes.
FIG. 3 illustrates the system hardware components compactly integrated in a co-planar arrangement within the system unit 102 consistent with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The system unit 102 as illustrated in FIG. 3 comprises a hard disk 178 placed directly behind the panel 136 on the front wall 120. The hard disk 178 is mounted within an individual housing 180 having a left wall 181, which serves as a partition as well as supports the upper wall 112.
The system unit 102 further comprises a floppy disk drive 182 which is mounted within an individual housing 186 having a left wall 188 and a right wall 190 which are parallel and horizontally aligned with the left wall 181 of the housing 180. The left wall 188 and the right wall 190 likewise serve as supports for the upper wall 112. Each of the housings 180 and 186 is mounted onto the lower section 110 by snapping into circular bosses.
The system unit 102 also comprises a power supply 194 which is mounted in the extreme right corner of the rear wall 122, behind the hard disk 178. Additionally, the system unit also comprises a mother board 195, placed adjacent to the power supply 194 and extending along the entire length of the system unit 102. Mounted directly behind the floppy disk drive 182 is a daughter board 196. The daughter board 196, in this case, is an EGA monitor controller board. The daughter board 196 is mounted directly to the mother board 195 in an inverted orientation. Mounted adjacent to the daughter board 196 are two brackets, a front bracket 197 and a rear bracket 198. These brackets 197,198 are directly mounted to the bottom wall 114 through the mother board 195. The front bracket 197 includes a narrow slot 199 extending along most of the length of the bracket 197, for supporting the bus expansion card 201 in place. The rear bracket 198 is S-shaped and has a front end 203 which includes two projections 200 (as best shown in FIG. 8) for guiding and supporting the other end of the bus expansion card 201.
As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the bus expansion card 201 has a front side 202 and a rear side 204. The front side of the bus expansion card 202 has two horizontally extending parallel connectors 206 and 208 which are placed proximate each other and are vertically aligned. The connectors 206 and 208 establish a direct electrical connection with two optional expansion boards 210 and 212 (shown in FIG. 3) which are placed in stack formation in planes parallel to the plane of the mother board 195 and directly above one another. The optional expansion boards 210 and 212 are further vertically aligned with the mother board 195.
At the extreme rear left corner of the system unit 102 is a mounting boss 222 projecting up from the bottom wall 114. Further along the side wall 116 are two additional mounting bosses 224 and 226 (shown in FIG. 3), which are located side-by-side. Toward the front end of the side wall 116 is another mounting boss 228. Each of the above-mentioned mounting bosses 222, 224, 226 and 228 and an identical set of bosses along the opposite side wall 118, have a threaded interior to accommodate screws which hold the upper case portion 111 to the lower portion 110.
Mounted to the mounting bosses 224 and 226 is a holding bracket 230 which has two pairs of slim projections 232 and 234, extending along the entire width of the holding bracket 230. These projections form grooves which mount the edge of the optional expansion boards 210 and 212.
Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the mother board 195 has a right edge 236. Adjacent the right edge 236, the upper surface of the mother board mounts a right angle wafer connector 238. A floppy drive connector 239 connects directly to the right angle wafer connector 238, and is attached rigidly to a floppy controller card 240. The floppy controller card 240 thus plugs directly to the right edge 236 of the mother board 195 without an intervening cable. The floppy controller card 240 and the mother board 195 are co-planar to reduce the vertical profile of the system. Positioned proximate to the right angle wafer connector 238 on the mother board 195 is a hard disk connector 242. A hard disk signal cable 244 plugs into the hard disk connector 242.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the expansion bus card 201 slides between the projections 200 that protrude from the front end of the rear bracket 198 and the slot 199 extending vertically down the front bracket 197. The front bracket 197 includes a base section 246 extending parallel to the mother board 195 and a vertical section 248 extending perpendicular to the base section 246. The vertical section 248 of the front bracket 196 has a top end 252 which projects at a 45 degree angle from the vertical. The base section 246 of the front bracket 197 further includes two apertures 254 and 256 for receiving screws 258 and 260 which securely mount the front bracket 196 through the mother board 195 to the bottom wall 114 of the system. This allows the expansion boards to be mounted to the card 201, directly above the mother board 195, without a support which spans between the side walls of the system. Thus, the card 201 can be supported through the mother board 195, not around it. The expansion bus card 201 connects directly into two expansion connectors 262 and 264 placed end-to-end on the mother board 195. The two expansion connectors 262 and 264 are centered along the same longitudinal axis as the front bracket 197 and the rear bracket 198.
Adjacent to the rear bracket 198 and mounted to the extreme left end of the rear wall 122 is a frame bracket 266 having two horizontal openings 268 and 270 extending along its width which are oriented vertically one above the other to enable the optional boards 210 and 212 to be mounted. A left end 274 of the frame bracket 266 has a flat extended portion 276 having an aperture 278 that is aligned with a similar aperture 280 in the rear wall 122. Through the aligned apertures 278 and 280 is received a screw 282 which mounts the frame bracket 266 to the rear wall 122. Directly below the frame bracket 266 toward the extreme left corner of the rear wall 122 is the parallel port 172. Adjacent to the parallel port 172 and also below the frame bracket 266 is the serial port 2 170 and adjacent to the serial port 2 170 is the serial port 1 168. FIG. 7 further illustrates the bottom wall 114 of the system unit 102 having latitudinal ribs 288 and lateral ribs 290 extending in orthogonal directions. The ribs 288 and 290 support the various system components and prevent deflection. A rib 292 (shown in phantom) extending laterally is located directly below the two expansion connectors 262 and 264 to provide support when pressure is applied to plug the bus expansion card 201 into the bus connectors 262 and 264.
FIG. 8 further illustrates the manner in which the bus expansion card 201 is securely mounted through the mother board 195 to the bottom wall 114. The bus expansion card 201 is cradled within the slot 199 extending along the front bracket 197 and the projections 200 extending outward from the rear bracket 198. The bus expansion card is electrically connected to the mother board 195 via the two adjacent bus connectors 262 and 264.
FIGS. 9a and 9b illustrate the ribs extending above and below the bus expansion cards, respectively. FIG. 9a shows the laterally extending rib 294 having two portions 296 that project downward from the upper wall 112 of the system enclosure, on either side of a small opening 298. When the bus expansion card 201 is mounted to the mother board 195 the two portions 296 of the rib 294 receive the bus expansion card 201 within the opening 298 and thereby provide rigid support to the bus expansion card 201. FIG. 9b shows the laterally extending rib 292 which extends upwardly from the bottom wall 114, having a projecting portion 300. The projecting portion 300 is provided to support the mother board 195 and prevent the mother board from deflecting when pressure is applied to the bus expansion board 201 during the process of inserting the bus expansion card 201 into the bus expansion connectors 262 and 264.
FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the daughter board 196 mounted to the mother board 195. The daughter board 196 includes an L-shaped mounting bracket 302 having a vertical section 304 and a horizontal section 306. The horizontal section 306 of the mounting bracket 302 is attached to the daughter board 196 by screws 312 that pass through the daughter board 196. The vertical section 304 is similarly attached to the rear wall 122 of the system unit 102. Along the left side of the daughter board 196 extends a connector 316 that electrically connects directly to the mother board 195. The daughter board 196 is further mounted to the mother board 195 by a standoff 318.
FIG. 12 shows a side view of the daughter board 196 mounted to the mother board 195 in an inverted orientation. By spacing the daughter board 196 a distance 311 above the mother board 195, which is twice the offset 314 of port connectors 313, a port connector 313 mounted on either the daughter board 196 or the mother board 195 may exit the rear wall 122 through the same opening.
FIG. 13 illustrates the rear system unit panel 144 of the compact system unit 102 showing the video port 164, the serial 1 port 168, the serial 2 port 170 and parallel port 172 horizontally aligned along the same longitudinal axis. The keyboard connection port 166 is offset from the longitudinal axis. | A compact system unit for personal computers wherein system hardware components are closely integrated and packed resulting in an effective utilization of space. Such compact integration of hardware is facilitated by the arrangement of system hardware components co-planar with each other. The compact system unit incorporates a hard disk and a floppy disk. The floppy disk controller card is co-planar with and plugs directly on to the mother board. A bus expansion card is vertically mounted to the mother board whereby up to two additional optional expansion cards may be incorporated in a parallel formation within the compact system unit. The daughter board is directly mounted to the mother board in inverted orientation. | 7 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 526,146, now abandoned, filed Nov. 22, 1974 by the present applicant and entitled "PORTION CONTROLLED FROZEN FOOD".
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the preparation of discrete frozen products, and more particularly relates to a system and method for producing frozen foods in individual discrete portions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A wide variety of products, such as explosives, rubber devices, food products and building materials are commonly formed from a semi-fluid material. When the semi-fluid material is not sufficiently rigid to maintain its shape after extrusion, it has been heretofore quite difficult to form discrete products having a predetermined shape and having a desired weight. It has thus been common to prepare discrete products from semi-fluid material by filling individual containers or molds and then freezing or otherwise treating the individual containers. Such processes requiring the filling of individual containers have been found to be relatively slow and expensive.
With respect to food products, it has become desirable in the home, restaurants and other places to utilize food portioned in predetermined serving sizes or portions. For example, it has become desirable to provide serving portions of sausage such as a one-ounce sausage link or a two-ounce sausage patty. However, it has not heretofore been practical to provide such close controlled portion sizes of foods such as skinless pork sausage with conventional packaging techniques.
It has heretofore been known to produce skinless sausage of various types by stuffing comminuted meat into a casing, setting the meat by chilling or cooking and then stripping the casing from the meat. The requirement of stuffing the casing and then stripping the casing is time consuming and of course wasteful. It has also reportedly been heretofore attempted to extrude pork for various processing techniques, but the resulting friction along the sides of the extruding tube have caused fat to come to the surface of the pork, thereby producing a product which appears to consist of all fat or excessive fat, and it is therefore unpleasing to the consumer.
A need has thus developed for a system and process to enable the continuous forming of a plurality of discrete solid products from semi-fluid material. The system and process must not only be fast and cost effective, but must enable the formation of a plurality of different shapes and sizes of discrete products with very close weight tolerances.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has reduced or eliminated the problems associated with the prior art previously described. In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of discrete products having a predetermined weight may be formed by a system which pumps a semi-fluid mixture along a distribution path. An extrusion manifold receives the semi-fluid mixture and extrudes the mixture at a selected rate to form a continuous sheet of mixture having a predetermined uniform cross-section. A conveyor directs the continuous sheet through a chilling station in order to chill and firm the sheet such that the sheet maintains its extruded cross-sectional configuration. Structure severs the continuous sheet into a plurality of discrete products having predetermined weights.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a system is provided for forming a plurality of discrete products having preselected weights which includes a hopper for receiving a quantity of warm semi-fluid material. A pump pumps the material through a feed line at a selected rate and pressure. An extrusion manifold has an inlet connected at the end of the feed line and includes an outlet with a smaller dimension than the inlet. A flexible conduit extends from the manifold outlet and includes an end nozzle to form a continuous extruded sheet of material. A chilling chamber is mounted adjacent the end nozzle. A conveyor receives the continuous sheet from the end nozzle and carries the continuous sheet through the chilling chamber where it is chilled and firmed. A plurality of cutting disks are mounted at the outlet of the chilling chamber and continuously slice the sheet into continuous lengths of material. A cutting blade is movable in synchronism with the conveyor for severing the continuous lengths to form a plurality of discrete products having the selected weight.
In accordance with a more specific aspect of the invention, a cutting system is provided to periodically sever the sliced continuous lengths of material and includes structure for receiving a plurality of parallel lengths of material traveling in a direction parallel to the axes of the lengths. An elongated cutting blade is disposed above and normal to the direction of travel of the lengths of material. Structure moves the blade downwardly for simultaneously severing all of the lengths of material while moving the blade in the direction of travel of the lengths of material and at the same rate of speed as the lengths of material.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of cutting molds are provided for stamping the continuous sheet as it is extruded from the end nozzle onto the conveyor to form a plurality of discrete products. Each cutting mold has a cutting edge for severing a predetermined shape of chilled mixture from the continuous sheet. A vacuum is drawn above the severed shapes of mixture to permit withdrawal of the severed shapes from the continuous sheet. A second conveyor is operable with the cutting molds whereupon the severed shapes of mixture are deposited and carried to a packaging station.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the invention, a rotatable drum is provided for severing the continuous sheet into predetermined discrete products. The drum is adapted with equally spaced sharpened circumferential blades for slicing the sheet into continuous lengths and sharpened longitudinal blades for severing the lengths to form the predetermined shapes from the chilled mixture. The drum is positioned to sever the continuous sheet by the action of the circumferential and longitudinal blades against the continuous sheet as it is moved on the conveyor. The drum is rotated so that the circumferential blades move at the same speed of travel as the linear conveyor on which the continuous sheet moves. The linear conveyor is adapted with indentions for receiving the sharpened edges of the circumferential and longitudinal blades to facilitate cutting of the continuous sheet.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a process for producing pork sausage includes boning warm pre-rigor pork. The boned pork is then comminuted to form a semi-fluid mixture which is pumped to an extrusion location. The semi-fluid mixture is then extruded into a continuous sheet having uniform cross-sections. The extruded continuous sheet is chilled such that it maintains the desired cross-sectional configuration. The sheet is periodically severed to form a plurality of chilled discrete sausage portions having the same weight and consistency.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more detailed description of the present invention and for further objects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the present portion controlled forming system;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the extruding portion of the system;
FIG. 3 is a partially broken away view of the extrusion manifold of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the extrusion manifold shown in FIG. 3 taken along line 4--4;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the extrusion manifold shown in FIG. 3 taken along line 5--5;
FIG. 6 is a perspective, partially broken away view of the extrusion nozzle assembly of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective enlarged view of the nozzle connections assembly;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the extrusion material form shown in FIG. 6 with a continuous sausage sheet disposed therein;
FIG. 9 is a side view of the parallelogram lift linkage for the nozzle assembly;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the slicing disks of the invention;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11--11 of FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a perspective, partially broken away view of the cutting table of the invention;
FIGS. 13a-13d illustrate the cutting operation of the blade and bed of the cutting table;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the outlet of the cutting table;
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a cutting device for use with the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 16--16 of the cutting device shown in FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a cutting device for forming preselected shapes of sausage products;
FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line 18--18 of the cutting device shown in FIG. 17; and
FIGS. 19a--19c illustrate the cutting operation of the cutting device shown in FIGS. 17 and 18.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a top flow plan illustrating the use of the present product forming invention to make fresh pork sausage. It has been found that the present invention is particularly adaptable to making fresh pork sausage and a detailed description of the invention will be made with respect to production of pork sausage from warm semi-fluid pre-rigor pork. However, it will be apparent that the present invention may also be utilized to form discrete products from other semi-fluid materials. For the purposes of this invention, the term semi-fluid is defined as material which is pumpable through conduits. The present system may thus be utilized to extrude hot or chilled ground meat, or other types of pumpable material.
Referring to FIG. 1, freshly killed hogs are dressed, skinned and cut shortly after slaughter. The still warm pre-rigor pork is cut on a boning table 10 and all cuts including the ham, loins and the like of the hogs are utilized in making the sausage. The hot boned meat coming off the boning table 10 is fed into a grinder 12 and is checked for fat content to maintain the fat content at 35%. A fat analysis unit, not shown, is maintained near the grinder 12 in order to make rapid fat checks regarding the fat content of the sausage being ground. The output of the grinder 12 is applied to two blenders 14a and 14b which form the sausage into a semi-fluid fluent material which will not retain its shape after being extruded.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is necessary that the hogs be boned and ground within about four hours from slaughter before rigor mortis, and the temperature of the boned meat be maintained at as near body temperature as possible, and at any rate above 80° F., such that the rended pork output from the blenders 14a and 14b is semi-fluid so as to freely flow. The process should be carried out in a room having an ambient temperature of not under 50° F. In the preferred embodiment, it is preferable to bone, grind, chill and sever the pork sausage within 90 minutes after slaughter. Alternatively, the present system may utilize chilled raw material which becomes semi-fluid after blending in the blenders 14a and 14b.
In the preferred embodiment, the blenders 14a and 14b may comprise, for example, two 3,000 pound Rietz blenders. The semi-fluid material output from the blenders moves through conduit 15 and is applied through a pump 16, which may comprise for example an auger feed pump including a de-aerating head. Pump 16 applies semi-fluid pork sausage through a distribution line 18 at a predetermined flow rate to an extrusion manifold 20. Although only a single manifold 20 is illustrated, it will be understood that two or more manifolds may be utilized, depending upon the desired quantity of material to be handled. The manifold 20 extrudes a continuous sheet of semi-fluid material which is applied through flexible conduit 22.
Flexible conduit 22 includes a nozzle on the end thereof to form and extrude a continuous sheet 23 of pork sausage having a predetermined uniform cross-section, the continuous sheet being moved through a freezer 24. The continuous sheet moves at 15-feet per minute through freezer 24, whereupon the continuous sheet is quickly chilled to an extent that it maintains its extruded cross-sectional shape. Freezer 24 may comprise any suitable type of freezer, but in the preferred embodiment comprises a liquid nitrogen freezer such as the Cyro-Quick freezer manufactured and sold by Air Products Corporation. In some cases, it may be desirable to spray a refrigerant such as nitrogen or fluorocarbon upon the sausage or on the underside of the moving conveyor belt in order to quickly chill the sausage.
The chilled pork sausage exits freezer 24 at an internal temperature of -10° F. The chilled sausage is continuously sliced into equal width continuous lengths by a slicer 25 and periodically severed into desired lengths by a cutter 26 to form a plurality of discrete sausage products each having a predetermined weight and volume. For example, the width and length of the final product may be controlled to produce a product having a weight of one-ounce. Sausage patties may be produced by the system having a weight of from 11/2 to 5-ounces. If desired, the present device may be utilized to produce square sausage patties having any desired width to generate a specific weight. An important aspect of the present invention is that a very high degree of portion control may be achieved by the present system to provide products of uniform size, shape and weight. The emulsion density, emulsion flow speed, freezer belt speed, the slicer operation and cutoff blade operation may be varied in order to maintain the exact desired weight, or to change to a different desired weight or size. If desired, the width of one of the continuous lengths may be increased in order to produce one lane of heavier lengths which may then be used to increase the weight of light sausage packages.
The severed sausages formed by the cutter 26 unit are applied to a loader 28 which accumulates predetermined numbers of sausages and applies them to a fill and seal station 30. The station 30 fills cartons with predetermined numbers of frozen sausages and seals the cartons. The cartons are then directed to a weighing station 32 and then to a metal detector station 34. A plurality of cartons are loaded into cases at stations 36 and the cases are then sealed for transport.
The present hot molding process, in combination with the present extrusion system, enables the production of packages of frozen pork lengths or sausage patties within 70 to 90 minutes after live hogs enter the restrainer in the slaughtering department. The present system can thus produce over 3,000 pounds an hour of sausage in a nonstop process which requires only a few workers for maintaining operation of the machine. With the addition of additional extruders, greater yields may, of course, be provided.
The present process is extremely economical, in that no storage space is necessary, as the sausages may be packaged and loaded onto a truck within several hours of the time the hogs are slaughtered. The present system is extremely accurate in the control of portions, as 16 one-pounce lengths may be packaged to a package to provide a very close tolerance to a 1 pound meat package. The present system provides very low waste, as there is no discard of bits and pieces, which occurs with prior techniques. The present system provides an increased yield, as the meat is not continuously handled after slaughter.
FIG. 2 illustrates in detail the extrusion system of the invention. The semi-fluid sausage material is applied from pump 16 through the distribution line 18 to extrusion manifold 20. The extrusion manifold has a generally conical configuration at inlet 38 connected to distribution line 18. The manifold gradually flattens to a rectangular outlet 40 which is joined to flexible conduit 22 having an identical rectangular configuration for maintaining the semi-fluid material in the shape generated by passage of the fluid through the extrusion manifold. The cross-sectional area of the rectangular outlet of extrusion manifold 20 is slightly smaller than that of the inlet end 38 connected to distribution line 18. In this way, a rectangular sheet 23 of semi-fluid material extruded from manifold 20 is continuous without voids which would otherwise occur.
A metering pump 42 is interconnected between extrusion manifold 20 and flexible concuit 22 and is mounted on support brackets 44. Metering pump 42 maintains the flow rate of material from extrusion manifold 20 into conduit 22. Extrusion manifold 20 is supported by support 46. A base 47 supports the support 46 and support brackets 44. Base 47 includes the drive motor (not shown) for the metering pump 42.
An extrusion nozzle 48 is attached to the outlet end of conduit 22 and is received in a nozzle support housing 50. Nozzle support housing 50 is mounted on a parallelogram linkage including arms 52 and 54 which are pivotally joined by the horizontal bars 56. The parallelogram linkage may be moved from the illustrated lower position to an upper position, to be subsequently described, in order to move nozzle 48 into and out of contact with a material conveyor 58. Conveyor 58 comprises a metal mesh conveyor belt which conveys the extruded semi-fluid material into nitrogen freezer 24.
FIG. 2 further illustrates the pump of the present extruder. Semi-fluid material is applied through a conduit 15 from the blenders 14a and 14b (FIG. 1) to pump 16. Pump 16 may comprise any suitable type of pump, sch as a Crepaco auger feed pump with a de-aerating head, which may be operated to force the semi-fluid material through the distribution line 18 at a prescribed flow rate. A pressure gauge 59 communicates with the distribution line 18 in order to enable pump 16 to be manually adjusted to maintain the desired pressure and flow rate. Semi-fluid material flows through the distribution line 18 to extrusion manifold 20 in the manner previously described.
As previously described, rectangular outlet 40 is smaller in diameter than inlet 38 to the manifold 20. Outlet 40 is connected to flexible conduit 22 which leads to metering pump 42. Pump 16, distribution line 18, extrusion manifold 20 and pump 42 are preferably comprised of stainless steel for cleanliness of operation. Metering pump 42 is commonly driven from a DC motor (not shown). The metering pump operates to provide equal pressure, flow rate speed and consistency of the semi-fluid material across extrusion nozzle 48. The head pressure applied to metering pump 42 is greater than the output from the pump in order to enable constant extrusion and to enable control of the density and weight of the resulting emulsion extruded. For example, the head pressure applied to pump 42 may be 40 PSI, with the output pressure from the pump being 10 PSI. Nozzle 48 is particularly designed to provide even extrusion distribution and to prevent uneven density throughout the extruded product.
FIG. 3 illustrates in greater detail extrusion manifold 20 used to mold the semi-fluid material from the configuration defined by distribution line 18 to the continuous rectangular sheet of material extruded from outlet 40 of the manifold. Manifold 20 is provided with a generally conical cross-sectional configuration at inlet 38. Inlet 38 includes thread 62 for threadedly receiving distribution line 18. The conical end of manifold 20 gradually flattens to become rectangular outlet 40 opposite inlet 38. As previously noted, outlet 40 is connected to flexible conduit 22 by way of metering pump 42 as shown in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 3, guide ribs 64 are provided on the inner surface of manifold 20 to guide the sausage material evenly from inlet 38 to rectangular outlet 40 opposite thereto. These ribs assure the movement of the semi-fluid material to the full length of rectangular outlet 40 of the manifold and eliminate any voids which might otherwise result from the passage of the material through the manifold.
FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of manifold 20 in the intermediate transition area between inlet 38 and outlet 40. Ribs 64 are shown extending from both the upper and lower walls of the manifold.
FIG. 5 illustrates the configuration of the extrusion manifold near outlet 40. At this point, ribs 64 are tapered away so as not to interfere with the rectangular configuration discharged from the manifold. Thus, as the semi-fluid material passes out of the manifold, it takes the form of a relatively thin evenly distributed rectangular sheet of material.
FIG. 6 illustrates extrusion nozzle 48 which forms the continuous sheet of semi-fluid material to be delivered into freezer 24. Flexible conduit 22 has been eliminated from FIG. 6 for clarity of illustration. Referring to FIG. 6, it will be seen that nozzle 48 slants downwardly toward the metal mesh, endless belt conveyor 58 which travels into freezer 24. Nozzle 48 is removably mounted in a housing 72, mounted on rod 74 to form the previously described nozzle support housing 50.
FIG. 7 illustrates in greater detail the interconnection of nozzle 48 to rod 74. Rod 74 extends horizontally across the belt conveyor 58 and is attached at opposite ends to the parallel linkages comprising arms 52, 54 and bar 56 (FIG. 6) previously described. Housing 72 is rigidly mounted along the rod 74.
Housing 72 includes two mating sections 72a and 72b interconnected by suitable means such as bolts 80. The lower section 72a of housing 72 is provided with a rectangular cutout along its entire upper length for receiving nozzle 48 therein. Nozzle 48 includes an enlarged front portion 48a for abutting with the front edge of lower section 72a and upper section 72b. Nozzle 48 includes a rearwardly extending portion 48b for connection to flexible conduit 22. This rearwardly extending portion also includes an enlarged section in order to facilitate a fluid-tight connection to the flexible conduit. Therefore, by positioning nozzle 48 within the rectangular cutout of housing 72 and assembling the upper section 72b thereabove, nozzle 48 is securely attached within housing 72.
Lower section 72a is further adapted with a circular bore 82 extending along its entire longitudinal length and below the rectangular cutout provided for nozzle 48. Bore 82 is adapted to receive rod 74 into frictional engagement. In addition thereto, set screws 84 may be provided for insertion through the lower side of housing 72 to engage rod 74 to maintain rod 74 fixed within housing 72 during operation.
When it is desired to clean the system, the upper portion of housing 72 is simply removed by removing bolts 80 and releasing nozzle 48 for cleaning. All of the elements shown in FIG. 7 are made of stainless steel to facilitate cleaning.
As shown in FIG. 6, in operation of the invention, continuous sheet 23 of semi-fluid material is extruded from nozzle 48. A stainless steel extrusion form 90 may be attached to conveyor 58 in order to guide continuous sheet 23 into the freezer while maintaining the sheet in the configuration in which it is extruded. Form 90 has a flat lower surface 90a and upright side members 90b to prevent the semi-fluid material from spreading out of its extruded configuration prior to chilling. Form 90 also facilitates the subsequent step of slicing the material as will hereinafter be described.
Alternatively, conveyor 58 may be adapted with vertical side members corresponding to the edges of the extruded continuous sheet of material. In this embodiment, the extruded material is deposited directly on the belt conveyor and carried into freezer 24.
Referring to FIG. 6, conveyor 58 is moving at the same speed as continuous sheet 23 is being extruded or in the preferred embodiment, at approximately 15 feet per minute. Similarly, form 90, where used, moves at the same speed as belt conveyor 58. The extruded continuous sheet 23 is promptly moved by conveyor belt 58 into the nitrogen freezer 24 (FIG. 1) whereupon the continuous sheet is immediately chilled to an extent that it maintains its cross-sectional shape. The present process is carried out in a room having an ambient room temperature of approximately 50° F. The freezer is provided with a temperature of approximately -170° F. in order to chill the interior of continuous sheet 23 to approximately -10° F. Nitrogen or fluorocarbon liquid may be sprayed on the sausage or underneath the conveyor in order to quickly chill the sausage.
When the system is initially turned on for operation, continuous sheet 23 initially extruded may not be of a desired consistency or at the desired flow rate. Thus, a handle 98 is provided on the parallelogram linkage comprised of arms 52, 54 and bar 56 in order to enable nozzle 48 to be raised away from contact with conveyor 58. Referring to FIG. 9, the dotted line position illustrates the upward position of nozzle 48 when in the raised position. In this position, the extruded material may be extruded into a dump bucket (not shown), until the material reaches the desired consistency or flow rate. At such time, the dump bucket may be removed and the parallelogram linkage moved downwardly by grasping handle 98 and pushing downwardly until nozzle 48 is again oriented at the desired angle to the conveyor as shown in FIG. 6.
Referring to FIG. 10, slicer 25 and cutter unit 26 of the invention are illustrated in detail. As previously noted, cutter unit 26 is located at the output of freezer 24 which delivers the continuous sheet 23 of chilled pork sausage to the cutter unit. Chilled sheet 23 is directed to extrusion form 90 which includes base 90a and vertical sides 90b corresponding to the width of the continuous sheet. The sheet is thus guided past a plurality of vertically suspended rotatable cutting disks 102 where the sheet is sliced into a plurality of equal width continuous lengths 104 of chilled material. Lengths 104 are then carried by conveyor 58 to an elongated vertical knife blade 106 which is reciprocated in a manner to be subsequently described in synchronism with a horizontal bed 108. A hold-down roller 110 is disposed in front of blade 106 in order to hold the continuous links down during the severing operation by knife blade 106. A back board 112 is disposed over blade 106.
As indicated above, slicing of the continuous sheet 23 into a plurality of equal width continuous lengths 104 is accomplished by the action of rotatable cutting disks 102. As shown in FIG. 11, disks 102 are rotatably assembled along horizontal bar 116. The ends of bar 116 are fixedly supported by a sleeve support member 118 which slidingly engages upper rod 120. Sleeve member 118 is adapted with a collar 122 and rod 120 is adapted with a corresponding flange 124 to permit limited translation of sleeve 118 along rod 120. A compression spring 126 is assembled between the lower end of rod 120 and a seat 118a provided at the lower end of sleeve support member 118. Compression spring 126 acts against rod 120 to apply a downward force upon rod 116 and thus engage cutting disks 102 against the chilled sausage material passing below disk 102. Rod 120 is rigidly supported from arms 130 which extend from a suitable frame structure 132. An identical connection exists between bar 116 and frame structure 132 on the opposite end of bar 116. In this way, the cutting disks 102 are kept in proper slicing engagement against the chilled sausage material moving on conveyor 58.
As is seen in FIG. 11, form 90 is adapted with longitudinal indentions 134 which correspond with the cutting edge of cutting disk 102. These small indentions facilitate severing of the chilled sausage material into continuous lengths. Vertical sides 90b of form 90 can also be seen to prohibit the lateral flow of sausage material during cutting. FIG. 11 further illustrates the action of compression springs 126 against bar 116 in order to engage cutting disks 102 against the sausage material. Likewise, the compression springs may be adapted with an adjustment for selectively increasing or decreasing the force applied to cutting disks 102 as necessary to effect a proper cut.
Referring to FIG. 12, bed 108 reciprocates in a horizontal plane over rollers 142 and 144. The cutting assembly is mounted on a horizontal platform 146 supported by legs 148. The reciprocating movement of knife blade 106 and bed 108 is provided by an electrical motor 150 which operates a drive motor 152. The output shaft of motor 152 rotates a gear 154 which operates a timing belt 156. Belt 156 operates a gear 158 of a linear displacement cam 160.
The output shaft of the motor 152 also rotates a gear 162 which operates a timing belt 164. Belt 164 rotates a gear 166 attached to a second linear displacement cam 168. The output of motor 152 also rotates a gear 170 which moves a timing belt 172 which rotates a gear 174 of a third linear displacement cam 176. The three linear displacement cams 160, 168 and 176 operate in the known manner to translate rotary motion to linear motion. Suitable linear displacement cams are manufactured and sold by the Stelron Corporation.
A block 180 is mounted above the linear displacement cam 168, while a block 182 is mounted above the cam 176. A vertical post 184 is pivotally mounted at pivot point 186 to block 180. Similarly, a vertical post 188 is pivotally mounted at pivot point 190 to block 182. The tops of posts 184 and 188 are connected to blade 106. Operation of the linear displacement cams 168 and 176 thus serve to provide vertical movement to blade 106. Operation of the linear displacement cam 160 operates to provide horizontal reciprocational movement to the cutting blade 106 and bed 108.
The back board 112 is shown interconnected with knife blade 106. Posts 188 and 184 operate to provide vertical movement to knife blade 106 in order to sever the continuous lengths of sausage in the manner to be subsequently described. The bed 108 rides upon rollers 142 and 144 in the manner previously described. A rod 200 includes a plurality of rollers 202 thereon in order to hold the continuous lengths down during the cutting operation.
As previously noted, the linear displacement cams 168 and 176 operate to cause reciprocating vertical motion to the posts 184 and 188. Knife blade 106 is attached to the top of posts 184 and 188 by bolts 220 (not shown) and 222 such that blade 106 is moved up and down in order to cut the continuous lengths. Inasmuch as the continuous lengths are traveling perpendicular to the orientation of blade 106, blade 106 cuts each of the continuous lengths simultaneously.
Linear displacement cam 160 reciprocates a block 224 in a horizontal plane. Block 224 is attached by arms 226 and 228 to posts 184 and 188. Thus, arms 226 and 228 are moved horizontally, thereby causing the posts 184 and 188 to pivot about pivot points 186 and 190. The posts 184 and 188 thus swing back and forth in a limited arc in order to move knife blade 106 in a horizontal plane. This mechanism also causes the movement of the bed 108 on a horizontal plane.
It will be seen from FIG. 12 that the posts 184 and 188 and the arms 226 and 228 may be selectively adjusted to any of several desired positions in order to allow the movement of blade 106 and bed 108 to be selectively adjusted. In this manner, the length of cuts made by the cutting blade may be selectively adjusted in order to enable the weight of the final discrete product to be selectively adjusted.
FIGS. 13a-13d illustrate the cutting operation of blade 106 and bed 108. Referring to FIG. 13a, blade 106 is shown in its initial starting position just behind roller 142 which operates to maintain continuous length 104 against bed 108. During operation of the device, knife blade 106 covers a reciprocating path indicated by the dotted line 234. That is, knife 106 moves along with length 104 for a short distance and is then moved downwardly in order to sever length 104. Subsequently, knife blade 106 is moved upwardly and is then raised and moved to the original starting position shown in FIG. 13a. Roller 142 rotates in the direction illustrated during operation of blade 106.
FIG. 13b illustrates how the knife blade 106 has been moved to the right in synchronism with movement of bed 108 and then moves downwardly in order to sever length 104. Inasmuch as blade 106 and bed 108 are traveling at the same rate as the length 104, the lengths do not have to be stopped to enable severing thereof.
FIG. 13c illustrates the final severing of length 104. As shown in FIG. 13c, bed 108 includes a depression 236 which receives the foremost edge of blade 106 in order to insure that the blade passes completely through length 104. Moreover, FIG. 13c illustrates the particular shape of knife blade 106. The lower-most portion 238 of the blade is relatively narrow and is maintained with a very sharp lower point. The upper portion 240 of the blade is wider than the lower portion. The two portions are separated by a beveled portion 242. The lower portion 238 is thus utilized to make the initial cut through length 104. The upper and wider portion 242 acts to push the severed portion of length 104 away from the uncut portion, and thus tends to break and completely sever any fibers which would tend to prevent clean cutting.
After the blade has made its downward descent as shown in FIG. 13c, the blade is raised while still traveling in the direction and at the same rate as length 104 until it reaches the position shown in FIG. 13d. At this position, blade 106 and bed 108 change horizontal direction and move back to the original starting point as shown in FIG. 13a. As shown by the arrow 246, continuous length 104 has thus been severed by the knife blade 106. The blade 106 is continuously moved in the path shown by the dotted line 234 in order to periodically cut off identical lengths of product. In this way, products of exact weight, volume and consistency may be maintained. If desired, the volume, consistency, flow rate or length of cutting path of blade 106 may be varied in order to change the volume or weight or consistency of the final product. For a more detailed description of the operation of knife blade 106 and bed 108, during severing of continuous length 104, reference can be made to copending application, Ser. No. 610,301, filed Sept. 4, 1975, which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 14 illustrates the output at cutter unit 26 which operates in the manner previously described. A downwardly sloping dispensing surface 260 extends from the output of the cutter unit and a plurality of discrete sausage lengths 262 may be seen to be dispensed from cutter unit 26. The products 262 roll and slide downwardly to a conveyor 264 whereupon products are conveyed to loading station 28.
As previously noted, a particular advantage to the present invention is that very accurate portion control may be provided for the present products. Thus, each of the products 262 may be formed with the same volume and size and weight so that a discrete number of the products may be packaged in individual cartons. For example, each of the products 262 may be cut to weigh one-ounce, and thus sixteen one-ounce products may be packaged together to provide a one-pound package. With the use of the present invention, a very accurate weight is maintained with each product. However, if the weight is desired to be changed, the system may be easily varied to change the weight. The product 262 is already frozen when packaged, and thus additional hard freezing is not required after packing.
FIG. 15 illustrates another embodiment of the cutter unit. A continuous sheet 270, having a rectangular cross-section, is illustrated as having been extruded and then chilled as previously described. The sheet is applied through a cutting station which includes a rotating cutting drum 272 including a cylindrical drum 273 having a plurality of slicing disks 274 equally spaced along a longitudinal length thereof and a plurality of equally spaced cutting blades 276 along the longitudinal length thereof. The cutting drum 272 is rotatably supported on axis rod 278 which is supported in a fashion similar to the support and spring structure defined with respect to the cutting disks illustrates and described with respect to FIG. 10. Thus, cutting drum 272 is engaged against the continuous sheet of chilled material which passes beneath the cutting drum as it is carried by the belt conveyor 58. The pressure of the cutting drum against the sheet of chilled material results in the severing of a plurality of rectangular products 280 which are then carried on the conveyor to a packaging station.
FIG. 16 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of cutting drum 272. In this embodiment of the invention, belt conveyor 58 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal indentions 282 corresponding to the cutting edges of the slicing disks 274 in order to facilitate the complete severing of the chilled pork sausage. Similarly, the conveyor surface may likewise be adapted with transverse indentions 284 corresponding to the longitudinal cutting blades 276 extending longitudinally along cutting drum 272 (FIG. 15). In this case, the rotation of the cutting drum must be synchronized with the movement of conveyor 58 in order that longitudinal blades 276 mate with transverse indentions 284.
FIG. 17 illustrates another embodiment of the severing device used in the present invention. Again, a continuous sheet 270 of chilled sausage material is illustrated as it moves on conveyor 58 from freezer 24. The continuous sheet of chilled material is carried on conveyor 58 through a cutting station which includes a dual conveyor system for stamping discrete predetermined shapes of sausage material and carrying the severed shapes to an appropriate packaging station.
The first conveyor system includes an endless conveyor 300 entrained for continuous movement around drums 302 and 304 which are powered by an appropriate power means, such as an electric motor (not shown). Conveyor 300 has its longitudinal axis aligned with the longitudinal axis of material conveyor 58 and is positioned for rotation directly above conveyor 58, but having an opposite rotational direction. Conveyor 300 is adapted with a plurality of annular chambers extending the full width of the conveyor, such as chamber 300a, between its inner and outer surfaces. A plurality of stamping modules 306 extend perpendicularly from the outer surface of conveyor 300 and communicate with one of the annular chambers as hereinafter described.
Stamping modules 306 are adapted with a cutting configuration having a cylindrical or other desired shaped face 308 and corresponding cutting sidewall 309 extending therefrom to form a cup-like cutting unit 310. A tubular shaft 312 is connected to the outer surface of face 308 and is joined to conveyor 300 by way of an actuator valve 314 which is capable of extending the cutting module in response to a predetermined signal applied thereto. Tubular shaft 312 also communicates with one of the annular chambers between the inner and outer surfaces of conveyor 300. A second conveyor 320 is rotatable about motorized drums 322 and 324 (not shown). Conveyor 320 has its longitudinal axis transverse to the axes of conveyors 58 and 300 with its upper path of travel between conveyors 58 and 300.
FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along the longitudinal axis of conveyor 320 and showing the relationship of the stamping modules 306 with respect to the material conveyor 58 and conveyor 320. In operation of the unit, belt conveyor 300 is moved at a rate of speed equal to the speed of travel of conveyor 58 on which the continuous sheet of chilled pork sausage is carried. A predetermined signal is applied to selected rows of actuator valves 314 attached to each of the cutting units 310 as conveyor 300 moves over a predetermined point of its course. While not so limited, the signal may be an electrical signal communicated to a selected number of rows of stamping modules 306 as the rows pass an electrical connection.
Referring to FIGS. 19a-19c, in response to the signal, tubular shaft 312 is extended, forcing the stamping module 306 against the chilled sausage material. The action of the cutting sidewall 309 against the chilled material results in the severence of a discrete portion of the material in the configuration defined by the cutting unit 310 (FIG. 19b). Simultaneously therewith, annular chamber 300a moves into communication with a vacuum line 316 connected to an appropriate vacuum drawing system (not shown) for applying suction through each cutting unit 310 communicating with annular chamber 300a. This suction creates a vacuum to facilitate the withdrawal of the sausage material with the cutting unit. The cutting units 310 are withdrawn from the sheet of sausage (FIG. 19c) conveyor 300 moves past the point at which the predetermined signal is communicated to actuator valves 314. It will be understood that the extension of the cutting units is carried out by simultaneously actuating a group of cutting units such that one area of the continuous sheet is stamped at one time. The cycle is repeated sequentially with respect to successive groups of units as they pass over the sheet of sausage material.
After withdrawal of the cutting units 310, the cutting units pass above transverse conveyor 320 which is continuously rotating therebelow. It will be noted that the cutting heads normal retracted position is a sufficient distance above material conveyor 58 such that the heads are above transverse conveyor 320 which passes above material conveyor 58. As the cutting units pass above transverse conveyor 320, annular chamber 300a moves out of communication with the vacuum source. Thus, the vacuum drawn above the severed material is removed and the discrete sausage products contained therein are ejected onto belt conveyor 320. It may be found benefical in some instances to apply air pressure against the back side of the severed material retained in the cutting units by applying a positive pressure through annular chamber 300a in order to assure the discharge of the discrete sausage products contained therein onto conveyor 320. The discharge of the discrete products onto the transverse conveyor 320 is accomplished without the interruption of the movement of the cutting units on conveyor 300. The cutting units continue to move about conveyor belt 300 and the process of stamping discrete sausage products from the continuous chilled material sheet 270 is continued on an uninterrupted basis.
It will be noticed that the cutting units 310 are closely positioned so as to minimize materials which are not severed in the stamping process. Where rectangular configurations are stamped from the continuous sheet of chilled material, the sausage material not cut by the stamping units will be minimized or eliminated altogether. Where a circular or other irregular design is desired, the sausage material not stamped by the cutting units 310 is recycled and fed back through extrusion manifold 20 (FIG. 1).
The discrete sausage products discharged onto conveyor 330 are carried on the conveyor to an appropriate packaging station where the products are packaged in desired quantities. It will be appreciated that in the above described embodiment, the severing and discharge steps are carried out without interrupting the movement of the cutter units on conveyor 300 or the conveyors 58 or 320.
As previously mentioned, although the present invention has been described with respect to preparing chilled pork sausage, it will be understood that the present apparatus and method may be utilized to produce a wide variety of products when it is desired to form a plurality of discrete products having the same weight, size and characteristics from a semi-fluid material.
Whereas the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims. | The specification discloses a system and process for producing discrete chilled products having preselected weights from a semi-fluid mixture. The semi-fluid mixture is pumped along a distribution path to an extrusion manifold which extrudes a continuous sheet of the mixture. The continuous sheet is directed through a chilling station where it is chilled and firmed such that the sheet maintains its extruded cross-sectional configuration. A plurality of slicers continuously slice the continuous sheet of material into continuous lengths. A cutter periodically severs the continuous lengths at predetermined intervals to provide a plurality of discrete products having predetermined weights. The pumping rate, rate of travel through the freezer and periodic severing of the continuous lengths may be selectively varied in order to maintain any desired weight of the discrete products. In an alternative embodiment, the continuous sheet of material is divided into discrete products by stamping the sheet with a plurality of cutters. In another embodiment, a rotatable cutting drum, having a plurality of equally spaced circumferential slicing disks and equally spaced longitudinal blades, severs the continuous sheet of material into discrete products. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to stimulating production of wells producing natural resources such as crude oil, gas, and/or water; in particular the invention relates to a method and apparatus for stimulating a geologic formation using a downhole tool to apply low-frequency mechanical waves.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights associated with this document.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A major challenge with production of natural resources such as oil, gas and water from wells is that the productivity gradually decreases over time. While a decrease is expected to naturally accompanies the depletion of the reserves in the reservoir, often well before any significant depletion of the reserves, production diminishes as a result of factors that affect the geologic formation in the zone immediately surrounding the well and in the well's configuration itself. For example, Crude Oil production can decrease as a result of the reduction in permeability of the rock formation surrounding the well, a decrease of the fluidity of oil or the deposit of solids in the perforations leading to the collection zone of the well.
In production wells, perforations aid the fluid from the formation seeping through cracks or fissures in the formation to flow toward a collection compartment in the well. Hence, the pore size of the perforations connecting the well to the formation determines the flow rate of the fluid from the formation toward the well. Along with the flow of oil, gas or water, very small solid particles from the formation, called “fines,” flow and often settle around and within the well, thus, reducing the pore size.
Solids such as clays, colloids, salts, paraffin etc. accumulate in perforation zones of the well. These solids reduce the absolute permeability, or interconnection between pores. Mineral particles may be deposited, inorganic scales may precipitate, paraffins, asphalt or bitumen may settle, clay may become hydrated, and solids from mud and brine from injections may invade the perforations. The latter problems lead to a flow restriction in the zone surrounding the perforations.
As a result of the reduction of productivity, of oil wells for example, the exploitation may become prohibitively expensive forcing abandonment of the wells.
Production wells of oil and gas, for instance, are periodically stimulated by applying three general types of treatment: mechanical, chemical, and other conventional techniques which include intensive rinsing, fracturing and acid treatment.
Chemical acid treatment consists of injecting in the production zone mixtures of acids, such as hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid (HCI and HF). Acid is used for dissolving reactive components (e.g., carbonates, clay minerals, and in a smaller quantity, silicates) in the rock, thus increasing permeability. Additives, such as reaction retarding agents and solvents, are frequently added to the mixtures to improve acid performance in the acidizing operation.
While acid treatment is a common treatment to stimulate oil and gas wells, this treatment has multiple drawbacks. Among the drawbacks of acid treatment are: 1) the cost of acids and the cost of disposing of production wastes are high; 2) acids are often incompatible with crude oil, and may produce viscous oily residues inside the well; precipitates formed once the acid is consumed can often be more obnoxious than dissolved minerals; and 3) the penetration depth of active or live acid is generally low (less than 5 inches or 12.7 cm).
Hydraulic fracturing is a mechanical treatment usually used for stimulating oil and gas wells. In this process, high hydraulic pressures are used to produce vertical fractures in the formation. Fractures can be filled with polymer plugs, or treated with acid (in rocks, carbonates, and soft rocks), to form permeability channels inside the wellbore region; these channels allow oil and gas to flow. However, the cost of hydraulic fracturing is extremely high (as much as 5 to 10 times higher than acid treatment costs). In some cases, fracture may extend inside areas where water is present, thus increasing the quantity of water produced (a significant drawback for oil extraction). Hydraulic fracture treatments extend several hundred meters from the well, and are used more frequently when rocks are of low permeability. The possibility of forming successful polymer plugs in all fractures is usually limited, and problems such as plugging of fractures and grinding of the plug may severely deteriorate productivity of hydraulic fractures.
Another method for improving oil production in wells involves injecting steam or water. One of the most common problems in depleted oil wells is precipitation of paraffin and asphaltenes or bitumen inside and around the well. Steam or water has been injected in these wells to melt and dissolve paraffin into the oil or petroleum, and then all the mixture flows to the surface. Frequently, organic solvents are used (such as xylene) to remove asphaltenes or bitumen whose melting point is high, and which are insoluble in alkanes. Steam and solvents are very costly (solvents more so than steam), particularly when marginal wells are treated, producing less than 10 oil barrels per day. The main limitation for use of steam and solvents is the absence of mechanical mixing, which is required for dissolving or maintaining paraffin, asphaltenes or bitumen in suspension.
Empirical evidence have shown that seismic type waves may have an important effect on oil reservoirs. For example, following seismic waves, either from earthquakes or artificial induction, there is a rise in the fluid levels (water or oil), yielding an increase in oil production. A report on these phenomena is published by I. A. Beresnev and P. A. Johnson (GEOPHYSICS, VOL. 59, NO. 6, JUNE 1994; P. 1000-1017), which is included in its entirety herewith by reference.
Several methods using sound waves to stimulate oil wells have been described. Challacombe (U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,297) describes a tool for cleaning wells using pressure pulses: a series of explosive and gas generator modules are interconnected in a chain, in such a manner that ignition of one of the explosives triggers the next one and a progression or sequence of explosions is produced. These explosions generate shock waves that clean the well. There are obvious disadvantages of this method, such as potential damages that can be caused to high-pressure oil and gas wells. Use of this method is not feasible because for additional dangers including fire and lack of control during treatment period.
Sawyer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,769) describes a hydraulically controlled diaphragm that produces “sinusoidal vibrations in the low acoustic range”. Generated waves are of low intensity, and are not directed or focused to face the formation (rock). As a consequence, the major part of energy is propagated along the perforations.
Ultrasound techniques have been developed to increase production of crude oil from wells. However, there is a great amount of effects associated with exposing solids and fluids to an ultrasound field of certain frequencies and energy. In the case of fluids in particular, cavitation bubbles can be generated. These are bubbles of gas dissolved in liquid, or bubbles of the gaseous state of the same liquid (change of phase). Other associated phenomena are liquid degassing and cleaning of solid surfaces.
Maki Jr. et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,243) propose an acoustic device in which a piezoceramic transducer is set as radiator. The device presents difficulties in its manufacturing and use, because an asynchronous operation is required of a high number of piezoceramic radiators.
Vladimir Abramov et al., in “Device for Transferring Ultrasonic Energy to a Liquid or Pasty Medium” (U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,818) and in “Device for Transmitting Ultrasonic Energy to a Liquid or Pasty Medium” (U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,575), propose an apparatus consisting of an alternating current generator operating within the range of 1 to 100 kHz to transmit ultrasonic energy, and a piezoceramic or magnetostrictive transducer emitting ultrasound waves, which are transformed by a tubular resonator or wave guide system (or sonotrode) in transverse oscillations that contact the irradiated liquid or pasty medium. However, these patents are conceived to be used in containers of very large dimensions, at least as compared with the size and geometry of perforations present in wells. This shows limitations from a dimensional point of view, and also for transmission mode if it is desired to enhance production capacities of oil wells.
Julie C. Slaughter et al., in “Ultrasound Radiator of Dowhole Type and Method for Using It” (In U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,788), propose a device that uses ultrasonic transducers manufactured of Terfenol-D alloy and placed at the well bottom, and fed by an ultrasonic generator located at the surface. Location of transducers, axially to the device, allows the emission along a transverse direction. This invention proposes a viscosity reduction of hydrocarbons contained in the well through emulsification, when reacting with an alkaline solution injected to the well. This device considers a forced shallow circulation of fluid as a refrigeration system, to warrant continuity of irradiation.
Dennos C. Wegener et al., in “Heavy Oil Viscosity Reduction and Production,” (U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,653), describe a method and a device for producing heavy oil (API specific gravity less than 20) applying ultrasound generated by a transducer made of Terfenol alloy, attached to a conventional extraction pump, and powered by a generator installed at the surface. In this invention the presence of an alkaline solution is also considered, similar to an aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution, to generate an emulsion with crude oil of lower density and viscosity, thereby facilitating recovery of the crude by impulsion with a pump. Here, a transducer is installed in an axial position to produce longitudinal ultrasound emissions. The transducer is connected to an adjacent rod that operates as a wave guide or sonotrode.
Robert J. Meyer et al., in “Method for improving Oil Recovery Using an Ultrasonic Technique” (U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,796), propose a method to recover oil using an ultrasound technique. The proposed method consists of disintegrating agglomerates by means of an ultrasonic irradiation technique, and the operation is proposed within a certain frequency range, for the purpose of handling fluids and solids in different conditions. Main oil recovery mechanism is based in the relative momentum of these components within the device.
The latter mentioned prior art generates ultrasonic waves via a transducer that is externally supplied by an electric generator connected to the transducer through a transmission cable. The transmission cable is generally longer than 2 km, which has the disadvantage of signal transmission loss. Since high-frequency electric current transmission to such depths is reduced to 10% of its initial value, the generated signal must have a high intensity (or energy), enough for an adequate operation of the transducers within the well. Furthermore, since the transducers need to operate at a high-power regime, water or air cooling system is required, which in turn poses great difficulties when placed inside the well. The latter implies that ultrasound intensity must not exceed 0.5-0.6 W/cm2. This level is insufficient for the desired purposes, because threshold of acoustic effects in oil and rocks is from 0.8 to 1 W/cm2.
Andrey a. Pechkov, in “Method for Acoustic Stimulation of Wellbore Bottom Zone for Production Formation” (RU Patent No. 2 026 969), disclose methods and devices for stimulating production of fluids within a producing well. These devices incorporate, as an innovating element, an electric generator attached to the transducer, and both of them integrated in the well bottom. These transducers operate in a non-continuous mode, and can operate without needing an external cooling system. The impossibility of operating in a continuous mode to prevent overheating is one of the main drawbacks of this implementation since the availability of the device is reduced. Moreover, because the generator is located in the wellbottom, and especially because of the use of high power, the failure rate of the equipment is likely to be high, thus raising the cost of maintenance.
Oleg Abramov et al., in “Acoustic Method for Recovery of Wells, and Apparatus for its Implementation” (U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,144), disclosure an electro-acoustic method for stimulation of production within an oil well. The method consists of stimulating, by powerful ultrasound waves, the well extraction zone, causing an increase of mass transfer through its walls. This ultrasonic field produces large tension and pressure waves in the formation, thus facilitating the passage of liquids through well recovery orifices. It also prevents accumulation of “fines” on these holes, thereby increasing the life of the well and its extraction capacity.
Kostyuchenko in “Method and apparatus for generating seismic waves” (U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,256) generates seismic waves in an oil reservoir for well stimulation by chemical detonation. A packer is lowered into the well, where a fuel and air mixture is injected, and then detonated, generating seismic waves that reach the well walls. Some problems may appear considering possible unwanted explosions and difficulties regarding the transportation of a fuel and air mixture deep into the well.
Kostrov in “Method and apparatus for seismic stimulation of fluid bearing formations” (U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,175) describe another device for seismic waves generation. Shock waves are generated when compressed liquid is discharged to the well casing, forming seismic waves in the well borehole. This device has a limited range of applications as it may be only used in injection wells.
Ellingsen in “Sound source for stimulation of oil reservoirs” (US patent application publication 2009/0008082) a seismic wave generator is presented. Pressurized gas from a compressor located on the surface is transported into the wellbore where it operates a sound source that emits the seismic waves. The main limitation of this device is that it cannot operate over 1 kHz.
Murray in “Electric pressure actuating tool and method” (U.S. Pat. No. 7,367,405) describes using a tool to stimulate a down-hole using mechanical waves. This tool comprises a housing having a chamber filled with liquid, where an electrical discharge is produced. The discharge vaporizes the liquid creating a shock wave that pushes a piston, thus generating a pressure wave in the surrounding fluid. However, the presence of moving parts in the down hole may present difficulties, for instance, to provide required maintenance.
In “The application of high-power sound waves for wellbore cleaning”, Champion et al., analyze techniques related to high power sound waves used in well stimulation, and indicate that a variety of techniques exists for the generation of sound waves, with one of the most common laboratory methods comprising the use of either piezoelectric or magnetostrictive type transducers. The piezoelectric devices employ a crystal that oscillates in response to an applied oscillating voltage, while the magnetostrictive devices employ an alloy that changes shape in the presence of a magnetic field and, creates a powerful force. In both cases, this study indicates that, the oscillatory movement generated is used to drive an acoustic transmitter element. The average power level of these devices is in the region of 0.5 watts/cm2, and the potential to increase this significantly is limited because of the presence of gas bubbles released by the periodic pressure oscillations within the fluid. Instead of this method based on transducers Champion et al. proposes the generation of high power sound waves by initiating a high voltage electrical discharge in a liquid medium—the electrolyte. This concept of sound wave generation has been practiced previously in the development and application of marine and downhole seismic “sparker” sources.
A high-energy electrical discharge, which may be of the order or several hundred joules, is triggered at a spark gap submerged in an electrolyte. Typical electrical-breakdown times in water can be engineered to occur in the nanosecond time scale. A high current flows from the anode to cathode, which causes the electrolyte adjacent to the spark gap to vaporize and form a rapidly expanding plasma gas bubble. After the discharge stops, the bubble continues to expand until its diameter increases beyond the limit sustainable by surface tension, at which point it will rapidly collapse (cavitation mechanism), producing the shock wave that propagates through the fluid and is used for wellbore cleaning. Previous work in the field has demonstrated that the creation of this transient acoustic shock wave, in the form of a pressure step function, has the potential to generate high power ultrasound with an intensity of greater than 50 watt/cm 2 .
Sidney Fisher and Charles Fisher in “Recovery of hydrocarbons from partially exhausted oil wells by mechanical wave heating” (U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,053) describe heating underground viscous hydrocarbon deposits, such as the viscous residues in conventional oil wells, by mechanical wave energy to fluidize the hydrocarbons thereby to facilitate extraction thereof. The latter invention comprises a system for generating mechanical waves located on the ground surface transmitting the waves to the bottom of the well.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and system for improving well productivity that do not present, or at least that minimize, the above-mentioned drawbacks of each respective prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a method and apparatus for stimulating wells of natural resources such as oil gas and water. The invention provides an apparatus enabled with one or more elastic wave generators and a power supplier.
An apparatus embodying the invention comprises a device capable of generating low-frequency acoustic waves. Such a device may produce low-frequency elastic waves by means of an electrical discharge in a liquid confined in a radiating chamber. Furthermore, the apparatus does not require to be removed between treatment and may be left in the well while production is ongoing in order to collect valuable information.
An apparatus embodying the invention provides short duration pulse discharges in a controlled environment inside a radiating chamber in order to generate seismic type waves. The energy storage device may be located in the well and may be driven by means of a power source located at the surface. When the required energy levels are reached the energy is pulse-discharged from the energy storage device into the radiating chamber, resulting in shock waves that are transmitted to the chamber surface and into the geologic formation.
By combining one or several acoustic modules, the system embodying the invention may be adapted to treat a large number of different types of wells, depending on a set of parameters that characterize each particular well and/or geologic formation. The components are modular and may be combined for any particular use. The apparatus comprises at least one low frequency and high power electro-acoustic module. Low attenuation of low frequency mechanical waves allows the waves to travel large distances. This configuration is intended for long-range applications in reservoirs. The latter device configuration allows for reservoir acoustic treatment at extremely deep depths (5000 to 15000 meters), and also at shallow depths. The low frequency regime may be operated in-phase mode as the energy pulse discharge can be done in phase with the radiating chamber deformation. In addition, the low-frequency module may be involved in applications that utilize seismic wave reflections to map underground geologic structures.
One or more embodiments of the invention deliver an acoustic device for oil, gas, and/or water wells, which does not require injection of chemicals for their stimulation. One of the advantages of the invention is that the system delivers an acoustic device for downhole that has no environmental treatment costs associated with returning the liquids to the well after their treatment.
An acoustical device is provided for the perforation zone (downhole) that can operate inside a tube without needing the withdrawal or elimination of said tube. In accordance with the invention, the device is able to operate within the tubing, at the end of the tubing using a coupling adapter to attach the device to the end of the tubing, and/or one or more stimulation devices may be mounted in a series with the tubing. In the latter case, a stimulation device may be interposed with the tubing i.e. the device is attached to the end of tubing and another tubing segment is attached to the second end of the stimulation device. The process may be repeated to install several stimulation devices.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a typical well for extracting oil and/or gas, aiming at presenting the context in which an embodiment of the invention is utilized.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram representing components (or modules) of a tool for stimulating wells in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 schematically depicts parts of a low-frequency mechanical wave generator and a power supplier to drive the low-frequency mechanical waves generator in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4A schematically represents an electronic circuit for providing a high voltage electric discharge in accordance with an embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C are plots of the output voltage of electronic circuits as a function of time in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram representing components for stimulating wells in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart diagram representing steps involved in applying a mechanical wave discharge delivered to a geological formation in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a production oil field having a plurality of wells, where one or more wells are equipped with a system embodying the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a method and apparatus for stimulating oil, gas or water wells using a high-power electric discharge within a device embodying the invention in order to generate low-frequency mechanical waves. Furthermore, a device embodying the invention may be configured with one or more sensors to enable the system to collect a plurality of real-time information data that is processed and analyzed for further optimization of well stimulation.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a more thorough description of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the pertinent art, that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention. The claims following this description are what define the metes and bounds of the invention.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a typical well for extracting oil and/or gas, aiming at presenting the context in which an embodiment of the invention is utilized. Well 120 , for extracting fluids from a geological formation, is basically a hole lined with a cement layer 125 and a casing 128 that houses and supports a production tube string 130 coaxially installed in its interior. Perforations (e.g., 140 ) in the well lining, provide a path or trajectory that allow fluids produced in the reservoir 110 to flow from the reservoir 110 toward the collection area of the well 105 .
Typically, there are numerous perforations (e.g., 140 ) that extend radially from the lined or coated well. Perforations are uniformly separated in the lining, and pass to the outside of the lining through the formation. In an ideal case, perforations are only located within the formation, and their number depends on the formation thickness. It is rather common to have nine (9), and up to twelve (12) perforations per depth meter of formation. Other perforations extend longitudinally, and yet other perforations may extend radially from a 0°-azimuth, while additional perforations, located every 90° may define four sets of perforations around azimuth. Formation fluids pass through these perforations and come into the lined (or coated) well.
Preferably, the oil well is plugged by a sealing mechanism, such as a shutter element (e.g., 132 ), and/or with a bridge-type plug, located below the level of perforations (e.g., 134 ). The shutter element 132 may be connected to a production tube, and defines a compartment 105 . The production fluid, coming from the formation or reservoir, enters the compartment and fills the compartment until it reaches a fluid level. Accumulated oil, for example, flows from the formation and can be accompanied by variable quantities of natural gas. Hence, the lined compartment 105 may contain oil, some water, natural gas, and solid residues, with normally, sand sewing at the bottom of the compartment.
A tool 100 for stimulating the well in accordance with embodiments of the invention, may be lowered into the well to reach any level of the formation that is selected to be subjected to mechanical wave treatment. The tool may be connected to the ground surface through an attachment means 150 , attached to the extremity of the tube 130 using an adapter coupling, and/or interposed with the tubing. In the latter case, one or more stimulation devices may be mounted in a daisy chain manner, where one or more stimulation devices are mounted in series with segments of the tubing. Thus, a tool 100 may be lowered momentarily into a well for well treatment or by attaching the tool to the end of the tube 130 , the tool may be operated even as the production continues from the well. The attachment means comprise a set of cables for providing the strength for holding the weight of tool 100 . The attachment means may also comprise power cables for transmitting electrical energy to the tool, and communication cables such as copper wires and/or fiber optics for providing a means of transmitting data between control computers on the ground and the tool.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram representing components (or modules) of a tool for stimulating wells in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. A tool 100 comprises one or more acoustic wave generators. The acoustic wave generator 220 may be powered by a power supplier that may be hosted ( 210 as shown in FIG. 2 ) within the tool or may be located outside of the tool, such for example, on the ground surface. Tool 100 optionally comprises a sensing system 240 . These modules may be mounted in a chain in any number, combination and sequence.
The invention provides a manager with the flexibility to adapt the tool to specific needs for stimulating a well. A tool 100 may combine any number of modules. The type, number and configuration of the modules depend on the goal a well manager may desire to achieve through the stimulation of the well. For example, a tool 100 allows a well manager, after studying the composition of the formation, the flow rate of the liquid, pressure, temperature and any other parameter of the well, to configure tool 100 for a target purpose. The target purpose may be to induce vibration in the rock at a greater distance (e.g., several meters from the well), in which case the manager may choose to use one or more low-frequency wave generators.
Power supplier 210 may be located with tool 100 , outside of the tool 100 (e.g., as an attachment), on the ground surface or any other location that may be selected for optimal operation.
Power supplier 210 is comprised of an electric system capable of receiving power (e.g., direct-current power and or alternative current, AC) from the ground surface through a power transfer cable. The power supplier module is capable of transforming the power in accordance with requirement of the other components, such as the low-frequency mechanical wave generator 220 , and delivering power to other component such as a set of sensors and data collection and transmission modules. In transforming power, power supplier 210 may convert direct current (DC) to alternative current or vice versa (AC); generate AC currents at one or several frequencies; generate pulsed currents or any type of electric power regime that may be necessary for the proper functioning of any of the component of tool 100 . To the latter end, power supplier 210 comprises one or more electronic circuits to provide the correct electric current to components 220 in the tool. For example, tool 100 may comprise an electronic circuit for storing energy in a capacitor and delivering a high-voltage pulse when the energy stored in the capacitor reaches a predetermined threshold. The latter is useful, for example, for driving a low-frequency wave generator that utilizes a high-voltage current to generate an electric arc within a radiating chamber, thus, generating elastic waves.
In implementations of the invention where the power supplier is located on the ground surface, high power electric pulse signals are sent through geophysical cables to the downhole tool.
Power supplier 210 may also comprise electronic circuits enabling it to receive information and execute commands from a computer and/or another electronic circuit. For example, power supplier 210 may receive an instruction from a ground computer to start, stop or resume the operation of any component. It may receive instructions to deliver more or less power to any of the components or change the frequency of operation of one or more wave generators.
Embodiments of the invention comprise one or more low-frequency wave generators 220 . Low-frequency sound waves are characterized by their ability to transfer energy over long distances (e.g., hundreds of meters). Embodiments of the invention may utilize any available device capable of generating elastic waves of low frequency (e.g., 1 to 100 Hz).
Embodiments of the invention utilize, in particular, a low-frequency wave generator that is based on the principal of creating an electric arc, which may be configured to emit powerful sound waves. A detailed description of a low-frequency mechanical wave generator in accordance with the invention is given further below in the disclosure.
The low frequency stimulation of the formation allows fluids whose move has slowed down to increase their movement towards the well. Fluid found in a formation is a colloidal system, as a solid phase is found in the fluid. This gives rise to a non-Newtonian fluid, which behaves as a solid or may have extremely high viscosity in certain conditions. Formation fluid affects the near-wellbore region by blocking the flow through the pores, and decreasing the permeability of the zone. This process is known as formation damage.
A tool embodying the invention (e.g., 100 ) may comprise a sensing system 240 . A sensing system comprises one or more sensors designed to capture physical parameters such as temperature, pressure, gas content and any other physical manifestation relevant to oil recovery and well management. Sensors are chosen for the task based on their industrial design to withstand the stress of the elements in the operating environment. For example, sensors must be designed to withstand the corrosive environment under which operations are conducted.
A sensing system 240 in accordance with implementations of the invention, may comprise a set of transducers for converting physical information into digital information for transmission to a remote computer.
FIG. 3 schematically depicts parts of a low-frequency mechanical wave generator and a power supplier to drive the low-frequency mechanical waves generator in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The low-frequency mechanical wave generator of FIG. 3 comprises a radiation chamber 360 where high energy short duration pulse discharges are performed in a controlled environment inside the chamber.
The low-frequency mechanical wave generator 300 may be constructed using an outside casing 320 , two or more lids (e.g., 340 and 345 ), a first and a second electrodes 310 and 312 , respectively, a rubber interior coating 330 , insulating sleeves 315 (e.g., Teflon sleeves) and rubber flanges (e.g., 350 ). The chamber 360 within which the electrodes protrude may be filled with a fluid. In some application the fluid in chamber 360 may be more or less electrically conducting depending on the desired application.
The low frequency mechanical wave generator 300 comprises a wave deflector 332 . The wave deflector 332 may be any surface, such a parabolic-shaped surface, capable of deflecting and/or reflecting the acoustic wave. In embodiments of the invention, one or more deflectors are utilized to change the direction of part or the entire wave. For example, from an initial wave that may have a spherical shape, the reflection off of a parabolic surface may direct as much of the acoustic power in the wave perpendicularly to longitudinal axis of tool 300 as possible to maximize the amount of energy propagated inside the formation.
Casing 320 may be constructed using a corrosion-resistant metal or any other material that provides necessary strength, resistance to corrosion and other physical properties such as electric and heat conductance, density or any other property that would be relevant for any given application. It is noteworthy that the casing's material's physical properties are relevant because the shape and size of the casing may determine relevant vibration properties of the tool. For example, low-frequency mechanical waves generator may be designed to have a given desired resonance frequency.
The low-frequency mechanical waves generator 300 comprises an energy storage device that is charged by means of a power source. When the required energy levels for breaking the electric breakdown voltage of the non-conductive fluid inside the radiation chamber 360 are reached, all the energy is pulse-discharged from the energy storage device into the fluid. The latter results in an explosion inside chamber 360 , creating shock waves.
In embodiments of the invention, the interior of chamber 360 may be carved to provide one or more surfaces that reflect pressure waves in such a manner that the waves can be focused and/or propagated in a specific direction. For example, shape feature 332 may be a parabolically-shaped surface the reflection on which would transform a spherical pressure wave emanating from the inter-electrode space into a radial pressure wave that propagates perpendicularly to the axis of tool 300 .
Low-frequency mechanical waves are generated due to the excitation regime of the pulse discharges of the energy storage system. A system embodying the invention comprises a radiating chamber the length of which may be half the wave length (λ/2, where “λ” symbolizes the wave length) or an integer multiple of the wavelength of the electro-acoustic vibration. The wavelength depends on the speed of pressure wave in the material chosen for the construction of the chamber. For example, using stainless steal which has an approximate conductivity of sound waves of 5000-6000 m/s, the chamber would possess a wavelength of between 2.5 m and 12.5 cm for a resonance frequency of 1 kHz to 20 kHz.
In embodiments of the invention, in order to increase transmission of the electro-acoustic power, chamber 360 may be filled with a conductive fluid (e.g., calcium chloride dissolved in water). Electrodes may also be positioned at a specific distance to break the electrical breakdown voltage of the liquid. An electric discharge regimen may be established for the low frequency radiation (e.g. for low frequency oil/gas or water reservoir stimulation 0.1 Hz to 1000 Hz is recommended, which results in wavelengths of between 1 meter and 3000 meters). Said regimen is achieved by means of charging and discharging the energy storage device (e.g., using a high voltage low impedance capacitor).
An embodiment of the invention provides a corrosion-resistant heatsink chamber capable of being used as an acoustic resonance chamber. The disposition of the chamber in relation to other wave generators attributes to the device its resonance characteristics. The corrosion-resistant heatsink chamber also prevents the system from overheating by means of a heat-sink liquid which fills the device, allowing the system to work in gas reservoirs or oil wells with high concentration of gas. When working in heavy oil wells, the capacity to efficiently transfer the heat generated by the wave radiators to the environment also improves the capacity of the system to reduce the viscosity of the crude, thus facilitating crude oil extraction.
In a device embodying the invention comprising a low-frequency electro-acoustic radiating module, the chamber may be made of corrosion-resistant rubber 330 (e.g. rubber wrapped in Teflon) the length of which may be half the wavelength (λ/2), or an integer multiple of the wavelength (λ).
An embodiment according to FIG. 3 , where the material inside the corrosion-resistant radiating chamber is a non conductive material (e.g. air). The energy needed in the energy storage device must reach the necessary levels for achieving the electric breakdown voltage in the gap between the electrodes. When such levels are reached, a pulse discharge of the energy stored in the energy storage device will be performed in the gap between the electrodes creating the shock wave of the elastic wave.
In embodiments of the invention the device comprises an adapter (not shown) that connects the low-frequency wave generator to the well's casing. In the latter embodiment low frequency is radiated to the reservoir through the natural resonance frequency of the well's casing. For instance, the natural resonance frequency of steel casing of a 2.5 km well is 1 Hz, considering a sound speed of 5000 m/s in steel from which said casing is typically made. As an added benefit, a device embodying the invention may be used in abandoned wells (within a reservoir) that may be dedicated to stimulating the reservoir with high-power low-frequencies, without concern for damage to the cement walls of those wells.
Embodiments of the invention provide a power supplier 370 for powering the mechanical waves generating device 300 . Power supplier comprises a comparator 372 and at least one power storage unit 274 . Comparator 372 is capable of receiving user input from a user interface 380 . For example, a user may use the user interface 380 to set a threshold for triggering power transmission into the electrodes 310 and 312 . Power supplier 370 comprises one or more power storage means 374 . The power storage means are any electric device, such as a capacitor, capable of storing an electric charge. The latter is preferably a high capacity electric charge storage that is once charged can be discharged as a high-voltage pulse into the electrodes, thus causing an arc discharge i.e. explosion. Power supplier 370 may be powered by a power source 390 . The power source comprises one or more electric devices for transmitting, transforming and converting electric power.
FIG. 4A schematically represents an electronic circuit for providing a high voltage electric discharge in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. An electronic circuit in accordance with the invention comprises means (e.g. 416 ) for receiving electric power from a power source. When implemented in a downhole tool (e.g., 100 above), power may be provided to the electronic circuit through a power cable. The means for receiving electric power may comprise one or more device for adapting and converting power. For example, the circuit may comprise one or more voltage and/or electric current transformers, regulators, AC/DC converters or any other electric device for involved in implementing the invention for a specific application.
An electronic circuit in accordance with the invention comprises a switching devices (e.g., 415 ) which triggers a high energy pulse discharge of the power stored in a storage device (e.g., 418 ) through the electrodes inside the radiating chamber. The switching device is enabled with means to receive power input and threshold means 410 to receive a power threshold value. The switching device (e.g., 415 ) may compare the voltage accumulated in the power storage device, such as a capacitor 418 , with a user-defined discharge threshold (e.g., received on input 410 ). The capacitor may be in a charging mode while the voltage is below the predetermined level i.e. the discharge threshold. When the discharge threshold is reached, the switch commutates by means of an automatic switching device and the discharge process begins. Once a lower threshold is reached the switch commutates again and the charging process may restart. For example, an operational amplifier set up as a comparator and a relay may be used to construct the switching device. Thus, a device embodying the invention may be set to continuously deliver acoustic waves to a well without requiring manual operation by a user.
In embodiments of the invention a switching device comprises a timer (e.g., an electronic programmable timer). In the latter case, the switching device may utilize the signals from the timer to determine the periodicity for triggering pulse discharges.
FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C are plots of the output voltage of electronic circuits as a function of time in accordance with embodiments of the invention. In the instance illustrated in FIG. 4B , the energy storage device is supplied with a fixed current power source, whereas FIG. 4C shows a plot of the voltage as a function of time when the energy storage device is supplied with a voltage power source. The voltage of the power storage (e.g., the capacitor) rises 432 while the voltage is below a predetermined threshold. Once the voltage reaches a threshold voltage, the power is discharged 434 through the electrodes in the discharge chamber.
The voltage charging ratio over time is the value of the current over the capacitance of the capacitor.
m
=
i
C
Where i is the current and C is the capacitor's capacitance. The necessary charging time for achieving a desired voltage V 0 with a constant current source is
t
=
V
0
C
i
Plots 420 and 430 show voltage as a function time where the discharge frequency of the energy storage device is controlled by means of a voltage power source in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In the latter configuration, the voltage charging time depends on the constant RC, where C is the capacitor's capacitance and R is the resistance of the cable from the generator to the capacitor. And the necessary time to charge the capacitor to a certain voltage using a constant voltage source is given by
t
=
-
RC
·
ln
(
1
-
x
100
)
;
0
≤
x
≤
100
Where x represents the relation (percentage) between the charging voltage and discharge threshold voltage.
An electronic circuit in accordance with embodiments of the invention may be configure to provide one or more profiles and timings for the successive charging phases (e.g., 422 and 432 ) and discharges (e.g., 424 and 434 ), the succession of which determine an inter-pulse discharge time interval. Therefore, by adjusting the threshold and the capacity of capacitor, the power and/or the frequency of the discharges may be controlled.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram representing components for stimulating wells in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The most important factor in recovering a natural resource, such as oil, gas or water, is the geologic formation 510 in which the natural resource resides. The content in minerals, texture compaction are among the physical factors that characterize the geologic formation. When stimulating a well, one has to also take into account the characteristics of the resource itself. For example, oil may greatly differ in its chemical composition and gas content from one well to another within the same reservoir, even as the geologic formation remains similar. The latter is taken into account when selecting the methods by which a well should be stimulated.
Embodiments of the invention provide a tool (e.g., 100 ) that may comprise one or more components for applying several different stimulation regimens using mechanical waves, applying one of more treatments such as high-pressure water blasting, and collecting information from the well in order to assess the result of the stimulation and re-adjust the treatment parameters.
As described above, the system comprises a tool of a downhole type (e.g., 100 ). The tool comprises a plurality of devices comprising one or more low-frequency acoustic wave generators (e.g., 530 ), one or more power generators 540 , and one or more sensing devices 538 . In addition, a system embodying the invention comprises a data processing and control system 550 . The data processing and control system is comprised of a one or more computers. A computer (e.g., of the personal computer type or server) may be any computing device equipped with a processor, memory, data storage system, capable of executing software instructions. The computer for implementing the invention may be enabled with electronic interfaces for communication with other computers and other devices such as analog and digital networking switches, telephones lines, wireless communication, and any other device capable of receiving, processing and/or transmitting data.
The data processing and control system 550 provides a user interface that allows a user to interact with data processing and control. During operation, the acoustic treatment of a well results in changes that affect the geologic formation 510 . The latter changes may be reflected in one or more physical parameters such as temperature, pressure, acidity of the water, flow rate of natural resource, gas content or any other parameter that may be measured with a sensor placed in the sensing system. Other types of information are not directly reflected in the measured parameters, but through data processing a user may be enabled with the expertise to interpret the result of the data processing and make decision for further treatments accordingly. For example, after collecting the data over a period of time, the manager may learn from the result of the processed data that a given trend is taking place, upon which, the user may make a decision to increase or decrease the power and/or the frequency of the discharge pulses.
The data processing and control system may provide the energy necessary to supply the energy supplier 540 . A power cable (e.g., 570 ) is typically lowered into the well along with the downhole tool. The control system may deliver the power, for example, in a raw form such as direct-current power or as modulated electrical power that directly controls the downhole device. In the case where the power is delivered to the power supplier, the control system may simply communicate commands to the power supplier. Communication is established through communication means 586 which may be wires, fiber optic cables or other means selected to implement the invention. The commands from the control system to the power supplier may include instructions that determine the driving power the power supplier delivers to any of the devices such as the acoustic wave generators or the sensing system. For example, the data processing and control system allows a manager to preset the periodicity at which a low-frequency acoustic wave generator should operate.
The power supplier 540 comprises a plurality of electronic circuits each of which may be designed to drive an individual component. For example, power supplier 540 may generate high-voltage pulses that drive (e.g., 572 ) the low-frequency acoustic wave generators; power supplier 540 may generate the power necessary to drive other devices (e.g., heating system) for carrying out one or more treatments to stimulate the well.
The data processing and control system may connect with the sensing system in order to collect data through communication means 580 . The sensing system enables embodiments of the invention to collect data in real-time. Since the downhole tool may be permanently installed in the wells (as described above), using embodiments of the invention allows for treating a well while simultaneously collecting data and following the progress of the treatment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart diagram representing steps involved in applying a mechanical wave discharge delivered to a geological formation in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. At step 610 , a system embodying the invention may receive a set threshold used to trigger the pulse discharge into the electrodes. A user may use the user interface provided by the invention to input a threshold and/or alternatively a default threshold may be built in the electronic circuits that drive the wave-generating device. The threshold may be set to determine the voltage at which the discharge is triggered, which may also determine the periodicity at which the discharge is triggered.
At step 620 , a system implementing the invention accumulates power in the electric charge-storing device (e.g., one or more high capacity capacitors). At step 620 , the system connects electric power from a power source to the electric charge-storing device. At step 630 , a system implementing the invention constantly compares the level of charge with the set threshold. The system may determine, based on the reached threshold and user input for discharge, whether to deliver the power to the electrodes. If a determination is made to deliver the electric power to the electrodes, at step 640 , the electronic circuits of the power supplier deliver a high-power pulse discharge to the electrodes, thus causing an explosion triggering the mechanical waves that spread through the geological formation.
FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a production oil field having a plurality of wells, where one or more wells are equipped with a system embodying the invention. A typical oil field (e.g., 710 ) hosts a plurality of wells (e.g., W 1 , W 2 , W 3 , W 4 , W 5 , W 6 and W 7 ). A device embodying the invention may be installed in one or more wells (e.g., 720 and 730 ) to deliver low-frequency stimulation to the reservoir. The oil field map 710 shows isopach lines (e.g., 715 ) that represent regions of equal thickness of a geological layer, which may be the layer that contains the natural resource of interest or any other layer above or below the layer of interest. A reservoir manager may utilize the topographical data to select one or more wells for installing a low-frequency well stimulation device embodying the invention. In the example schematically depicted in FIG. 7 , wells 720 and 730 are equipped with a device for stimulation a well using low-frequency acoustic waves. As stated above, low-frequency waves tend to travel over long distances. The range of propagation 725 from stimulation device in well 720 may overlap with the range of propagation 735 from stimulation device in a different well (e.g., 730 ).
In addition to the selection of which particular well (or wells) may be used to stimulate production in a reservoir, the selection of the regime of low-frequency acoustic waves application may be important. For example, even though low-frequency acoustic wave application may increase productivity of a given well, intermittently applying the mechanical waves may prove more beneficial for production than a continuous application. The invention allows for modifying the periodicity by which the mechanical waves are applied in order to find a range time patterns of stimulation that optimize production.
Thus a method, device and system for generating low-frequency mechanical waves that are propagated within and in the vicinity of a production well in a natural resource-producing geological formation in order to enhance the flow of the natural resource from the geological formation toward the well for collection. | The invention provides an apparatus and method for stimulating a borehole of a well. The invention provides an apparatus that generates low-frequency seismic type elastic waves that propagate to the geologic formation and in order to enhance the movement of fluids in the geologic formation toward a well. The apparatus may operate automatically driven by a power source that may be located on the ground surface. The regime of operation may be determined by user input. Operation of the apparatus may carried out while production of a natural resource is ongoing. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/175,410 filed Jul. 1, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/311,259 filed Dec. 11, 2002, which is now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,190, which is a 371 national stage application of international application number PCT/US01/20381 filed Jun. 25, 2001, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. provisional application No. 60/214157 filed Jun. 26, 2000. Each of the aforementioned patent(s) and application(s) are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to initiation of an Instant Messaging (IM) session between two or more parties and communication using a “standard/standalone” Instant Messaging paradigm with or without email integration.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] There are at least four major problems that are common in today's Instant Messaging (IM) systems including: “screen name” namespace problems, privacy problems, lack of acceptable and automated Instant Messaging message archiving, and service provider compatibility/software deliverability problems.
[0004] The namespace problem can be broken down into three sub-problems, as follows:
[0005] “Screen names” are not unique across IM providers. In today's Instant Messaging software, each Instant Messaging service provider maintains a separate and proprietary “screen name” namespace. This leads to users of one Instant Messaging service not being able to freely communicate with the users of a different Instant Messaging service provider because names in each namespace are not universal, so, for example, the user “Johril” in AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM) might refer to John Smith, while “John P in Yahoo's Messenger might refer to John Jones.
[0006] Obtaining a desired name is difficult, and will only get more difficult. The namespaces available within each Instant Messaging provider are extremely crowded. For example, when signing up with the largest of the Instant Messaging providers, AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM) service, a typical user would rarely succeed with their first choice for a screen name because there are over 90 million names already in use. In the case of AOL, this problem will only get worse as over 3 million new users sign up for AIM each month.
[0007] “Screen names” frequently have little or no connection to a person's “real” name. Most Instant Messaging screen names are names like “doglover3”, “corvette33”, etc., since, as described above, names like “John Smith” have all been taken. Therefore users end up with screen names which are hard for others to remember. This problem is of particular concern in the business world where universal and recognizable user names are essential for conducting business.
[0008] The privacy problem can be seen as follows. In the Instant Messaging environments available by current Instant Messaging providers a particular user's presence online can easily, or even automatically, be detected by others. When a user begins an Instant Messaging session using one of these Instant Messaging providers, all other users who are interested in this user are notified that the he just went “online”. Some Instant Messaging providers do provide some protection against this “presence detection”. They may allow users to set an option to either let “no one” know that they are online, or to block certain people from knowing they are online. Unfortunately, these type of features are cumbersome to use since they are not automatic and force users to constantly manage who can “see” them and who can't.
[0009] The Instant Messaging messaging archiving problem can be seen as follows. Some currently available Instant Messaging client software allows users to save transcripts of an Instant Messaging session as a file on their computer disk. But the client software does not allow them to file these sessions away, title them, etc., as they would with email, and the feature is cumbersome enough that most users either don't know it exists, or simply don't use it. This gives Instant Messaging a disadvantage when compared to email because it does not allow the user to maintain an automatic archive of what was discussed in the Instant Messaging session.
[0010] There are several problems associated with Instant Messaging service provider compatibility and software delivery. Today, Instant Messaging service providers require users download a particular piece of software to execute on their computer. This type of Instant Messaging software causes at least three major problems.
[0011] Lack of interoperability causes a significant problem. Each Instant Messaging service provider only supports its own Instant Messaging protocol and client software. Clients from one Instant Messaging service provider, using that service provider's Instant Messaging software can typically only communicate with other people who use the same service provider and software. A person cannot arbitrarily send an Instant Message to another person, unless that other person uses the same Instant Messaging service provider and software that they do. For example, “Joe” uses AOL's Instant Messenger, and “Jane” uses Yahoo's Messenger. Even if Joe and Jane know each other's screen names, they cannot communicate with each other since they are using different Instant Messaging service providers.
[0012] Lack of platform independence is another problem. Today's Instant Messaging service providers and software typically will only execute on a limited number of hardware platforms, so users on non-supported platforms will not be able to communicate with users on supported platforms.
[0013] The inability to work through network “firewalls” causes additional problems. The current Instant Messaging service providers and software offerings will typically not work through “firewalls”. Since most business enterprises have firewalls in place, these programs preclude users inside the organization from communicating with users outside of the organization. Additionally, as home networks become more prevalent, the use of firewalls will become more common and the significance of this problem will increase.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Certain embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system supporting the initiation of an Instant Messaging (IM) session between two or more parties through the use of email programs and standard web browsers. Additionally, it allows users to communicate using a “standard/standalone” Instant Messaging paradigm (i.e. without email integration) which affords users the features of today's popular instant Messaging services, but also provides at least the additional benefits listed in the summary.
[0015] Regarding the namespace problem, users are not required to use proprietary “screen names”. Instead, the inventive system allows the parties to use their email address as their “screen name”. Email addresses have the advantages that they are much more pervasive and established than typical Instant Messaging “screen names”, and valid email addresses are guaranteed to be universally unique names.
[0016] The present invention details a process whereby a computer user may send an “IM Enhanced” or “Live” email to another person, using a standard email program, by knowing only the recipient's email address.
[0017] Regarding the privacy problem, when an Instant Messaging session is initiated via email, strict privacy rules are enforced in a non-intrusive manner; one user cannot “blindly” initiate a messaging session with another user, unless the second user accepts the Instant Messaging invitation. Furthermore, the initial chat request is not delivered via an Instant Message, rather, it is delivered in an email. Upon receipt of the email invitation, the recipient initiates an Instant Messaging conversation with the sender (who's acceptance is implicit since the sender initiated the Instant Messaging request). When an Instant Messaging session is initiated via the “standalone” Instant Messaging web page, the user is able to control presence detection in the same sorts of ways as most commonly available Instant Messaging software allows.
[0018] The present invention also details the process whereby users may indicate that presence detection is allowed only to certain individuals simply by sending those individuals an email/IM invitation. This email becomes the implicit “permission” for the recipient to converse with the sender, so no other action is required on the part of the sender. This provides a very dynamic and powerful means of granting “permission” to message, and the permissions may even be email message specific. This means that if Joe sends Jane an IM-enhanced email, Jane would be able to communicate to Joe through that email, but if Jane used the standalone Instant Messaging service, she may not by able detect Joe's presence, assuming Joe has “total privacy” selected.
[0019] The sender is not able to initiate the Instant Messaging conversation in any way other than through an email. This prevents users from getting Instant Messaging “spam”. If the recipient accepts the Instant Messaging invitation included in the email, they can begin a conversation with the sender (who is assumed to have implicitly accepted IMs from the recipient). Since these Instant Messaging conversations are initiated via email, the spam problem is also addressed by leveraging all of the protections already in place for protecting users against email spam, this includes existing legislation, filtering software, etc.
[0020] Regarding the problem of Instant Messaging message archiving, users may choose to permanently save Instant Messaging sessions in much the same way that they save email. The Instant Messaging session might even be saved as part of the email. This allows Instant Messaging archives to be referred back to in the future. Additionally, if there was an Instant Messaging session as a result of an email, that Instant Messaging session will be automatically saved in conjunction with the email, so that anytime in the future the user chooses to read that particular piece of email, they will also see the associated messaging.
[0021] Upon receiving such an email, the recipient will be able to read the email “body” as they always have, and below the email body will be an area in which to participate in an Instant Messaging conversation with the sender.
[0022] As the Instant Messaging session proceeds, it is constantly being saved on the server computer, which provides the Instant Messaging support. This allows users to file away emails as always, and at any future time, when they view the email, the full transcript of the Instant Messaging session will also appear. This allows users to both maintain conversations about the email together with the email, as well as to maintain an automatic archive of their Instant Messaging session (users would, of course, be able to disable this feature).
[0023] Regarding Instant Messaging service provider compatibility and software delivery problems, no explicit signup or software is needed. Sender and recipient need not be signed up with a common Instant Messaging service provider, or any service provider at all in order to message each other. Users may “message” each other without the need for explicit client software downloads. Messaging is performed with standard DHTML within an email window [though the Instant Messaging part of this invention can also be utilized in an “IM only” mode, without the use of email].
[0024] This “IM area” is rendered within the email message, using only generally available browser technologies, such as DHTML. No other software is required for the user to download, and no “plugins” are required. This allows any user with a popular browser to immediately, and seamlessly, participate in an Instant Messaging session.
[0025] The whole Instant Messaging session takes place using only the publicly-defined Internet protocol known as HTTP allowing Instant Messaging conversations to take place across firewalls. The present invention also details the process whereby a computer user may send or receive “standard” Instant Messages, from a web-based Instant Messaging web page/application. The implementation of this “standalone” web page uses the same software “engine” as the software described above, which allows users to Instant Messaging each other within their emails. Though there are many benefits to the email/Im solution, a standalone solution is required as well, since the sender needs a way to communicate with the recipient once the recipient chooses to initiate an Instant Messaging session. Additionally, users often choose to communicate only via Instant Messages, and not use email. It is in the standalone incantation of this software where the privacy and presence-hiding and http presence-detection features of this software shine.
[0026] These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed descriptions and studying the various figures of the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] FIG. 1 depicts a system comprising a server 100 communicatively coupled to associated client computers used by users supporting email communications and web browser compliant communications to provide instant messaging between at least two of the users;
[0028] FIG. 2A depicts a detail flowchart of server program system 1000 of FIG. 1 for supporting instant messaging between at least two of the users;
[0029] FIG. 2B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1012 of FIG. 2A for creating the instant messaging session;
[0030] FIG. 3 depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1022 of FIG. 1 for providing the instant messaging session;
[0031] FIG. 4A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1122 of FIG. 3 for transferring the at least one received communication from the first member;
[0032] FIG. 4B depicts a detail flowchart of server program system 1000 of FIG. 1 for supporting instant messaging between at least two users;
[0033] FIG. 5A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1192 of FIG. 4B for maintaining the database referencing the history;
[0034] FIG. 5B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1172 of FIG. 4A for sending the at least one processed communication from the first member;
[0035] FIG. 5C depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1212 of FIG. 5A for maintaining the history;
[0036] FIG. 6 is a refinement of FIG. 1 showing server 100 coupled 102 to instant messaging session 130 and further coupled 104 to database 150 ;
[0037] FIG. 7A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1262 of FIG. 5C for maintaining the communication history;
[0038] FIG. 7B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1272 of FIG. 7A for creating the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier;
[0039] FIG. 8A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1192 of FIG. 4B for maintaining the database;
[0040] FIG. 8B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1342 of FIG. 8A for creating the history;
[0041] FIG. 9 depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1172 of FIG. 4A for sending the instant messaging invitation email message to the associated email address designated for each of the recipients;
[0042] FIG. 10A depicts a detail flowchart of client program system 2000 of FIGS. 1 and 6 for controlling the associated client computer based upon the use by the user and the communicatively coupled server 100 ;
[0043] FIG. 10B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2012 of FIG. 10A for support of email and web browser compliant communication;
[0044] FIG. 10C depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2012 of FIG. 10A for providing support for email communication and for web browser compliant communication;
[0045] FIG. 11A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2042 of FIG. 10B for receiving the instant messaging invitation email message;
[0046] FIG. 11B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2052 of FIG. 10C for receiving the transferred communication;
[0047] FIG. 12A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2072 of FIG. 11A for using the received instant messaging invitation email message by the recipient;
[0048] FIG. 12B shows a refinement of the relationships involved with database 150 of FIG. 6 regarding references involved with it and its components; and
[0049] FIG. 13 depicts an application of the instant messaging system in a situation where different users prefer multiple languages.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0050] FIG. 1 depicts a system comprising a server 100 communicatively coupled to associated client computers used by users supporting email communications and web browser compliant communications to provide instant messaging between at least two of the users.
[0051] The server computer 110 delivers formatted web pages to the client computer providing an area for the user of the client computer to participate in an Instant Messaging session. Each Instant Messaging session has a universally unique identifier, which the server computer uses to identify and store individual Instant Messages.
[0052] Server 100 communicatively couples 224 to client computer 210 used by user 200 supporting email communications and web browser compliant communications. Similarly, server 100 communicatively couples 324 and 424 to client computers 310 and 410 user by users 300 and 400 , respectively.
[0053] Server 100 includes server computer 110 accessibly coupled 122 to server memory 120 . Server program system 1000 operates server 100 and is comprised of program steps residing in server memory 120 .
[0054] Each client computer 210 , 310 , and 410 , is accessibly coupled 222 , 322 and 422 to a respective memory 220 , 320 , and 420 . In certain embodiments of the invention, program system 2000 operates the associated client computer based upon the interaction of the user and communications with server 100 .
[0055] Each user may employ at least one of acoustic and tactile input to the associated client computer in its use. The usage may vary. By way of example, user 200 may use 212 tactile input such as a keyboard and pointing device. User 300 may use 312 acoustic input exclusively. User 400 may user 412 a combination of acoustic and tactile input.
[0056] User presentation of instant messaging communication as well as alerts regarding instant messaging invitations may be presented in at least one of the following ways: visually, acoustically, and tactilely.
[0057] By way of example, the visual alert may include an icon presented on a view screen, or by turning on a light. The acoustic alert may emit at least one of the following: an alert sound or an alert audio message. A tactile alert may include raising or lowering a tactile output member, such as found on a Braille keyboard. Any of these alerts may include a representation of the first user, the time of receipt of the invitation, as well as other information which may be part of the invitation, such as the intended topic or agenda of the instant messaging session.
[0058] By way of example, the areas of a web page may be associated with distinct voices by which contented presented in an area may be acoustically presented to the user. The acoustic presentation may follow the order of receipt of the transferred communication, or the user may specify that a priority scheme by which various transferring communications received within a period of time are ordered for presentation. The user may further specify that differing voices may be presented louder or softer. The user may silence a voice.
[0059] Note that the server 100 communicatively coupled to the associated client computer used by the user may further support a version of TCP-IP compliant protocols in communication with the user, for at least one of the users.
[0060] Server 100 communicatively coupled to the associated client computer used by the user may further support at least one of the following:
a version of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) compliant protocols in communication with the user; a version of Bluetooth compliant protocols in communication with the user; a version of HTTP compliant protocols in communication with the user; and a version of XML compliant protocols in communication with the user.
[0065] Instant messaging session 130 involves a universally unique identifier 132 and web page 140 based upon that universally unique identifier, initiated by a first user 134 involving at least one recipient 136 contacted by email through their email address. Each recipient 136 is sent an instant messaging invitation email message.
[0066] The first user 134 is a member of the audience collection 138 . When and if a recipient 136 responds to the instant messaging invitation email message, it becomes a member of the audience collection 138 .
[0067] When a communication 142 is received from a first member of the audience collection 138 , a transferred communication 144 from the first member is sent to all audience collection members.
[0068] Upon receipt of communication 142 , it may be processed to create the processed communication 142 from the first member, which is then sent to all audience collection members as the transferred communication 144 .
[0069] FIG. 2A depicts a detail flowchart of server program system 1000 of FIG. 1 for supporting instant messaging between at least two of the users.
[0070] Arrow 1010 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1000 to operation 1012 . Operation 1012 performs creating an instant messaging session with a universally unique identifier initiated by a first of the users for recipients designated as at least one of the remaining of the users. Arrow 1014 directs execution from operation 1012 to operation 1016 . Operation 1016 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0071] Arrow 101010 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1000 to operation 101012 . Operation 101012 performs providing the instant messaging session identified by the universally unique identifier as a formatted web page to each of the designated recipients and to the first user. Arrow 101014 directs execution from operation 101012 to operation 1016 . Operation 1016 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0072] FIG. 2B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1012 of FIG. 2A for creating the instant messaging session.
[0073] Arrow 1050 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1012 to operation 1052 . Operation 1052 performs receiving an instant messaging session request from the first user for recipients each designated by an associated email address for the at least one of the remaining users. Arrow 1054 directs execution from operation 1052 to operation 1056 . Operation 1056 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0074] Arrow 1060 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1012 to operation 1062 . Operation 1062 performs assigning the universally unique identifier based upon the instant messaging session request. Arrow 1064 directs execution from operation 1062 to operation 1056 . Operation 1056 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0075] Arrow 1070 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1012 to operation 1072 . Operation 1072 performs sending an instant messaging invitation email message to the associated email address designated for each of the recipients. Arrow 1074 directs execution from operation 1072 to operation 1056 . Operation 1056 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0076] FIG. 3 depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1022 of FIG. 1 for providing the instant messaging session.
[0077] Arrow 1090 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1022 to operation 1092 . Operation 1092 performs creating the web page referenced based upon the universally unique identifier. Arrow 1094 directs execution from operation 1092 to operation 1096 . Operation 1096 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0078] Arrow 1100 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1022 to operation 1102 . Operation 1102 performs providing the web page with an area associated with the first user for participation. Arrow 1104 directs execution from operation 1102 to operation 1096 . Operation 1096 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0079] Arrow 1110 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1022 to operation 1112 . Operation 1112 performs providing the web page with another area associated with the recipient for participation upon response to the instant messaging invitation email message, for each of the recipients. Arrow 1114 directs execution from operation 1112 to operation 1096 . Operation 1096 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0080] As used herein, an audience collection will include the first user and each of the recipients responding to the instant messaging invitation email message.
[0081] Arrow 1120 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1022 to operation 1122 . Operation 1122 performs transferring at least one received communication from the associated client computer operated by a first of the members of the audience collection to all of the members of the audience collection to create a transferred communication as content in the area associated with the first member. Arrow 1124 directs execution from operation 1122 to operation 1096 . Operation 1096 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0082] FIG. 4A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1122 of FIG. 3 for transferring the at least one received communication from the first member.
[0083] Arrow 1150 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1122 to operation 1152 . Operation 1152 performs receiving at least one communication from the first member of the audience collection to create at least one received communication. Arrow 1154 directs execution from operation 1152 to operation 1156 . Operation 1156 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0084] Arrow 1160 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1122 to operation 1162 . Operation 1162 performs processing at least one received communication from the first member to create at least one processed communication from the first member. Arrow 1164 directs execution from operation 1162 to operation 1156 . Operation 1156 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0085] Arrow 1170 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1122 to operation 1172 . Operation 1172 performs sending at least one processed communication from the first member to create the transferred communication as content in the area associated with the first member to all audience collection members. Arrow 1174 directs execution from operation 1172 to operation 1156 . Operation 1156 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0086] FIG. 4B depicts a detail flowchart of server program system 1000 of FIG. 1 for supporting instant messaging between at least two users.
[0087] Arrow 1190 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1000 to operation 1192 . Operation 1192 performs maintaining a database referencing a history of the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier. Arrow 1194 directs execution from operation 1192 to operation 1196 . Operation 1196 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0088] FIG. 5A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1192 of FIG. 4B for maintaining the database referencing the history.
[0089] Arrow 1210 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1192 to operation 1212 . Operation 1212 performs maintaining the history of the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier for the audience collection. Arrow 1214 directs execution from operation 1212 to operation 1216 . Operation 1216 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0090] FIG. 5B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1172 of FIG. 4A for sending at least one processed communication from the first member.
[0091] Arrow 1230 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1172 to operation 1232 . Operation 1232 performs sending the processed communication from the first member as content in the area associated with the first member to the history of the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier. Arrow 1234 directs execution from operation 1232 to operation 1236 . Operation 1236 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0092] FIG. 5C depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1212 of FIG. 5A for maintaining the history.
[0093] Arrow 1250 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1212 to operation 1252 . Operation 1252 performs receiving the transferred communication from the first member at the history to create a history-received communication from the first member. Arrow 1254 directs execution from operation 1252 to operation 1256 . Operation 1256 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0094] FIG. 6 is a refinement of FIG. 1 showing server 100 coupled 102 to instant messaging session 130 and further coupled 104 to database 150 .
[0095] Note that in certain embodiments of the invention, there is no database 150 , when it is required that no lasting record of the instant messaging session is kept. Such embodiments enforce the instant messaging session confidentiality cannot be broken at a later time.
[0096] When there is a database 150 , it references 152 history 154 of the instant messaging session 130 . History 154 may reference 156 universally unique identifier 158 , which is based upon universally unique identifier 132 of instant messaging session 130 . Note that history 154 may persist after instant messaging session 130 has ended. In some circumstances, history 154 may be built from instant messaging session 130 . Such a build process may occur when the session was initiated or later, possibly when the session ends.
[0097] History 154 may also reference 160 audience list 162 based upon audience collection 138 .
[0098] History 154 may also reference 164 a communication history 166 , which further references communications records 168 , each of which may be based upon at least one of the received communication 142 , processed communication 144 , and transferred communication 146 .
[0099] Depending upon the options the initial sender 134 setup when Instant Messaging session 130 was initiated, the server 100 may retain the complete transcript 166 of the Instant Messaging session.
[0100] This is a simple matter for server 100 to do, since each and every Instant Messaging 130 has a unique ID 132 . Communication 142 between users 200 , 300 , and 400 must pass through the server 100 prior to delivery and is uniquely bound to its Instant Messaging session 130 via a unique ID 132 .
[0101] This is a powerful feature, in that the URL contained in the email initiating the whole Instant Messaging session 130 always contains that unique ID 132 . The user whenever looking at that email at any time in the future, will trigger the server 100 to attempt fetching all the Instant Messaging messages 168 has stored for that email. The email will then continue to display to the user the complete Instant Messaging transcript associated with the email.
[0102] FIG. 7A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1262 of FIG. 5C for maintaining the communication history.
[0103] Arrow 1270 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1262 to operation 1272 . Operation 1272 performs creating a new communication record containing the first member history-received communication as the communication from the first member. Arrow 1274 directs execution from operation 1272 to operation 1276 . Operation 1276 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0104] Arrow 1280 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1262 to operation 1282 . Operation 1282 performs adding the new communication record to the communication history. Arrow 1284 directs execution from operation 1282 to operation 1276 . Operation 1276 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0105] FIG. 7B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1272 of FIG. 7A for creating the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier.
[0106] Arrow 1310 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1272 to operation 1312 . Operation 1312 performs sending the database an initiating request for the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier by the first user for the recipients. Arrow 1314 directs execution from operation 1312 to operation 1316 . Operation 1316 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0107] FIG. 8A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1192 of FIG. 4B for maintaining the database.
[0108] Arrow 1330 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1192 to operation 1332 . Operation 1332 performs receiving the initiating request for the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier by the first user for the recipients at the database. Arrow 1334 directs execution from operation 1332 to operation 1336 . Operation 1336 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0109] Arrow 1340 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1192 to operation 1342 . Operation 1342 performs creating the history of the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier from the initiating request for the instant messaging session with the universally unique identifier by the first user for the recipients. Arrow 1344 directs execution from operation 1342 to operation 1346 . Operation 1346 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0110] FIG. 8B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1342 of FIG. 8A for creating the history.
[0111] Arrow 1370 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1342 to operation 1372 . Operation 1372 performs creating an audience list containing references to each member of the audience collection. Arrow 1374 directs execution from operation 1372 to operation 1376 . Operation 1376 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0112] Arrow 1380 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1342 to operation 1382 . Operation 1382 performs creating a first of the communication records in the communication history based upon the initiating request. Arrow 1384 directs execution from operation 1382 to operation 1376 . Operation 1376 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0113] Note that various embodiments of the invention may implement one or both of the operations of FIG. 8B .
[0114] FIG. 9 depicts a detail flowchart of operation 1172 of FIG. 4A for sending the instant messaging invitation email message to the associated email address designated for each of the recipients.
[0115] Arrow 1410 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1172 to operation 1412 . Operation 1412 performs sending the instant messaging invitation email message containing a body further including the web page referenced by the universally unique identifier actively embedded in the body to the associated email address designated for at least one of the recipients. Arrow 1414 directs execution from operation 1412 to operation 1416 . Operation 1416 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0116] Arrow 1420 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1172 to operation 1422 . Operation 1422 performs sending the instant messaging invitation email message containing a body further including a link to the web page referenced by a URL based upon the universally unique identifier to the associated email address designated for at least one of the recipients. Arrow 1424 directs execution from operation 1422 to operation 1416 . Operation 1416 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0117] Arrow 1430 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 1172 to operation 1432 . Operation 1432 performs sending the instant messaging invitation email message containing a body further including an icon referenced by the universally unique identifier to the associated email address designated for at least one of the recipients. Arrow 1434 directs execution from operation 1432 to operation 1416 . Operation 1416 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0118] Note that in various situations, a combination of the operations of FIG. 9 may be performed to send instant messaging invitations to a collection of recipients.
[0119] An email with an integrated Instant Message may be created in one of two methods:
[0120] The first method uses a web based email program including a typical email “body”, an area for users to Instant Message each other, and a unique identifier (ID) 132 appended to the URL of the email, and serves to differentiate this email (and potential Instant Messaging session) from all others.
[0121] The second method uses a supported 3rd-party client email program, such as Microsoft Outlook, Eudora and Netscape Communicator. Under this scenario an “Embeddable IM” icon may added to the email program's toolbar, allowing users to drag the icon down and “drop” it into their email.
[0122] This invokes software embeding a URL to the Instant Messaging facility in the client's email. This URL is based upon unique identifier 132 .
[0123] In either case, the URL which is generated, either for the web based email, or as an Instant Messaging URL inserted into a “standard” email, will be tagged with an ID 132 for the sender and with a flag indicating that it is an “email IM”. In this way the recipient is supported in Instant Messaging with the sender regardless of which users the sender has given “presence detection” permission to.
[0124] In any case, the sender's email address must also be included as part of the email (or server form submission). This is so that when the recipient responds the response can be correctly routed to the sender. This can be viewed as a return address. The very first time that a user sends an IM-enriched email they may have to type in their email address, but after that the email address may preferably be stored in a cookie on their computer so that all subsequent Instant Messaging emails can automatically contain it.
[0125] When responding to IM-enriched emails, the recipient's email address must be included with the IM, either in the URL or the Instant Messaging itself. This is the recipient's return address and is required for the same reasons above. The return address will be obtained from the recipient as described above.
[0126] If an email is sent in the first method, the email body is sent by the client browser code up to the server computer 110 . Server computer 110 then may preferably store this email message in the server-side database 150 , allowing for future retrieval via URL.
[0127] When the recipient receives an email via either of the methods described above, it contains a standard email subject line and body, but may preferably contains a text area allowing the recipient to communicate with the sender.
[0128] If the recipient chooses not to communicate with the sender, no further action is taken, and the email may be handled/disposed of as the client user wishes.
[0129] If the recipient does choose to utilize the preferably built-in instant messaging feature, they simply input their message into the text area, and activate a Send button near the text area. This preferably causes client-side DHTML (HTML and JavaScript) to be invoked sending the message, via HTTP, back to the server computer 110 .
[0130] Upon receiving this client request 1152 , the server preferably checks the database 150 to see if it recognizes any Instant Messaging sessions 130 with that particular ID 132 .
[0131] If it does, it preferably associates this message 142 with that unique ID, and stores it in the server-side database in some form 168 . This approach allows the system to operate on virtually any hardware platform, operate through firewalls, etc.
[0132] Normally, when an Instant Messaging is received 1152 by the server computer 110 , it compares the source of the email against the target user's the Instant Messaging list of acceptable senders, and only delivers the Instant Messaging if the target user is willing to accept it.
[0133] The exception to occurs when an Instant Messaging comes in from an email source. The server computer 110 knows that the message is coming from an email source, because when the Instant Messaging URL 140 was first generated for insertion into the email, the URL was tagged with an ID 132 for the sender and with a flag indicating that it is an “email IM”. In this case, the server 100 knows that the recipient is allowed to Instant Messaging with the sender regardless of which users the sender has given “presence detection” permission to. If the recipient does not have permission to detect the sender's presence using standalone software, they would still not be able to do that. They would only be able to participate in Instant Messaging with the sender within the context of this particular email message.
[0134] The ability to temporarily disable presence detection restrictions allows individuals like the sender to maintain a high degree of overall privacy without making it cumbersome to disable the privacy feature when having specific conversations with specific individuals. The procedure is not cumbersome because the act of sending the email automatically and implicitly grants the recipient Instant Messaging permissions in this particular case.
[0135] From the sender's side, if the sender of the email is using the standalone web page version of the Instant Messaging software, that standalone client software is constantly (every few seconds) making HTTP requests to the server asking if any new data has arrived for it. The server makes a note of the last time the client made such a request of it. On one of these requests, after the server has received an Instant Messaging from the recipient and stored it in the database, the server computer responds to the sending client's request with any newly received IMs. The server then marks those IMs in the database as “delivered”.
[0136] If the sender of the email does not have the standalone web page version of the Instant Messaging software running, then when the server gets the Instant Messaging from the email recipient, it notices that the email sender's client software has not asked it for any messages in too long of a period of time (i.e. it has not been making requests every few seconds).
[0137] The server knows this since it keeps track of client data requests. In such a case, the server automatically composes an email and sends it to the Instant Messaging target user. The email contains the IM, as well as the standard Instant Messaging text area so that when the email is received, the Instant Messaging session may commence directly from the received email. Under this scenario, both client users are utilizing the software via email.
[0138] Following all of the above, the sender can Instant Messaging a response back to the recipient, and the same process takes place again, in reverse.
[0139] FIG. 10A depicts a detail flowchart of client program system 2000 of FIGS. 1 and 6 for controlling the associated client computer based upon the use by the user and the communicatively coupled server 100 .
[0140] Arrow 2010 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2000 to operation 2012 . Operation 2012 performs providing support for email communication and for web browser compliant communication used by the user with the communicatively coupled server based upon at least one of tactile input from the user and acoustic input from the user. Arrow 2014 directs execution from operation 2012 to operation 2016 . Operation 2016 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0141] FIG. 10B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2012 of FIG. 10A for support of email and web browser compliant communication.
[0142] Arrow 2030 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2012 to operation 2032 . Operation 2032 performs sending the instant messaging session request initiated by the first user for the designated recipients to the communicatively coupled server. Arrow 2034 directs execution from operation 2032 to operation 2036 . Operation 2036 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0143] Arrow 2040 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2012 to operation 2042 . Operation 2042 performs receiving the instant messaging invitation email message for the user as the recipient from the communicatively coupled server to create a received instant messaging invitation email message. Arrow 2044 directs execution from operation 2042 to operation 2036 . Operation 2036 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0144] Various embodiments of the invention may support one or both of the operations 2032 and 2042 operating the associated client computer used one of the users.
[0145] FIG. 10C depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2012 of FIG. 10A for providing support for email communication and for web browser compliant communication.
[0146] Arrow 2050 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2012 to operation 2052 . Operation 2052 performs receiving the transferred communication from the first member to create a received-transferred communication from the first member. Arrow 2054 directs execution from operation 2052 to operation 2056 . Operation 2056 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0147] FIG. 11A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2042 of FIG. 10B for receiving the instant messaging invitation email message.
[0148] Arrow 2070 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2042 to operation 2072 . Operation 2072 performs using the received instant messaging invitation email message by the recipient to create an instant messaging response sent to the communicatively coupled server. Arrow 2074 directs execution from operation 2072 to operation 2076 . Operation 2076 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0149] Arrow 2080 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2042 to operation 2082 . Operation 2082 performs alerting the recipient of the received instant messaging invitation email message employing at least one member of a user output collection including visual output, acoustic output and tactile output. Arrow 2084 directs execution from operation 2082 to operation 2086 . Operation 2086 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0150] FIG. 11B depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2052 of FIG. 10C for receiving the transferred communication.
[0151] Arrow 2090 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2052 to operation 2092 . Operation 2092 performs presenting the received-transferred communication from the first member as content in the area associated with the first member. Arrow 2094 directs execution from operation 2092 to operation 2096 . Operation 2096 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0152] FIG. 12A depicts a detail flowchart of operation 2072 of FIG. 11A for using the received instant messaging invitation email message by the recipient.
[0153] Arrow 2110 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2072 to operation 2112 . Operation 2112 performs activating the embedded web page referenced by the universally unique identifier contained in the received instant messaging invitation email message by the recipient to create an instant messaging response sent to the communicatively coupled server. Arrow 2114 directs execution from operation 2112 to operation 2116 . Operation 2116 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0154] Arrow 2120 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2072 to operation 2122 . Operation 2122 performs activating the link to the web page referenced by the URL based upon the universally unique identifier contained in the received instant messaging invitation email message by the recipient to create an instant messaging response sent to the communicatively coupled server. Arrow 2124 directs execution from operation 2122 to operation 2116 . Operation 2116 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0155] Arrow 2130 directs the flow of execution from starting operation 2072 to operation 2132 . Operation 2132 performs activating the icon referenced by the universally unique identifier contained in the received instant messaging invitation email message by the recipient to create an instant messaging response sent to the communicatively coupled server. Arrow 2134 directs execution from operation 2132 to operation 2116 . Operation 2116 terminates the operations of this flowchart.
[0156] FIG. 12B shows a refinement of the relationships involved with database 150 of FIG. 6 regarding references involved with it and its components.
[0157] In certain embodiments of the invention, database 150 may contain history 154 of the instant messaging session 130 .
[0158] History 154 may contain the referenced universally unique identifier 158 based upon universally unique identifier 132 of instant messaging session 130 .
[0159] History 154 may contain referenced audience list 162 based upon audience collection 138 .
[0160] History 154 may also contain the referenced communication history 166 , which further contain the referenced communications records 168 , each of which may be based upon at least one of the received communication 142 , processed communication 144 , and transferred communication 144 .
[0161] Note that for the sake of simplicity of discourse, these references are all shown individually as container relationships, though in practice any combination of them may be container relationships. Note that in other embodiments, these referenced relationships may be part of an inferential database 150 , where the relationships are of an implicative rather than container basis.
[0162] FIG. 13 depicts an application of the instant messaging system in a situation where different users prefer multiple languages.
[0163] Note that in certain embodiments of the invention, at least two members of the audience collection may have at least one associated language. Collectively, the communications between members of the audience collection may require more than one language.
[0164] As an example, assume that user 1 200 prefers language 230 , user 2 300 prefers language 330 and user 3 400 prefers language 430 , which are different. These distinct languages may be differing versions of the same basic human language, or may differ in terms of the basic human languages. Note that as used herein, a basic language such as English may have several versions, such as US, UK and Australian English.
[0165] Note that the received communication 142 may be in first language 230 , and that the processed communication 144 may be in at least a second language 330 . The processed communication may be more than one language, by way of example, a third language 430 .
[0166] Note that the transferred communication 146 would involve all the languages preferred by the audience collection members.
[0167] The preceding embodiments have been provided by way of example and are not meant to constrain the scope of the following claims. | A system and method supporting instant messaging which removes many of the problems and barriers to the use of instant messaging through the use of universally unique identifiers to web pages for instant messaging sessions, with recipients invited to the instant messaging session via email. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to organophilic clay complexes capable of suspending materials and imparting thixotropic properties to aqueous coating systems such as latex paints and caulks.
Rheological agents are added to thicken aqueous systems and to produce thixotropic flow characteristics for proper brush, roller or spray applications. Prior art thickening agents for aqueous systems possessed various defects which are overcome by compositions and processes within the scope of the present invention.
These thickening agents included many organic polymers such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, quar gum or acid containing polyacrylates, partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl pyrolidone etc. In the last decade, numerous water soluble synthetic polymers known as associative thickeners have been introduced to coating composition for controlling application properties. These thickeners are polymers with water soluble backbone containing long chain hydrophobic pendants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,077,028 and 4,426,485 describe thickeners of such composition.
However, there are various problems associated with the use of these thickeners. In one form the prior art teaches a high molecular weight hydroxyethyl cellulose used as the thickening agent for latex paints. Hydroxyethyl cellulose is a solid metal material which must be dissolved before addition to the coating system which adds additional cost. Cellulose derivatives are known to have high "low shear viscosity" and low "high shear viscosity"; the fast viscosity recovery causes poor flow and leveling in paint application. In addition the elastic property of cellulose derivatives gives severe roller spatter. Moreover, cellulose derivatives are subject to microbial degradation and thus requiring the addition of preservatives. Preservatives are not only expensive, they are also a cause of enviromental concern.
A second prior process teaches the use of acid containing polyacrylates as aqueous thickener. This type of thickener is pH dependent, so before the agent will become sufficiently thickened to suspend the mixture, the pH must be carefully adjusted to the basic range.
The third prior process teaches hydrophobicly modified polyurethane or acrylic polymers used as thickening agents. Both the polyacrylates and hydrophobicly modified polymers give improved flow, leveling and roller spatter; however they have poor sag control and poor brush pickup. They are also very expensive.
Finlayson, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,018 teaches an organophilic clay gellant reacted with a quaternary ammonium, phosphonium or sulfonium compound consisting of alkyl chains and aralkyl chains or mixtures thereof; with each carbon chain consisting of 1 to 22 carbon atoms attached to the specific central element chosen for the cationic compound. However, the use of the aforementioned process is limited to non-aqueous systems, contrary to the present invention.
Mardis et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,637 teaches an organophilic clay reacted with a quaternary ammonium compound containing a first chain consisting of a beta, gamma, unsaturated alkyl group or a hydroxalkyl group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms; a second member containing a long chain alkyl consisting of 12 to 60 carbon atoms; and a third and fourth member, each consisting of aralkyl and alkyl or combination thereof containing 1 to 22 carbon atoms for use in non-aqueous systems.
Dohman, et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,849 describes the use of alkanolamine salt modified clay in the formulation of aqueous base paint to increase hydration rate and control rheological properties.
No prior art method or composition is known utilizing organoclay made by a polyether substituted quaternary ammonium compound as a rheological additive in aqueous paint systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The processes and compositions within the scope of the present invention have been unexpectedly found to produce agents which can be used to thicken aqueous coating systems, for example, latex paints and caulks.
Further, the new processes and products have many advantages over other prior art methods and compositions in that they are not subject to microbial degradation that has been found to occur in the previously described cellulose systems.
Further, components within the scope of the present invention give products in slurry form which can be easily dispersed at low shear, for example, during the "let down" stage of latex paint preparation. Processes within the scope of the present invention are not pH sensitive as are many of the other prior art thickeners, thus, eliminating the pH adjustment needed in the prior art procedures.
Briefly the present invention provides a process whereby a smectite clay having a cationic exchange capacity of at least 50 meq./100 gm of clay is reacted with a quaternary ammonium compound to yield a cationic structure suitable as a thickener for aqueous suspensions particularly latex paints and caulks. The general structure of the quaternary ammonium compound is typically a nitrogen atom bonded to four separated carbon chains, one chain being a methyl or alkyl group containing 10 to 22 carbons and the second chain an alkyl group containing from 10 to 22 carbons or a polyoxyethylene chain where the third and fourth chains are polyoxyethylene chains were the total number of ethylene oxide units is from 5 to 200 moles.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In general, in accordance with the present invention, it has been found that certain organoclays can be utilized to modify the rheological characteristics of aqueous coating systems where the organoclays are formed by reaction of a smectite clay with a quaternary ammonium compound represented as follows: ##STR1## Where R 1 is methyl or a C 10 to C 22 carbon chain, R 2 is C 10 -C 22 carbon chain or polyoxyethylene chain, (CH 2 -CH 2 O) Z H, with z reapeating unit where x+y+z=5 to 200. X - is a suitable anion, for example bromine, sulfate, acetate, chloride etc. The quaternary ammonium compound has been found to be effective when added to the clay at 30 to 130 meq. wt./100 gm clay. The organophilic clay can be prepared by admixing the clay, quaternary ammonium compound and water together, preferably at a temperature within the range of from 40° C.-95° C. and more preferably from 60° C. to 90° C. 140° F. (60° C.) to 170° F. (77° C.) for a period of time sufficient for the organic quaternary ammonium compound to react with the clay particles.
Preferably, the clay is dispersed in water at a concentration from about 5% to 12% by weight and, the slurry is centrifuged to remove non-clay impurities. The slurry is then agitated and heated to a temperature in the range of from 60° C. to 90° C.; and the quaternary ammonium salt added in the desired milliequivalent ratio, preferably as a liquid in isopropanol or dispersed in water. The agitation is continued to effect the reaction.
The amount of the quaternary ammonium compound added to the clay for purposes of this invention must be sufficient to impart to the clay the enhanced dispersion characteristics desired. The milliequivalent ratio is defined as the number of milliequivalents of the quaternary ammonium compound, per 100 grams of clay, 100% active basis. The organophilic clays of this invention have a milliequivalent ratios of from 10 to 150. At lower milliequivalent ratios the organophilic clays will cause pigment flocculation. At higher milliequivalent ratios, the organophilic clays are poor thickeners. However, the preferred milliequivalent ratio within the range of from 30 to 100 will vary depending on the characteristics of the quaternary ammonium compound and the aqueous system to be used. The organophilic clay thickener is employed in amounts sufficient to obtain the desired rheological properties for application as to control sagging of fluid films and prevent settling and hard packing of pigments present in the fluid compositions. Amounts of the organophilic clay thickener employed in a typical latex paint are from 5 lb. to 15 lb./100 gal. depending on the particular formulation.
The resulting organophilic clay is then added to the paint system to provide thickening as described hereinafter.
The following examples are given to illustrate the invention, but are not deemed to be limiting thereof.
EXAMPLE 1
One thousand grams of a 6.3% slurry of Wyoming bentonite in water which had been previously treated by centrifugation to remove all non-clay impurities was heated to about 75° C. To the clay slurry, 56.6 gm of methyl, coco-di(polyoxyethylene) quaternary ammonium chloride with an activity of 1.001 meq. wt./gm. was added under mild agitation. The mixture was stirred for 60 min while maintaining the Temperature at 80° C. After cooling the viscosity, solids content and pH are determined. The organophilic clay product contains 90 meq. wt. of quaternary ammonium compound/100 gm clay.
Examples 2 to 5 were prepared according to the procedures of Example 1, but with different quaternary ammonium compounds at different milliequivalents added as shown in table 1. The organophilic clays prepared above were then tested as thickeners in latex paint formulations.
To illustrate the effectiveness of one type of composition within the scope of this invention, various paint formulations (Formulation I to IV) were made and the thickening efficiency and application properties compared with commercially available thickeners. The results are given in Tables 2 to 5.
In the preparation of latex paints, a master batch was made according to the formulation excluding the thickener solution, then divided into small portions. To each portion, the calculated amount of thickener solution was added at low shear. The resulted paints were equilibrated and the properties determined.
TEST METHODS
A. Sag and leveling were done on leneta antisag bar and leneta leveling bar on leneta form 7B.
b Spatter resistance was measured by roller application of 70 g paint on 4 ft./4 ft. pressed board, 20 strokes over an area of 10 in./12 in. The spatter pattern is collected on a black cardboard paper. The result are rated numerically, the higher the number the better the spatter resistance.
c. Contrast ratio is determined by ACS computer system on a film of 3.0 wet mil. thickness. The higher the contrast ratio, the better the hiding power.
TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________RAW MATERIALS AND COMPOSITIONS OF ORGANOCLAYS Conc of Activity Structure Conc ofProduct Clay Slurry of Quater Quaternary Meq wt Wt or Organoclay.of Inv. % by wt Meq/gm Ammonium of Quater Quater gm % by wt__________________________________________________________________________Ex 1 6.3 1.001 R.sub.1 = Methyl 90 56.6 11.4 R.sub.2 = coco X + Y = 15Ex 2 6.8 0.303 R.sub.1 = methyl 30 67.3 11.0 R.sub.2 = H--Tallow X + Y = 50Ex 3 7.2 1.001 R.sub.1 = methyl 90 64.8 12.8 R.sub.2 = coco X + Y = 15Ex 4 6.7 0.303 R.sub.1 = methyl 30 66.5 11.9 R.sub.2 = H--Tallow X + Y = 50Ex 5 6.8 1.001 R.sub.1 = methyl 90 61.0 12.2 R.sub.2 = coco X + Y = 15__________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________FORMULATION IVINYL ACETATE LATEX PAINT POUNDS GALLONS______________________________________PIGMENTwater 83.3 10.00Tamol 731 (25%) 9.0 0.98Dowicil 75 2.0 0.16Foamaster NDW 2.0 0.28Propylene Glycol 50.0 5.81Ethylene Glycol 15.0 1.61Butyl Carbitol 18.0 2.11Triton 100 2.0 0.22Ti-Pure R-900 200.0 6.08ASP - 200 60.0 2.79LET DOWNwater 125.0 15.00UCAR 131 Vinyl Acetate 376.0 41.32Emulsion (60%)Foamaster NDW Defoamer 2.0 0.27Rheological Additive Soln 103.7 12.39Total 1048.0 99.02______________________________________ Volume Sold = 32.6% PVC = 27.3%
TABLE II______________________________________PROPERTIES OF VINYL ACETATE LATEXPAINT OF FORMULATION I USE RVT LEVEL BROOK- LB/100 STORM- FIELD LENETA GAL ER KU cps 0.5 rpm SAG______________________________________HEC (ER - 4400) 3.0 87 38,000 13HEC (ER - 4400) 5.0 107 48,000 20RM-5 16.0 87 2,800 8QR-708 8.0 96 14,960 10Organoclay Exp II 7.0 74 42,200 20Organoclay Exp I 12.0 85 90,000 30______________________________________
Paint Formulation I was used as an example, where Table II gives the application properties. This example demonstrates that organoclays of this invention can be made to equal the thickening efficiency of associative thickener.
______________________________________FORMULATION IIVINYL ACRYLIC INTERIOR LATEX FLAT PAINT WEIGHT VOLUME LB GALLON______________________________________PIGMENTWater 120.0 14.40Tamol 960 (40%) 10.0 0.94Ethylene Glycol 25.0 2.69Dowicil 75 1.0 0.08PAG-188 2.0 0.25Attagel 50 5.0 0.25Ti-Pure R-900 200.0 5.84Optiwhite 100.0 5.45Imsil A-15 75.0 3.40LET DOWNButyl Carbitol 20.0 2.50Vinyl Acrylic Copolymer 350.0 38.68(55%) UCAR 367PAG-188 4.0 0.50Thickner Solution 208.0 24.94Total 1120.0 99.92______________________________________ Volume Solid 35% PVC 43%
TABLE III______________________________________PROPERTIES OF VINYL ACRYLIC INTERIOR LATEXFLAT OF FORMULATION II RVT Use Brook- Level field lb./100 Storm- cps, 0.5 Leneta LenetaNo. Description gal er Ku rpm SAG Level______________________________________A HEC- (ER-4400) 4.4 91 58,000 20 7B RM-5 12.0 85 47,000 16 8C QR-708 6.8 101 12,480 10 10D Organoclay Exp I 12 95 72,000 18 5E Organoclay Exp II 6 92 79,000 11 8F Organoclay Exp I 6 89 32,000 13 10 QR-708 3______________________________________
In paint Formulation II, the thickening efficiency of organoclay from Experiment I is equivalent to Acrysol RM-5 whereas organoclay from Experiment II is equivalent to QR-708 but somewhat less effective than HEC (ER-4400). It is generally accepted that associative thickeners offer excellent flow out properties but are relatively poor in sag control. It is shown here that the combined use of associative thickener QR-708 and organoclay can improve paint flow out and in the meantime, maintain proper sag control.
______________________________________FORMULATION IIIVINYL ACRYLIC LATEX PAINTINGREDIENTS POUNDS GALLONS______________________________________PIGMENTwater 150.0 18.00Propylene Glycol 40.0 4.63Filming Aid, Texanol 10.0 1.26Antifoam, colloid 643 2.0 0.27Preservative, dowicil 1.0 0.12TERGITOL Nonionic Surfactant 2.0 0.23NP-10Dispersant, Tamol 731 9.0 0.97Titanium Dioxide, Ti-pure R-901 220.0 6.77Calcium Carbonate 40.0 1.78Clay, ASP 170 60.0 2.76LET DOWNUCAR Latex 367 332.0 36.68Antifoam, Colloid 641 2.0 0.27Thickener Solution 103.5 12.47TERGITOL NP-10 1.0 0.11TOTAL 972.5 86.32PAINT PROPERTIESPigment Volume Concentration (PVC) 35.5%Solids by Volume 34.7%______________________________________
TABLE IV__________________________________________________________________________PROPERTIES OF VINYL ACRYLIC LATEXPAINT OF FORMULATIONRheological Use Level Stormer Brookfield Sag Leveling Spatter ContrastAdditive lb/100 gal KU @ 0.5 rpm leneta Leneta resistance Ratio__________________________________________________________________________HEC 4 95 62,000 25 1 1 0.908SCT-270 4.2 108 50,000 18 8 6 0.881QR-708 5.0 111 8,000 13 9 6 0.899RM-5 11.0 89 27,000 18 6 3 0.882ORGANOCLAY EXP. III 12.0 98 81,000 14 1 2 0.912ORGANOCLAY EXP. IV 7.0 115 100,000 30 1 2 0.898ORGANOCLAY EXP. IV 3.2 101 21,600 20 7 5 0,906QR-708 2.0ORGANOCLAY EXP IV 3.4 91 43,000 25 5 4 0,916SCT-270 2.0__________________________________________________________________________
Formulation III is a vinyl acrylic latex flat paint. In this formulation, organoclay from Experiment IV is much more efficient than Acrysol RM-5 but somewhat less efficient than other associative thickeners and HEC as shown in Table IV. When used alone, organoclay gives excellent sag control, leveling property is better than HEC, but not as good as associative thickeners. Compared to HEC, organoclay improves spatter resistance and gives good hiding. However, it should be mentioned that the hiding power of organoclay is superior to that of associative thickeners. The advantages of the combined use of organoclay and associative thickeners are further illustrated in this formulationexcellent sag control, improved spatter resistance and leveling while maintaining higher hiding power.
______________________________________FORMULATION IVINTERIOR FLAT WALL PAINT BASED ONA VINYL ACRYLIC COPOLYMER PARTS PER HUNDRED WEIGHT (VOLUMEMATERIALS RATIO BASIS)______________________________________Water 120.0 14.40Tamol 960 (40%) 10.0 0.84Ethylene Clycol 25.0 2.69Dowicil 75 1.0 0.08Colloid 643 2.0 0.25Add the following at low speed:Attagel 50 5.0 0.25Ti-Pure R-900 200.0 5.84Optiwhite 100.0 5.45Min-u-sil 30 55.0 3.40 20.0Grind the above on a high speed impeller mill at 3800-4500RPM for 20 minutes. At a slower speed let down as follows:Butyl Carbitol 20.0 2.50Vinyl Acrylic Copolymer (55%) 350.0 38.68Walpol 40-136Colloid 643 4.0 0.50Thickener Solution 208.0TOTAL 1120.0 99.94FORMULATIONCONSTANTSPVC 43%Volume Solids 35%______________________________________
TABLE V__________________________________________________________________________PROPERTIES OF VINYL ACRYLIC INTERIOR FLAT LATEXPAINT OF FORMULATION IVRheological Use Level Stormer Brookfield Sag Leveling Spatter ContrastAdditive lb/100 gal KU @ 0.5 rpm leneta leneta resistance Ratio__________________________________________________________________________HEC 4.4 99 91,000 60 1 1 0.863SCT-270 6.8 106 53,000 50 4 3 0.845QR-708 6.8 111 40 9 4 0.842RM-5 13.0 87 46,800 50 7 4 0.863ORGANOCLAY EXP. IV 7 100 175,000 60 2 2 0.863ORGANOCLAY EXP. V 12 100 142,000 60 2 3 0.877ORGANOCLAY EXP. IV 5 90 101,000 60 4 0.871SCT-270 2__________________________________________________________________________
Formulation IV and Table V give additional data to demonstrate the usefulness of organoclay as a rheological additive. The formulation is different from formulation II, yet similar application properties were obtained and the synergistic effects of organoclay with associative thickeners were again observed.
The present invention has been described in some detail by way of examples, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the invention, and such variations are not to be regarded as departure from the scope of the invention and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. | A process whereby a smectite clay having a cationic exchange capacity of at least 50 meq./100 gm of clay is reacted with a quaternary ammonium compound to yield a cationic structure suitable as a thickener for aqueous suspensions, particularly latex paints and caulks. The general structure of the quaternary ammonium compound is typically a nitrogen atom bonded to four separated carbon chains where one chain can be a methyl or alkyl group containing 10 to 22 carbons, and the second chain an alkyl group containing from 10 to 22 carbons or a polyoxyethylene chain. The third and fourth chains are polyoxyethylene chains where the total munber of ethylene oxide units is from 5 to 200 moles. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a yarn twisting apparatus for twisting a yarn strand, and more particularly, the invention relates to a yarn twisting apparatus having a driven twisting spindle and a yarn feeding system positioned in the yarn path of travel and which is driven at a speed coordinated to the speed of the spindle. In such apparatus, it is conventional for two yarn strands to be delivered from separate packages on a package carrier, then combined and twisted together to form a composite yarn.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Yarn twisting apparatus are known which operate by the single twisting method, and wherein the package carrier and the feed yarn packages are rotated about the twisting axis. Apparatus are also known which operate by the double or "two for one" twisting method, in which the package carrier is floatingly supported on the rotating twisting spindle, and held against rotation by external forces.
Yarn twisting apparatus operating by the double twisting method are particularly suitable for the described use, since the feed yarn package carrier does not rotate, thus permitting the spindle to reach relatively high speeds, even when the mass of the feed yarn packages is not balanced on the package carrier. As a result, two differently filled yarn feed packages may be employed, and similarly, only a few of the several package supports on the carrier may be employed.
A special advantage of the double twisting devices resides in the fact that the apparatus may be arranged with its axis extending obliquely or horizontally, and it is preferred that a weight be used for holding the package carrier against free rotation, with the weight being positioned to be offset from the rotational axis of the spindle.
To impart a defined twist to a yarn with the above described twisting apparatus, it is necessary that its yarn delivery speed and the rotational speed of the twisting spindle be at a defined ratio, which determines the degree of twist imparted to the yarn. The speed of the advancing yarn and the rotational speed of the spindle therefore need to have a constant value, or at least a predetermined value, with respect to each other. For example, the yarn advancing speed and the spindle speed may be interconnected by mechanical means, or by an electrical linkage. Also, the yarn twisting apparatus may be used to produce yarns with special color effects from a plurality of differently colored yarns, and which may be further processed by hand, for example, by a hand knitting operation, or the yarn may be wound to balls, preferably also by hand.
In the embodiments which are adapted for use by home workers, it will be understood that the output requirements greatly fluctuate in time, as a result for example of the working speed of the knitter, or by the technical conditions of the knitting apparatus. Also, present twisting apparatus of the described types are unable to readily permit varying color effects in the knit product, and in the past, color effects could be achieved only by employing balls of differently dyed yarns, and wherein the yarn of each ball was of the same color over its entire length.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a yarn twisting apparatus of the described type, which renders it possible to easily change the coloring of the yarn by exchanging the yarn feed packages, and to make the thus produced twisted yarn directly available for further processing.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a yarn twisting apparatus of the described type, wherein the produced yarn is supplied in accordance with the user requirements, which may fluctuate in time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved in the embodiments illustrated herein, by the provision of a yarn twisting apparatus which comprises a central spindle mounted for rotation about a central axis, and a yarn guide which is mounted at a location which is in general alignment with the central axis. A yarn package carrier is mounted adjacent the spindle, and the apparatus also includes yarn accumulation means. Further, drive means is provided for rotating the spindle about the central axis, and for advancing a yarn from a package mounted on the package carrier to the yarn guide and then to the yarn accumulation means at a speed coordinated with the rotational speed of the spindle, and while ballooning an advancing yarn about the central axis as it advances between the package and the yarn guide. Sensor means is also provided for monitoring the amount of yarn received on the yarn accumulation means and for operating the drive means so as to rotate the spindle and deliver twisted yarn to the accumulation means, whenever the amount of yarn on the accumulation means is below a predetermined minimum amount.
In a double twisting apparatus, the central spindle has a coaxial yarn duct therein and which includes an inlet end on one side of the yarn carrier, and an outlet opening on the other side of the carrier. An initial yarn guide means is mounted on the carrier for guiding a yarn withdrawn from a package mounted on the carrier into the inlet opening and so that it exits from the outlet opening. Also, a ballooning yarn guide means is provided which includes a radial guide arm fixedly mounted to the spindle, and which functions to balloon the yarn in the manner described above.
With the present invention, a sufficient quantity of the produced twisted yarn is constantly available for further processing, without risk of an overfeed of the yarn and also without risk of an unacceptable or undue yarn tension.
Where two motors having an electrical connection, or one motor with a mechanical connection, are provided for the drive of the spindle and the drive of the yarn feeding system, the technical complexity connected therewith can be unsuitable for certain applications of the twisting apparatus. Consequently, in accordance with a specific embodiment of the invention, the drive means comprises a single drive member which provides a fixed, preferably selective twist ratio of the yarn advance speed to the imparted twist (turns per meter). To this end, the twisting spindle may be a component part of the yarn feeding system.
In accordance with the present invention, the yarn accumulator may be downstream of the yarn feeding system, or it may be a part thereof. Specifically, the yarn feeding system may be formed by an extension of the spindle, with a pressure roll which is resiliently pressed against the surface of the spindle extension to define a nip therebetween and through which the yarn is adapted to be passed. Where the twisting apparatus is designed and constructed as a double twisting spindle, the extension of the spindle may be positioned at the end of the spindle opposite from the package carrier. To change the twist ratio, it is provided that the spindle extension may be a selected one of a series of removeably mounted sleeves of different outer diameters. Thus sleeves of different diameters may be selectively mounted on the spindle end and be interconnected so as to prevent relative rotation. To this end, a stop may be provided which limits the distance the sleeve may be slipped onto the spindle end, with both the adjacent end of the sleeve and the stop including mating notches, which fit into each other and form a locking interconnection.
In still another embodiment, the spindle includes an end bore, and several exchangable feed extensions having different diameters are provided, with the extensions including a shaft which is adapted to fit into the end bore of the spindle so as to be positively connected to the same.
The yarn accumulating means of the present invention preferably includes a control by which the amount of the accumulated yarn may be determined, and which operates a switch as a function of this amount. Such yarn accumulators are known per se in the art.
In one embodiment, the yarn accumulation means is in the form of a stationary body of rotation, upon which the ballooning or revolving yarn is wound by the yarn guide means. Such a yarn accumulator is used primarily when a double twist is to be applied, and it is arranged coaxially along the central axis and on the same side of the spindle as is the yarn inlet end of the spindle duct. As a result, the yarn is wound on the body of rotation by its ballooning motion. Further, a pivotal arm may be positioned on the surface of the body of rotation, and such that when the arm is overwound with the applied yarn, the arm is deflected to effect a switching of the drive means.
In selecting the design of the yarn accumulation means, it should be recognized that the accumulation means needs to be rigidly constructed for home work applications, it must accumulate a relatively large quantity of yarn, and in addition, it must impart only a small unwinding tension, and small fluctuations of the yarn tension.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the yarn accumulation means comprises two substantially parallel rods, about which the yarn is looped. The rods are mounted for relatively movement toward and away from each other and are preferably biased to move away from each other by an external force, such as gravity or a spring. The rods are thus adapted to move toward each other by the force of the yarn tension. When the distance between the rods is reduced, the drive means for the spindle and feed of the yarn is started, and when the distance is increased beyond a given distance, the drive means is disconnected. As will be apparent, the amount of yarn on the accumulation means is determined by the separation distance of the rods. Preferably, one of the rods is stationary and the other rod pivots about a bearing, with the biasing force being operative on the pivotal yarn guide in the direction tending to move it away from the stationary rod, and the pivotal rod includes a contact for engaging a micro switch for starting and stopping the drive means.
In an embodiment of the present invention which is particularly adapted for double twisting spindles, the yarn guide means includes a guide arm fixedly mounted to the spindle which is in the form of a tube and such that the yarn is positioned on a stationary body of rotation connected to the machine frame. The yarn is then withdrawn from the end of the body of rotation which faces the spindle, and then passed through a central bore in the body of rotation. In this case, the body of rotation serves both as the yarn accumulation means as well as a part of the yarn feeding system. Preferably, the body of rotation has the shape of a cylinder, however it may alternatively have a generally hyperbolic configuration so as to facilitate the yarn withdrawal. The yarn is deposited adjacent the larger end of the body of rotation by the outlet of the tubular guide arm at a defined diametrical area adjacent the larger end, and the larger end may if desired include a boundary lip.
In the last mentioned embodiment, the sensor means may be accommodated in a longitudinally extending slot in the surface of the body of rotation. When the body of rotation is empty, a contact arm projects from the slot, and it is pushed into the slot by the yarn windings. When pushed in the slot, the arm actuates a micro switch which is interposed in the motor circuit and disconnects the drive means. By changing bodies of rotation having different operative diameters, the ratio of the yarn advance speed to the imparted twist may be changed. A special advantage of this yarn accumulation means is that it also serves as a part of the yarn feeding system, which is started and stopped along with the starting and stopping of the spindle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Some of the objects and advantages of the present invention having been stated, others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which
FIG. 1 is a partly sectioned side elevation view of a yarn twisting apparatus embodying the features of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation view of a second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a body of rotation and sensor means, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of another embodiment of a body of rotation adapted for use with the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 and illustrating still another embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a yarn twisting apparatus according to the present invention. The illustrated apparatus comprises a central spindle 8 which is mounted for rotation about a central axis by means of bearings 13 which are accommodated in a bearing block 7 attached to the machine frame 4. On its right or outer end as seen in FIG. 1, the spindle 8 mounts a yarn package carrier 3 which holds the yarn supply packages 1. More particularly, the package carrier 3 is supported for rotation with respect to the spindle by means of a hub 12 and bearings 14, and the carrier includes a weight 15 which precludes the package carrier 3 from free rotation when the central axis of the spindle 8 extends substantially horizontally. The carrier 3 also mounts a plurality of package supports 2 which in turn mount the packages 1 in a circular arrangement about the central axis of the spindle 8.
The yarns 6 which are unwound from the supply packages 1 are guided over an initial guide ring 5, which is positioned concentricly about the central axis of the spindle 8. The ring 5 is connected to the hub 12 of the carrier 3 by means of a rod 18. The central spindle also includes a coaxial yarn duct 19 having an inlet end and a radial yarn outlet opening 20. The yarns from the packages 1 are thus combined to form a composite yarn at the yarn inlet end of the duct 19, and as the composite yarn exits from the radial bore 20 an initial twist is imparted. The yarn then advances along a radial guide arm 56 which serves to balloon the advancing yarn about the central axis upon rotation of the spindle, as indicated at 16, and so as to impart a second or double twist to the advancing yarn. The yarn then passes through the fixed balloon yarn guide 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the twisted yarn 11 is deflected on the balloon yarn guide 10 and advances via the yarn guides 17, 21 to the yarn advancing system, which comprises a rear spindle extension 31 and a pressure roll 35 which is resiliently biased against the spindle extension 31 by conventional means (not shown). The pressure roll is rotatably supported in a fork 34 which is pivotally mounted on the portion 33 of the frame. From the advancing device 31, 35, the yarn is guided to a yarn accumulation means 39, which comprises, in the illustrated embodiment, a stationary yarn guide rod 22 and a yarn guide rod 23 which is pivotally mounted for movement about a pivot 25. A spring 26 is provided for biasing the rod 23 toward the left and away from the rod 22 as seen in FIG. 1.
The central spindle 8 is driven by a motor 27, with the motor 27 acting through a first belt pulley 28 mounted on the motor shaft and a second belt pulley 29 mounted on the spindle 8. A belt 30 interconnects the pulleys 28 and 29. A micro switch 38 is mounted adjacent the rod 23, and the switch includes a contact 37 which cooperates with a contact plate 36 on the rod. In the outer position of the yarn guide rod 23, there is no contact between the contact 37 and the plate 36, and thus the motor is disconnected. As soon as the supply of yarn on the accumulator 39 is below a predetermined minimum amount, the rod 23 will be pivoted against the force of the spring 26 and toward the rod 22, and the micro switch 38 will be actuated by contact with the plate 36, thereby energizing the drive motor. The spindle 8, and also the advancing system comprising the spindle extension 31 and the pressure roll 35, will operate to advance the yarn 11 into the accumulator 39. As the supply increases, the rod 23 will move to the left by the action of the spring 26, and away from the rod 22, until the contact 37 is released when the intended amount of yarn is again present on the accumulator. The drive motor is then disconnected.
In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, a sleeve 32 is coaxially mounted on the rear spindle extension 31, and so as to preclude relative rotation therebetween. Thus the sleeve 32 and pressure roll 35 form the actual advancing system. The selective use of the spindle extension 31 itself as the operative conveying surface, or one of a number of sleeves 32 having different diameters, permits the twist ratio to be varied in a relatively wide range. As illustrated, the sleeve 32 includes an end which engages a shoulder 40 on the spindle, and to preclude relative rotation, the end of the sleeve 32 and the shoulder 40 may be provided with mating notches.
FIG. 2 illustrates a modified embodiment of the present invention, and wherein the yarn exiting from the outlet opening 20 of the spindle 8 is directed into a tube 42, which is fixed to the spindle 8. To counterbalance the weight of the tube 42, the opposite side of the spindle mounts a weight 53 at the end of an arm 52. The tube 42 delivers the yarn through its outlet 43, which is in the area of the tip of the yarn balloon 16, to a stationary body of rotation 44. The body of rotation 44 may take the form of a cylinder as seen in FIG. 3, or it may have a hyperbolic outline as seen in FIG. 4. In either case, the body of rotation is connected to the machine frame 4 by the post 45. Also, the body defines an end 46 which faces the spindle 8, and a central bore 49 which is coaxial with the central axis of the spindle 8. The yarn is looped onto the body of rotation at the rear end of the body, and the yarn is inserted as a loop 47 at the end 46 into the central bore 49, and the yarn is withdrawn as a finished yarn at the other end of the bore 49 in the direction 41, note FIGS. 2 and 4.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the yarn advancing mechanism differs substantially from that of the embodiment of FIG. 1. Specifically, the body of rotation 44 serves not only as the yarn accumulator 39, but also as part of the yarn advancing system which comprises the body of rotation 44 and the tube 42 and its outlet opening 43, which is fixed to the spindle 8 and rotates with the same.
The ratio of yarn speed to spindle speed may be changed by replacing the body of rotation 44 with one having a different outside diameter. In so doing, it is desirable to keep the distance between the outlet opening 43 and the surface of the body of rotation 44 as small as possible, particularly when the body has a noncylindrical configuration as shown in FIG. 4, so as to insure proper placement of the yarn on the body and the desired advance speed of the yarn.
The design of the sensor means for monitoring the amount of yarn received on the yarn accumulation means is different in FIGS. 2-4 from that shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, a start-stop switch 38 is used, which is interposed in the circuit of the motor. As seen in FIG. 3, the surface of the body of rotation 44 is provided with an axially directed slot 50, which accommodates a spring contact arm 51, as well as the micro switch 38 having a contact button 37. When there is no yarn winding on the body of rotation, the arm 51 projects outwardly from the slot as shown in FIG. 3. As the winding progresses from the right, and at the yarn tension which is present in the balloon 16, the contact arm 51 is pushed further and further into the slot 50, and until it finally actuates the contact button 37 of the switch 38 and stops the motor 27. As the yarn supply on the body 44 is used, the contact arm is again released, which leads to the restarting of the drive motor 27.
In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the stand 4 accommodates a double twist spindle 8 which is supported by the bearings 13 along a substantially horizontal central axis. The package carrier 3 is floatingly supported on the spindle 8 by the bearings 14, and the carrier is held in a substantially fixed position by a weight 15 which is offset from the axis. A plurality of package supports 2 are mounted on the carrier 3, and the supply packages 1 are mounted on the supports, with the packages containing yarns which may be of different colors. FIG. 5 shows two of such supply yarn packages 1.
Attached to the hub 12 of the package carrier 3 is a rod 18, which mounts on its outer end a yarn guide 5 which is in the form of a ring which is concentric to the central axis. The spindle 8 has a bore 19 which extends through the bearing 14, and bends into a radial direction and terminates in a radial balloon control guide 56. The balloon control guide 56 extends substantially in a radial direction and is designed as a slotted tube. A balloon yarn guide 10 is mounted on the right side of the spindle and along the central axis as seen in FIG. 5, and a yarn advancing system in the form of a rotatably driven roll 32 is positioned on the downstream side of the guide 10. A spring presses the pressure roll 35 against the roll 32 of the advancing system. A belt pulley 58 is coaxially and fixedly mounted with respect to the roll 32, and a yarn guide 17, which is fixed to the base 4, serves for guiding the yarn toward the yarn accumulator 39. The yarn accumulator 39 comprises two rods 22 and 23 disposed side by side in a common plane, and which are adapted to perform relative movement toward and away from each other for the purposes of changing the separation distance therebetween. To this end, the rod 23 is designed as a lever which adapted to pivot about a pivot 25, and the other rod 22 is rigidly supported. The pivot end of the rod 23 mounts a cam 36 which cooperates with the contact button 37 of the stationary switch 38.
The spindle end 31 includes a central bore, which permits the selective mounting of belt pulleys 29 of different diameters. For this purpose, the belt pulleys are provided with a journal 57, which fits into the bore of the spindle end 31, so that it can be axially retained and locked against relative rotation.
The motor 27 and the shaft 60 drive the spindle 8 via the belt 30 and pulley 29, and they also drive the yarn advancing roll 32 via the belt 59 and the pulley 58. In so doing, the twist ratio may be determined by selecting the belt pulley 29 of an appropriate diameter.
In operation, several yarn supply packages 1 are mounted on the supports 2 of the carrier 3. The yarns are then guided along a folded yarn path through the guide 5, then into the inlet end of the duct 19 of the spindle. The yarn continues through the duct and then advances radially outwardly through the balloon yarn guide 56. From the guide 56, the yarn is returned to the central axis of the spindle at the balloon yarn guide 10, and then passed through the advancing system at the roll 32. The yarn is then guided via the stationary guide 17 into the area of the rods 22, 23, and is looped several times, for example twice, about the rods 22 and 23. The yarn leaves the yarn accumulator through the eyelets 62, 63 on the ends of the rods 23 and 22 respectively. The yarn is then fed, for example, to a hand knitting machine or to a hand operated ball winder (not shown). When the hand knitting machine or ball winder is put into operation, or when the knitter needs yarn for hand knitting, and the yarn is withdrawn in the direction of arrow 64, the length of the yarn wound upon the rods 22 and 23 is reduced. As a result, the rod 23 is pivoted until the cam 36 contacts the button 37 of the switch 38. The drive motor 27 is then started, and the spindle 8 and the advancing system composed of the roll 32 are synchronously put into operation. The advancing system causes the yarn to be unwound from the supply packages 1, and as a result of the rotation of the spindle 8 along with the balloon yarn guide 56, the yarn forms a balloon 16 between the exit end of the guide 56 and the balloon yarn guide 10. The yarn is twisted and simultaneously advanced to the yarn accumulator 39, and the pivotal rod 23, which is loaded by a weight 65 as seen in FIG. 5, is moved so that the distance between the stationary rod and the pivotal rod increases. Thus, an increased quantity of yarn is stored in the accumulator 39, and the accumulating yarn is made available for immediate use in the direction of arrow 64. The accumulator 39 thus functions as a material buffer, and at the same time, the accumulator functions as a device for measuring the use and the supply of the yarn and thus is a regulating element in a two point control loop in which the supply of twisted yarn is adapted to the use thereof. Fluctuations in the processing speed are compensated by the movement of the pivotal rod 23. Upon termination of the use, the twisting and advancing operations are interrupted when the accumulator receives an amount of yarn which is predetermined by the positioning of the switch 38. The color composition of the composite finished yarn can be changed at any time by exchanging one or several of the supply packages 1.
In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. | A yarn twisting apparatus is disclosed for twisting a plurality of yarn strands into a composite yarn, and which comprises a central twisting spindle and yarn guide means for ballooning the yarn about the package as it is withdrawn therefrom. A common drive system is provided for rotating the ballooning means and for advancing the yarn, and a yarn accumulator is provided which is controlled by a sensor such that the drive means is operated only when the amount of yarn on the accumulator is less than a predetermined amount. | 3 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-252531 filed on Nov. 3, 2009. The entire content of this priority application is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a computer readable medium having a facsimile driver program, a facsimile system and a computer executable method using the facsimile driver program.
BACKGROUND
[0003] There has been known a facsimile device having a user restricting function that permits only correct users to perform facsimile transmission. In such a facsimile device, when receiving a call signal from an external information processing apparatus, the device decides the correctness of the user based on the identification information added to the call signal and the identification information that is previously registered.
[0004] However, to achieve a conventional user restricting function, the facsimile device should have a function for deciding the correctness of the user based on the identification information added to the call signal and the identification information that is previously registered. Therefore, the conventional user restricting function lacks versatility.
SUMMARY
[0005] According to an aspect of the present invention, a computer readable medium having a computer program product stored thereon, the computer program product including instructions for ordering a computer to perform the following steps. The steps include a first receiving step of receiving a facsimile command from a client device configured to executes a facsimile application program, a first determining step of determining whether or not to allow communication with a facsimile device based on a predetermined condition when receiving the facsimile command at the first receiving step, and a transferring step of transferring the facsimile command received at the first receiving step to the facsimile device when the communication is allowed at the first determining step.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Illustrative aspects in accordance with the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings wherein:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a facsimile system according to an illustrative aspect of the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a program configuration of a fax driver;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a sequence chart of fax transmission;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for general explanation of fax reception;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a sequence chart for informing of fax incoming according to a fax application;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a sequence chart for requesting fax reception to a fax modem;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a determination flow when receiving a write request;
[0014] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a determination flow when receiving a read request;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of permission determination;
[0016] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of permission determination according to another illustrative aspect of the present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of determination according to an additional illustrative aspect of the present invention when receiving a read request.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Illustrative Aspect
[0018] An illustrative aspect of the present invention will be hereinafter explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 .
[0019] (1) Construction of Facsimile System
[0020] As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a facsimile system 1 comprises a client computer 10 and a multifunction apparatus 20 . In the illustrative aspect, the client computer 10 functions as a client device and a computer. In the illustrative aspect, a facsimile is abbreviated to fax.
[0021] (1-1) Electrical Configuration of Client Computer
[0022] The client computer 10 (an example of a client device and a computer) comprises a CPU 11 , a ROM 12 , a RAM 13 , a storing section 14 , a display section 15 , an operation section 16 and an USB interface (USB I/F) 17 . The client device is configured to execute a facsimile application program.
[0023] The CPU 11 (an example of a computer to perform a first receiving step, a first determining step, a transferring step, an obtaining step and a second determining step) executes various computations based on programs stored in the ROM 12 and the storing section 14 and controls each component in the client computer 10 . The ROM 12 stores various programs that are executed by the CPU 11 and data. The RAM 13 is a main memory that is used when the CPU 11 executes various processes.
[0024] The storing section 14 is an external memory for storing various programs and data using a non-volatile storing medium such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The storing section 14 stores an operating system (OS), a fax application (an example of a facsimile application program), a fax driver (an example of a facsimile driver program) and permission database (permission DB). In the present illustrative aspect, Linux (registered trademark) is used as an OS. The OS is not limited to Linux but may be other different OS.
[0025] The display section 15 is comprised of a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display.
[0026] The operation section 16 (an example of a registering step) is comprised of an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard.
[0027] The USB interface 17 (an example of a second receiving step) is connected to the multifunction apparatus 20 via a USB cable.
[0028] In the present illustrative aspect, it is supposed that a plurality of users use a fax application via one client computer 10 . In such a case, each user may go to the client computer 10 to directly login the computer 10 and use the fax application or may use the fax application with remote login to the computer 10 from another computer via a communication network.
[0029] In the permission DB, transmission source information representing transmission sources of AT commands (an example of a facsimile command) that are permitted to communicate with the multifunction apparatus 20 is registered.
[0000] The transmission source represents a user who transmits the AT command, a group to which a user belong or a fax application. Namely, although the number of the client computer 10 is one, the transmission sources of the AT commands are not necessarily same.
[0030] In the permission DB, permission or prohibition of communication (permission or prohibition of fax transmission or fax reception) is set by a unit of, for example, a user, a group to which a user belong or a fax application. Hereinafter, the unit (a user, a group or a fax application) is simply referred to as a transmission source.
[0031] An administrator of the client computer 10 operates the operation section 16 to register the transmission source information in the permission DB and set permission or prohibition of communication in the permission DB.
[0032] (1-2) Electrical Configuration of Multifunction Apparatus
[0033] The multifunction apparatus 20 (an example of a facsimile device) has a fax transmission/reception function, a printing function, a scanning function and a copying function. The multifunction apparatus 20 includes a control section 21 , a facsimile section 22 , a printer section 23 , a scanner section 24 , an operation section 25 and a USB interface (USB I/F) 26 .
[0034] The control section 21 comprises a CPU, a ROM and a RAM. The CPU controls each component in the multifunction apparatus 20 based on various programs stored in the ROM. The ROM stores various programs and data used at the time of a control operation by the CPU. The RAM is a main memory used when the CPU executes various processing.
[0035] The facsimile section 22 comprises a fax modem 22 A and a fax data storing section 22 B and is connected to a telephone line. In the facsimile section 22 , the received fax data is printed by the printer section 23 and the image read by the scanner section 24 is transmitted via fax.
[0036] Further, the facsimile section 22 receives data from a PC via the USB I/F and transmits the received data to an external facsimile device via a telephone line and also the facsimile section 22 receives fax data from the external facsimile device and transmits the received fax data to the PC via the USB I/F. In such a case, the client computer 10 directly accesses to the fax modem 22 A via the USB interface 26 . The communication between the PC 10 and the fax modem 22 A is executed with using AT commands that have been known.
[0037] When the received fax data is transmitted to the client computer 10 , the whole fax data is temporally stored in the data storing section 22 B and a signal informing of incoming (RING) is transmitted to the client computer 10 after disconnection of the telephone line. The fax modem 22 A is different from an ordinary fax modem in this point.
[0038] The client computer 10 may reject to receive the fax data from an external facsimile device. However, in the multifunction apparatus 20 according to the present illustrative aspect, the received fax data is temporally stored in the fax data storing section 22 B and then transmitted to the client computer 10 . Accordingly, even if the client computer 10 rejects to receive the fax data, the external facsimile device already completes transmission of the fax data. Therefore, a user of the external facsimile device is not forced to transmit the fax data again even if the client computer 10 rejects to receive the fax data.
[0039] The printer section 23 forms images on a recording medium such as a paper by a laser method, an LED method or an ink jet method.
[0040] The scanner section 24 reads images formed on a document such as a paper by a linear image sensor under control of the CPU and generates image data.
[0041] The operation section 25 includes operation buttons with which a user controls the multifunction apparatus 20 and a display for displaying various information.
[0042] The USB interface 26 is connected to the client computer 10 via the USB cable.
[0043] (2) Program Configuration of Fax Driver
[0044] As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the fax driver 30 is a program for relaying communication between the fax application 40 and the fax modem 22 A, and it comprises a driver R/W request processing program 31 , an AT command monitor program 32 , a RING monitor program 33 and a USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 .
[0045] The fax driver 30 other than the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 is comprised as a kernel driver of Linux. A buffer 1 and a buffer 2 are buffer areas prepared in the RAM 13 .
[0046] The CPU 11 functions as a fax driver section according to the fax driver 30 and functions as a fax application section according to a fax application 40 . The CPU 11 functions as a driver R/W request processing program section according to the driver R/W request processing program 31 , functions as an AT command monitor program section according to the AT command monitor program 32 , functions as a RING monitor program section according to the RING monitor program 33 , and functions as a USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program section according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 .
[0047] The driver R/W request processing program 31 is executed for receiving a write request and a read request from the fax application 40 . The write request and the read request will be explained later. When receiving a write request, the driver R/W request processing program 31 transfers the write request to the AT command monitor program 32 . When receiving a read request, the driver R/W request processing program 31 transfers the read request to the RING monitor program 33 .
[0048] When the write request of data is received from the fax application 40 , the AT command monitor program 32 is executed for writing the data in the buffer 1 . The data that is written in the buffer 1 includes various AT commands transmitted to the fax modem 22 A and fax data transmitted to external facsimile devices. When writing data in the buffer 1 , the AT command monitor program 32 monitors the requested write data and changes control according to the data. This process will be explained later.
[0049] When a read request is received from the fax application 40 , the RING monitor program 33 is executed for transmitting the data written in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request. The data written in the buffer 2 includes a response code (result code) from the fax modem 22 A in response to the AT command transmitted to the fax modem 22 A, fax data received from external facsimile devices and error information. The RING monitor program 33 monitors data read from the buffer 2 and changes control according to the data. This process will be explained later.
[0050] The fax driver 30 also includes another program that is not illustrated in FIG. 2 . According to the program, when a read request is received from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 , the data written in the buffer 1 is transmitted to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 , and when a write request is received from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 , the data is written in the buffer 2 .
[0051] The USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program (USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon) 34 is executed for monitoring the USB interface and relaying communication between the fax driver 30 and the fax modem 22 A. A USB standard is not defined such that data is voluntarily transmitted from the USB interface to the application side. Therefore, the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 is included in the fax driver 30 to monitor the USB interface 17 from the fax driver 30 side.
[0052] If RS-232C is used for an interface with the multifunction apparatus 20 for example, a monitor program such as the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program is not necessary.
[0053] (3) Fax Transmission, Fax Reception and Automatic Incoming Setting
[0054] (3-1) Sequence of Fax Transmission
[0055] A sequence of the fax transmission will be explained with reference to FIG. 3 . The USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 is illustrated as a separate program from the fax driver 30 in FIG. 3 for easier explanation.
[0056] When receiving a command of fax transmission by a user, the fax application 40 transmits a write request of a command (ATD command) to which a dial number is followed to the fax driver 30 . After the transmission of the write request of the ATD command, the fax application 40 transmits a read request to the fax driver 30 at predetermined time intervals.
[0057] When receiving the write request of the ATD command from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 determines whether or not to permit communication with the fax modem 22 A according to the transmission source of the write request (permission determination, an example of determination that is made based on predetermined conditions). This determination will be explained later.
[0058] When determining that the communication is not permitted, the fax driver 30 writes a result code representing an error in the buffer 2 . When receiving a read request from the fax application 40 after writing of the error result code in the buffer 2 , the fax driver 30 transmits an error written in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 in response to the read request.
[0059] Thus, the ATD command is not actually transmitted to the fax modem 22 A. However, the fax application 40 recognizes that the fax modem 22 A transmits an error in response to the ATD command. Therefore, the fax application 40 executes an error process that is executed for an ordinary error (for example, line disconnection). Namely, the fax application 40 is not required to execute any special processing and this provides versatility to the program.
[0060] When determining to allow the communication with the fax modem 22 A, the fax driver 30 writes the ATD command in the buffer 1 .
[0061] The USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a read request to the fax driver 30 at predetermined time intervals. When receiving a read request from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 , the fax driver 30 transmits the ATD command written in the buffer 1 to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 in response to the read request.
[0062] When receiving the ATD command, the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program transmits a write request of the ATD command to the fax modem 22 A via the USB interface 17 .
[0063] The USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a read request to the fax modem 22 A at predetermined time intervals. When receiving a result code representing whether fax transmission is available or not from the fax modem 22 A in response to the read request, the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a write request of the result code to the fax driver 30 . For example, if the result code is “CONNECT”, fax transmission is available, and if the result code is “BUSY” or “NO CARRIER”, fax transmission is not available.
[0064] When receiving the write request of the result code from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 , the fax driver 30 writes the result code in the buffer 2 . When receiving a read request from the fax application 40 after writing of the result code in the buffer 2 , the fax driver 30 transmits the result code written in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 in response to the read request.
[0065] The fax application 40 determines whether the received result code represents permission of fax transmission. If determining that the result code represents availability of fax transmission, the fax application 40 transmits a write request of fax data to the fax driver 30 . The fax data is transmitted to the fax modem 22 A and transmitted to an external facsimile device from the fax modem 22 A. If determining that the result code represents unavailability of fax transmission, the fax application 40 terminates the transmission process.
[0066] (3-2) Fax Reception
[0067] General explanation of fax reception will be made with reference to FIG. 4 . The USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 is omitted here for easy understanding.
[0068] When receiving a connection request from an external facsimile device via the telephone line, the fax modem 22 A connects the line and receives fax data and stores the received fax data in the fax data storing section 22 B. When completing the fax reception, the fax modem 22 A disconnects the line.
[0069] Processing after the line disconnection is different in a case that the fax modem 22 A is set such that automatic incoming is not executed and in a case that the fax modem 22 A is set such that automatic incoming is executed.
[0070] a) Setting Without Automatic Answer
[0071] A sequence of the fax reception in which automatic answer is not set to the fax modem 22 A will be explained with reference to FIG. 4 . When disconnecting the line, the fax modem 22 A transmits a signal informing of incoming (RING) to the fax application 40 to inform of the fax incoming.
[0072] When receiving RING, the fax application 40 transmits a forced answer command (ATA command) to the fax modem 22 A. If a user of the fax application 40 determines not to respond to the fax incoming, the command is not transmitted.
[0073] When receiving the ATA command from the fax application 40 , the fax modem 22 A transmits fax data stored in the fax data storing section 22 B to the fax application 40 .
[0074] b) Setting With Automatic Answer
[0075] When disconnecting the line, the fax modem 22 A transmits RING a predetermined number of times, and then, if no ATA command is transmitted from the client computer 10 , the fax modem 22 A automatically transmits fax data to the fax application 40 .
[0076] (3-2-1) Sequence of Fax Incoming
[0077] A sequence in which the fax modem 22 A informs the fax application 40 of fax incoming (RING) will be explained with reference to FIG. 5 .
[0078] When receiving a read request from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 after line disconnection, the fax modem 22 A transmits RING to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 .
[0079] When receiving RING from the fax modem 22 A, the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a write request of the RING to the fax driver 30 .
[0080] When receiving the write request of the RING, the fax driver 30 writes the RING in the buffer 2 . When receiving a read request from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 determines whether or not to transfer the RING according to the transmission source of the read request. This determination will be explained later.
[0081] When determining to transfer the RING, the fax driver 30 transmits the RING stored in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 .
[0082] When determining not to transfer the RING, the fax driver 30 deletes the RING from the buffer 2 .
[0083] (3-2-2) Sequence of Fax Reception
[0084] A sequence of fax reception will be explained with reference to FIG. 6 . In the sequence, the fax application 40 that is informed of the fax incoming requests fax reception to the fax modem 22 A.
[0085] When receiving the RING, the fax application 40 transmits a forced answer command (ATT command) to the fax driver 30 . A flow of transmitting the ATA command from the fax application 40 to the fax modem 22 A is substantially same as the flow of the transmission of the ATD command, and therefore explanation will be omitted.
[0086] When receiving the ATA command, the fax modem 22 A transmits the fax data stored in the fax data storing section 22 B to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 .
[0087] When receiving the fax data from the fax modem 22 A, the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a write request of the fax data to the fax driver 30 .
[0088] When receiving the write request of the fax data, the fax driver 30 writes the fax data in the buffer 2 . When receiving a read request from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 transmits the fax data stored in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 in response to the read request.
[0089] (3-3) Automatic Answer Setting
[0090] Automatic answer is set by transmitting an ATS0 command to the fax modem 22 A. A command of ATSn=x represents that a setting value of x is set to the nth register. The register satisfying that n=0 stores the setting value of automatic answer. When x is 0, the automatic answer is not executed. When x is set to a value other than zero, the automatic answer is executed. A user can set automatic answer at any time while the fax modem 22 A is in an idle state.
[0091] The sequence for transmitting an ATS0 command is substantially same as the sequence for transmitting an ATD command or an ATA command.
[0092] (4) Determination Whether Communication with Fax Modem is Permitted or not
[0093] As described above, when receiving a write request from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 determines whether communication between the fax application 40 and the fax modem 22 A is permitted. The determination will be explained below.
[0094] A flow of determination when receiving a write request will be explained with reference to FIG. 7 . The CPU 11 executes the AT command monitor program to execute this process. This process is started when the CPU 11 receives a write request via the fax application 40 or the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 .
[0095] At step 101 , the CPU 11 determines whether the received write request is transmitted according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 . If the CPU 11 determines that it is transmitted according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 , the process proceeds to step 102 and if the CPU 11 determines that it is not transmitted according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 (it is transmitted according to the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 103 .
[0096] At step 102 , the CPU 11 writes the data (RING, a result code, fax data) received according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 in the buffer 2 .
[0097] At step 103 , the CPU 11 obtains transmission source information representing a transmission source that transmitted the write request. The fax driver 30 is a kernel driver of Linux. Therefore, information representing a calling host in the kernel driver is automatically set to an internal variable. In the present illustrative aspect, the information is used as transmission source information.
[0098] The transmission source information includes, for example, a user ID (an example of user identification information) of a user who activates the fax application 40 to transmit the write request and a group ID of a group to which the user belongs.
[0099] At step 104 , the CPU 11 reads the permission DB from the storing section 14 .
[0100] At step 105 , the CPU 11 determines whether fax transmission or fax reception is allowed for the transmission source information with reference to the permission DB (permission determination). The permission determination will be explained later. If the CPU 11 determines that fax transmission and fax reception are not allowed, the process proceeds to step 106 , and if the CPU 11 determines that at least one of fax transmission and fax reception is allowed, the process proceeds to step 107 .
[0101] At step 106 , the CPU 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 and terminates the process.
[0102] At step 107 , the CPU 11 determines whether the data that is requested to be written by the write request is a forced answer command (ATA command). If the CPU 11 determines that the data is an ATA command, the process proceeds to step 108 and if the CPU 11 determines that the data is not an ATA command, the process proceeds to step 109 .
[0103] If the CPU 11 has determined that fax reception is allowed in step 108 , the process proceeds from step 108 to step 113 , and if the CPU 11 has determined that fax reception is not allowed, the process proceeds to step 106 and the CPU 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 .
[0104] At step 109 , the CPU 11 determines whether the data that is requested to be written is an automatic answer setting command (ATS0 command). If the CPU 11 determines that the data is an automatic answer setting command, the process proceeds to step 110 , and if the CPU 11 determines that the data is not an automatic answer setting command, the process proceeds to step 111 .
[0105] If the CPU 11 has determined that the fax reception is allowed in step 110 , the process proceeds from step 110 to step 113 , and if the CPU 11 has determined that the fax reception is not allowed, the process proceeds to step 106 and the CPU 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 .
[0106] At step 111 , the CPU 11 determines whether the data that is requested to be written is a dial command (ATD command). If the CPU 11 determines that the data is an ATD command, the process proceeds to step 112 , and if the CPU 11 determines that the data is not an ATD command, the process proceeds to step 113 .
[0107] If the CPU 11 has determined that the fax transmission is allowed in step 112 , the process proceeds from step 112 to step 113 , and if the CPU 11 has determined that the fax transmission is not allowed, the process proceeds to step 106 and the CPU 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 .
[0108] At step 113 , the CPU writes the data (AT command, fax data) that is transmitted according to the fax application 40 in the buffer 1 .
[0109] There are various kinds of AT commands. If the data that is requested to be written is a command other than an ATA command, an ATS0 command and an ATD command (examples of a predetermined facsimile command), it is transmitted to the fax modem 22 A without execution of the permission determination if at least one of fax transmission and fax reception is allowed.
[0110] (5) Determination Whether RING is Transferred or not
[0111] As described above, when receiving a read request from the fax application 40 with the RING being written in the buffer 2 , the fax driver 30 determines whether to transfer the RING. The determination will be explained below.
[0112] A determination flow at the time of reception of a read request will be explained with reference to FIG. 8 . The CPU 11 executes the RING monitor program to execute this process. This process is started when the CPU 11 receives a read request according to the fax application 40 or the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 .
[0113] At step 201 , the CPU 11 determines whether a read request is transmitted according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 . If the CPU 11 determines that the read request is transmitted according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 , the process proceeds to step 202 , and if the CPU 11 determines that the read request is not transmitted according to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon program 34 (the read request is transmitted according to the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 204 .
[0114] At step 202 , the CPU 11 transmits the data written in the buffer 1 to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 .
[0115] At step 203 , the CPU 11 deletes the data from the buffer 1 .
[0116] At step 204 , the CPU 11 reads data from the buffer 2 .
[0117] At step 205 , the CPU 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is empty. If the CPU 11 determines that the data read from the buffer 2 is empty, the process proceeds to step 206 , and if the CPU 11 determines that the data is not empty, the process proceeds to step 207 .
[0118] At step 206 , the CPU 11 transmits the empty data to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request and this process is terminated.
[0119] At step 207 , the CPU 11 obtains transmission source information like step 103 .
[0120] At step 208 , the CPU 11 reads the permission DB from the storing section 14 .
[0121] At step 209 , the CPU 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is RING. If the CPU 11 determines that the data is RING, the process proceeds to step 210 and if the CPU 11 determines that the data is not RING, the process proceeds to step 213 .
[0122] At step 210 , the CPU 11 determines whether a predetermined time has passed after the writing of the RING in the buffer 2 . If determining that the predetermined time has passed, the CPU 11 determines to be time out and the process proceeds to step 211 . If the CPU 11 determines that the predetermined time has not passed, the process proceeds to step 212 .
[0123] At step 211 , the CPU 11 deletes the RING from the buffer 2 and the process proceeds to step 206 . If a predetermined time has passed after the writing of the RING in the buffer 2 , the RING is already old and the fax modem 22 A may not wait for a response to the RING. Therefore, in the present illustrative aspect, if the predetermined time has passed, the RING is deleted from the buffer 2 .
[0124] When the RING is deleted from the buffer 2 and the fax modem 22 A is still waiting for a response to the RING, RING is transmitted again from the fax modem 22 A after a short time.
[0125] At step 212 , the CPU 11 determines whether fax reception is allowed for the transmission source information with reference to the permission DB (permission determination). The permission determination will be explained later. If the CPU 11 determines that the fax reception is allowed, the process proceeds to step 213 . If the CPU 11 determines that the fax reception is not allowed, the process proceeds to step 206 and empty data is transmitted to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request. Accordingly, the RING is not transferred to the fax application 40 , and therefore the fax application 40 cannot detect the RING. The fax application 40 does not start processing that is to be started in response to the RING (transmission of an ATA command).
[0126] Even if the CPU 11 determines that fax reception is not allowed and empty data is transmitted to the fax application 40 , the RING is not deleted but remains in the buffer 2 . Therefore, if new transmission source information that is registered to the permission DB, the determination at step 212 for a read request from the new transmission source is affirmative.
[0127] At step 213 , the CPU 11 transmits data read from the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 .
[0128] At step 214 , the CPU 11 deletes data from the buffer 2 .
[0129] (6) Permission Determination
[0130] Permission determination is made to determine whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed for transmission source information with reference to the permission DB.
[0131] A flow of the permission determination will be explained with reference to FIG. 9 . At step 301 , the CPU 11 determines whether permission (permission or prohibition of fax transmission and reception) is set for a user ID (an example of information as to a fax application program). If determining that permission is set for the user ID, the CPU 11 determines whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed according to the permission setting of the user.
[0132] At step 302 , the CPU 11 determines whether permission is set for a group ID (an example of information concerning a fax application program). If determining that permission is set for the group ID, the CPU 11 determines whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed according to the permission setting of a group to which the user belongs, the user activating the fax application 40 .
[0133] At step 303 , the CPU 11 determines whether a user is a root user. If determining that a user is a root user, the CPU 11 determines that fax transmission and fax reception are allowed.
[0134] At step 304 , the CPU 11 determines whether default permission is set. If determining that default permission is set, the CPU 11 determines whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed according to the default permission setting. The default permission is applied to all users without exception.
[0135] If determining that the default permission is not set, the CPU 11 determines that fax transmission is allowed and fax reception is not allowed.
[0136] (7) Effects of Illustrative Aspect
[0137] In the illustrative aspect of the present invention, the restricting function for using the fax modem 22 A and performing facsimile transmission is achieved according to the fax driver 30 . Therefore, the restricting function is achieved with a fax modem 22 A that has no such a restricting function. According to the fax driver 30 , the restricting function with high versatility is achieved.
[0138] Further, according to the fax driver 30 , transmission sources that make communication with the fax modem 22 A are restricted to certain ones with reference to the permission DB.
[0139] Further, according to the fax driver 30 , the transmission source information representing the transmission source of the AT command is obtained from an OS. The AT command is not configured such that transmission source information representing a transmission source is added thereto, and therefore general fax applications 40 are not configured to have function of transmitting transmission source information to the fax driver 30 . Therefore, even if a facsimile device has a function of user permission, the function cannot be used in transmission and reception between a computer and the facsimile device. However, according to the fax driver 30 , the transmission source information representing the transmission source of the AT command is obtained from the OS. Therefore, the restricting function can be achieved with using general fax applications that does not have a function of transmitting transmission source information to the fax driver 30 . According to the fax driver 30 , the restricting function of high versatility is achieved.
[0140] Further, according to the fax driver 30 , a user ID of a user who executes a fax application 40 is used as the transmission source information. Therefore, the restricting function is achieved by a unit of a user.
[0141] Further, according to the fax driver 30 , it is determined whether communication with the fax modem 22 A is allowed for a predetermined facsimile command. Therefore, the restricting function is achieved with more precisely.
[0142] Further, according to the fax driver 30 , if a user who is not allowed to perform fax reception is a transmission source of a read request and even if RING is written in the buffer 2 , the RING is not transferred to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request. Therefore, unnecessary informing of incoming is not performed to a user who is not allowed to perform fax reception.
[0143] In the present illustrative aspect, concerning fax reception, in addition to the permission determination whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed, the permission determination whether RING transmission is allowed is executed. According to some fax applications 40 , a pop-up screen may be displayed on the display section 15 at the time of reception of the RING to make a user to select permission or prohibition of the fax reception. In such a case, the pop-up screen may not be displayed on the display section 15 if it is determined that the RING transmission is not allowed. Accordingly, the following problem is not caused. Although allowance to the fax reception is input from the pop-up screen by the user, the fax reception is not performed according to the permission determination.
[0144] <Another Illustrative Aspect>
[0145] Another illustrative aspect of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. 10 .
[0146] In the another illustrative aspect, a program name of a fax application 40 is obtained as information relating to the fax application 40 .
[0147] In the permission DB according to the another illustrative aspect, permission or prohibition of communication (permission or prohibition of fax transmission and permission or prohibition of fax reception) is registered by a unit of each program name of fax applications.
[0148] A flow of permission determination for a fax application 40 will be explained with reference to FIG. 10 . FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart that is applied commonly to determination of a write request and determination of a read request, and for the flowchart of the permission determination that is not illustrated in FIG. 10 , the flowchart in FIG. 7 is applied to the determination of a write request and the flowchart in FIG. 8 is applied to the determination of a read request.
[0149] At step 401 , the CPU 11 determines whether the received write request/read request is transmitted from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 . If the CPU 11 determines that it is transmitted from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 , the process proceeds to step 402 , and if the CPU 11 determines that it is not transmitted from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 (it is transmitted from the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 403 .
[0150] At step 402 , the CPU 11 writes data in the buffer 2 in response to the write request transmitted from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 or transmits data written in the buffer 1 to the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 in response to the transmitted read request.
[0151] At step 403 , the CPU 11 obtains from the permission DB a list (allowance list) of fax applications 40 that are allowed to perform fax communication.
[0152] At step 404 , the CPU 11 obtains from the OS a program name of the fax application 40 according to which the write request or the read request is transmitted to the fax driver 30 , and determines whether the obtained program name is registered in the allowance list.
[0153] If determining that the obtained program name is registered in the allowance list, the CPU 11 determines that the obtained program is a fax application 40 that is allowed to perform fax communication. When a write request is received, the process proceeds to step 103 in FIG. 7 , and when a read request is received, the process proceeds to step 204 in FIG. 8 .
[0154] If determining that the obtained program name is not registered in the allowance list, the CPU 11 determines that the obtained program is a fax application 40 that is not allowed to perform fax communication, and the process proceeds to step 405 .
[0155] At step 405 , the CPU 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 and terminates the process.
[0156] According to the fax driver 30 of the another illustrative aspect, a program name of a fax application 40 is used as transmission source information. Therefore, the restricting function is achieved by a unit of a fax application 40 .
[0157] For example, log management may be performed for fax transmission and fax reception. The log management may be performed according to the fax driver 30 or the fax application 40 . In performing the log management according to the fax application 40 , logs are centrally managed by allowing to use only the fax application 40 having a function of writing a log in a common location.
[0158] <Additional Illustrative Aspect>
[0159] Next, an additional illustrative aspect of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. 11 .
[0160] According to the additional illustrative aspect, if the number of transmission times of the RING is three or less, only a user having a first priority is allowed to perform fax reception, and if the number of transmission times of the RING is four or greater, among all the users who are allowed to perform fax reception, a user who transmits a read request first (a fax application 40 according to which a read request is transmitted first) is allowed to perform fax reception.
[0161] A determination flow in receiving a read request will be explained with reference to FIG. 11 . The CPU 11 executes the RING monitor program to execute this process. This process is started when the CPU 11 receives a read request from the fax application 40 or the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 .
[0162] At step 501 , the CPU 11 determines whether the read request is transmitted from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 . If the CPU 11 determines that it is transmitted from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 , the process proceeds to step 202 in FIG. 8 . If the CPU 11 determines that it is not transmitted from the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 (it is transmitted from the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 502 .
[0163] At step 502 , the CPU 11 reads data from the buffer 2 .
[0164] At step 503 , the CPU 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is empty or not. If the CPU 11 determines that the data is not empty, the process proceeds to step 504 , and if the CPU 11 determines that the data is empty, the process proceeds to step 206 in FIG. 8 .
[0165] At step 504 , the CPU 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is RING. If the CPU 11 determines that the data is RING, the process proceeds to step 505 and if the CPU 11 determines that the data is not RING, the process proceeds to step 213 in FIG. 8 .
[0166] At step 505 , the CPU 11 counts the number of transmission times of the read RING. Specifically, a series of RING is transmitted from the fax modem 22 A to the fax application 40 after the disconnection of the line, and the series of RING is transmitted again after a predetermined time, if no response (ATA command) is transmitted from the fax application 40 . The number of transmission times of a series of RING is predetermined. Every time the CPU 11 receives a series of RING, the CPU 11 increments a counter by one to count the number of transmission times of RING. The counter is reset to zero when the fax application 40 responds to the RING or in case of time out. If the RING is ignored without being responded by the fax application 40 for a predetermined time or more and the series of RING is transmitted from the fax modem 22 A, the counter counts from one again.
[0167] At step 506 , the CPU 11 determines whether the number of transmission times of the RING is three or less. If the CPU 11 determines that the number of transmission times of the RING is three or less, the process proceeds to step 507 . If the CPU 11 determines that the number of transmission times of the RING is four or more, the process proceeds to step 510 .
[0168] At step 507 , the CPU 11 determines whether the user (who started the fax application 40 according to which the read request is transmitted) who transmitted the read request (that makes this process to be executed) has a first priority. If the CPU 11 determines that the user has a first priority, the process proceeds to step 508 and if the CPU 11 determines that the user does not have a first priority, the process proceeds to step 512 .
[0169] At step 508 , the CPU 11 transmit the RING to the fax application 40 that transmitted the read request.
[0170] At step 509 , the CPU 11 deletes the RING from the buffer 2 .
[0171] At step 510 , the CPU 11 determines whether a predetermined time has passed after the RING was written in the buffer 2 . If the CPU 11 determines that the predetermined time has not passed, the process proceeds to step 511 , and if determining that the predetermined time has passed, the CPU 11 determines to be time out and the process proceeds to step 513 .
[0172] At step 511 , the CPU 11 performs permission determination of the user who transmitted the read request to determine whether the fax reception is allowed. If the CPU 11 determines that the fax reception is allowed, the process proceeds to step 508 and if the CPU 11 determines that the fax reception is not allowed, the process proceeds to step 512 .
[0173] At step 512 , the CPU 11 transmits empty data to the fax application 40 that transmitted the read request and terminates the process.
[0174] At step 513 , the CPU 11 deletes the RING from the buffer 2 .
[0175] According to the fax driver 30 of the additional illustrative aspect, if a plurality of fax applications 40 (client devices) are allowed to perform communication with the fax modem 22 A, the CPU 11 determines to which one of the fax applications 40 the informing of incoming is transferred according to a predetermined priority order. Therefore, if a plurality of fax applications 40 are allowed to perform communication with the fax modem 22 A, the fax application 40 to which the RING is transferred is appropriately determined.
[0176] <Other Illustrative Aspects>
[0177] The present invention is not restricted to the aspects explained in the above description made with reference to the drawings. The following aspects may be included in the technical scope of the present invention, for example.
[0178] (1) In the above illustrative aspects, when a connection request is received from an external facsimile device via a telephone line, the line is connected to receive fax data and the received fax data is stored in the fax data storing section 22 B. When a connection request is received from an external facsimile device, the RING may be transmitted to the fax application 40 and the line may be connected after an ATA command is received.
[0179] (2) In the above illustrative aspects, the client computer 10 functions as a client device and a computer. However, a computer and a client device may be configured independently of each other.
[0180] (3) In the above illustrative aspects, the CPU 11 functions as a computer to execute the fax driver 30 , the fax application 40 , the driver R/W request processing program 31 , the AT command monitor program 32 , the RING monitor program 33 , the USB-FAX pipe monitor daemon 34 . However, an independent CPU may be provided for each of the programs. | A computer readable medium having a computer program product stored thereon, the computer program product including instructions for ordering a computer to perform the following steps. The steps include a first receiving step of receiving a facsimile command from a client device configured to executes a facsimile application program, a first determining step of determining whether or not to allow communication with a facsimile device based on a predetermined condition when receiving the facsimile command at the first receiving step, and a transferring step of transferring the facsimile command received at the first receiving step to the facsimile device when the communication is allowed at the first determining step. | 7 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a process for purifying the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace by catalytic oxidization.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] C1 chemical products are important organic chemical raw materials. With the decreasing of petroleum resource and the increasing price of petroleum, the application of C1 chemical products as alternatives for petrochemicals has been expanded in terms of range and number, therefore C1 chemical products play a more and more important role in the economy of various countries. At present, C1 chemistry has become the focus of research and development in many countries all over the world. As new products, new techniques and new catalysts emerge endlessly, carbon monoxide has almost become a chemical raw material as important as basic petrochemical materials such as ethylene and propylene, etc. With the development of C1 chemistry technology, especially some achievements obtained in oxo-synthesis reactions of CO, it's possible to synthesis various organic compounds with great economic value from CO, including methyl formate, dimethyl ether, acetic acid, methanol and dimethyl carbonate, etc.
[0003] Industrial exhaust gases contain abundant CO and those originated from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are especially worth utilizing. If industrial exhaust gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are to be utilized, they should be purified first. For example, if the reductive tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace, which contains 30˜90% CO, are to be used as the feed gases for producing C1 chemical products, CO with high purity must be obtained first. Obviously, the presence of impurities in the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace has greatly limited the effective utilization of the gas. Therefore, in order to obtain high quality products and to ensure the follow-up comprehensive utilization procedure goes well, the tail gases must be purified. Utilizing the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace as a raw material for producing C1 chemical products can change the current situation that the production with ore-melting electrical furnaces, which lacks of competitiveness in the market due to high production cost, and achieve goals such as energy saving, pollutant emission cutting, energy consumption reducing as well as cleaner production. However, so far, the precious resource like the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace being rich in CO, its application is confined to drying feedstocks, and most of it is just burnt and emitted. The limiting factor for using the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace is the impurities therein, which have adverse effect on oxo-synthesis reactions, i.e. the problem of purifying the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace has not been solved, and especially, the removal of phosphorus in the tail gases has a serious effect on the catalyst for oxo-synthesis of CO.
[0004] As ores are reduced at high temperature in an ore-smelting electrical furnace, the impurities in the tail gases are mainly in their reduced state. For example, phosphorus exists in elemental phosphorus (P 4 ) and phosphine (PH 3 ), sulfur exists in hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) and organic sulfur, and fluorine exists in hydrogen fluorine (HF) and silicon fluoride (SiF 4 ), etc. Two methods have been primarily used in the prior art for purifying the tail gases, which are water-washing method and alkali-washing method:
[0005] 1. Water-washing: the reductive exhaust gases are cooled and the dust therein is removed, and meanwhile, fluoride, some of the elemental phosphorus, phosphine, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen sulfide are also removed therefrom. Because the vapor pressure of phosphorus deceases rapidly with decrease of temperature, some of the phosphorus in tail gases can be removed due to condensation, and meanwhile, some hydrogen sulfide can also be removed due to its dissolving in water.
[0006] 2. Alkali-washing: plenty of acidic gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen fluorine are removed by means of chemical reaction using a 0.8˜10% sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH).
[0007] The main shortages of the above mentioned methods are: low efficiency and incomplete removal of the elemental substances, catalyst poisoning in various catalytic reactions, and incapability of meeting the requirements as a raw material for C1 chemistry.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention overcomes the shortages of the prior art, aiming to solve the problem in purification pretreatment of the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace, and provide a process for purifying the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace by catalytic oxidization. After the tail gases are purified by the process according to the present invention, the typical impurities therein such as sulfur, phosphorus and fluorine are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively, which makes the tail gases meet the requirements for being used as the feed gases for producing high-value-added C1 chemical products.
[0009] The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are reductive industrial exhaust gases, mainly comprising: CO 85˜95% (V/V), CO 2 3˜% (V/V), H 2 1˜8% (V/V), N 2 2˜5% (V/V), O 2 0.2˜1% (V/V), total phosphorus 1000˜5000 mg/m 3 , H 2 5 1000˜5000mg/m 3 and HF 300˜4000 mg/m 3 .
[0010] The typical impurities of elemental substances that are present in the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace can be removed by means of alkali-washing of the gas, and the aerosol of the typical impurities of elemental substances can be converted into gas, which facilitates the removal by catalytic oxidation purification methods subsequently; the alkali-washed tail-gases are pre-heated and pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed, the typical gaseous impurities can be oxidized on the surface of the catalyst by the trace oxygen in the tail gases and be removed.
[0011] The impurities such as silicon fluoride, carbon dioxide and partial elemental phosphorus in the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace can be removed by the aqueous alkali solution, wherein, the chemical reactions are shown as follows:
[0000] P 4 +3NaOH+3H 2 O→3NaH 2 PO 4 +PH 3
[0000] 3SiF 4 +4H 2 O=2H 2 SiF 6 +SiO 2 ·H 2 O
[0000] CO 2 +2NaOH=Na 2 CO 3 +H 2 O
[0000] HF+NaOH=NaF+H 2 O
[0012] NaOH is recovered by caustification of the washing liquid containing Na 2 CO 3 and sent back to the system for recycling. After the above alkali-washing process, the tail gases still can't meet the requirements as the feed gases to produce chemical products. In order to further remove the impurities such as phosphide and sulfide, the present invention provides a process for further purifying the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace by catalytic oxidization on the basis of the alkali-washing process.
[0013] The alkali-washed tail gases are preheated through a pre-heater, and pass through a reactor from the bottom to the top. The reactor is loaded with catalyst of high efficiency, wherein the impurities such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine and hydrogen fluoride are catalytically oxidized. Herein, the catalytic oxidation reaction of sulfur is:
[0000]
[0014] The catalytic oxidation reactions of elemental phosphorus are:
[0000]
[0015] Since phosphine has a strong reductibility, oxidation-reduction reaction occurs between the low-valent P in the tail gases and the high-valent metal ions (Me 3+ ), wherein P is oxidized into phosphoric acid and the metal ions (Me 3+ ) is reduced, and then the reduced metal ions are oxidized by the O 2 in the gas, thereby the catalyst is recycled. The main chemical reactions mentioned above are shown as follows:
[0000] PH 3 ( g )+8Me 3+ ( s )+4H 2 O( l )=8Me 2+ (aq)+H 3 PO 4 (aq)+8H + (aq)
[0000] O 2 ( g )+4Me 2+ (aq)+2H 2 O( l )=4Me 3+ ( s )+4OH − (aq)
[0016] The total reaction is:
[0000]
[0017] The catalytic oxidation reaction of fluoride is:
[0000] Me n O m +HF→MeF m +H 2 O
[0018] wherein Me n O m is the metal oxide added in the catalyst.
[0019] The purified tail gases discharged from the reactor are cooled to less than 30° C. by cooling tower, and results in the qualified feed gases for Cl chemistry.
[0020] The concrete steps of the process are as follows:
[0021] (1) the catalyst carrier is impregnated with the impregnating solution for 10-24 h, then aged for 18-24 h, calcinated at 350˜650° C. for 6-12 h, and dried at 110° C. for 2-8 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency;
[0022] (2) the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution, and the washed gases are pre-heated to 70˜110° C.;
[0023] (3) after the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 0.5˜3%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 300˜600m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·h for the purification reaction, the reaction temperature is 50˜100° C., and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), and then the purified gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry.
[0024] The catalyst carrier in step (1) is activated alumina, zeolite, activated carbon or diatomite.
[0025] The impregnating solution in step (1) is sodium hydroxide solution, potassium hydroxide solution, ferrous sulfate solution, lead chloride solution, aluminum nitrate solution, sodium carbonate solution, copper acetate solution or lanthanum nitrate solution, with a mass concentration of 0.25˜7%.
[0026] When the catalyst carrier is activated alumina, it is impregnated with 0.35 mass % lanthanum nitrate solution.
[0027] When the catalyst carrier is zeolite, it is impregnated with 0.4 mass % ferrous sulfate solution.
[0028] When the catalyst carrier is activated carbon, it is impregnated with 0.5 mass % potassium hydroxide solution.
[0029] When the catalyst carrier is activated carbon, it is impregnated with 0.5 mass % sodium hydroxide solution.
[0030] When the catalyst carrier is activated carbon, it is impregnated with 0.2 mass % copper acetate solution.
[0031] When the catalyst carrier is activated carbon, it is impregnated with 7 mass % sodium carbonate solution.
[0032] When the catalyst carrier is diatomite, it is impregnated with 0.55 mass % aluminum nitrate solution first, then impregnated with 0.25 mass % lead chloride solution.
[0033] The catalyst in the step (3) when deactivated is activated with hot air for 4˜8 h, so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorous trioxide and hydrogen sulfide, are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 2˜4 h, washed with water, heated to 95˜110° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 24˜48 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
[0034] A system comprising two parallel fixed beds may be adopted in the purification process of the present invention, wherein when one fixed bed is out of function and the catalyst thereof need to be reactivated, the other one can keep working. The regeneration time of the catalyst is ½˜⅓ of the time of purifying the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace by catalytic oxidization, therefore the system can work continuously.
[0035] In the present process, the typical impurities of elemental substances in the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are first removed by means of alkali-washing of the gas, and the aerosols of the typical impurities of elemental substances are converted into gas. The alkali-washed tail-gases are pre-heated and pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed, the typical gaseous impurities can be oxidized on the surface of the catalyst by the trace oxygen in the tail gases and be removed. After the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are purified by the above method, the content of each typical impurity in the tail gases is less than 1 mg/m 3 . The catalyst used in the present invention can significantly improve the purification efficiency, and is easy to be reactivated, and its utilization rate is high. Additionally, the purification process of the present invention is simple, and the purification cost is low.
[0036] The main factors affecting the purification efficiency are the reaction temperature, the oxygen content and the flow rate of the tail gases. The influence rules are listed below:
[0037] (1) In the presence of catalyst, the oxidation reaction can occur at a lower temperature such as 50˜100° C. Raising the temperature is in favor of the improvement of purification efficiency. However, when the temperature is higher than 100° C., increasing the temperature does not improve the purification efficiency notably.
[0038] (2) The oxygen content in the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace is 0.5˜3%. The purification efficiency increases with the increase of oxygen content.
[0039] (3) When the gas flow rate is in the range of 300˜600 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·h, the purification effect can be improved by decreasing the gas flow rate. However, when the flow rate drops to 300 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·h, the purification effect cannot be further significantly improved.
[0040] In the process of the present invention, the adsorption capacity of the catalyst for PH 3 is 12˜28%, for elemental phosphorus is 24˜56%, for hydrogen sulfide is 11˜25%, and for hydrogen fluoride is 10˜22%. The content of the typical impurities such as hydrogen sulfide, total phosphorus, and hydrogen fluoride in the purified tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace is less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively, which can meet the requirements of being as the feed gases for C1 chemistry.
[0041] As compared to the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:
[0042] (1) The purification efficiency is high. The tail gases meet the requirements of being used as the feed gases for C1 chemistry after purification.
[0043] (2) The process is simple, and the catalyst is inexpensive and easy to be obtained.
[0044] (3) The catalyst is easy to be regenerated after poisoned or deactivated, and its catalytic activity remains almost unchanged even if it has been regenerated for many times. Besides, the catalyst has high utilization rate and the purification cost is reduced.
[0045] (4) By means of the measures such as adding extra oxygen to increase the oxygen content of the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace and increasing the temperature of the tail gases, the purification efficiency is increased greatly.
[0046] (5) The whole purification system is working at a positive pressure, which can ensure the safety of operation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0047] FIG. 1 is the flow chart of the process according to the present invention.
EMBODIMENTS
[0048] The following examples are provided to further illustrate the invention, but not intended to limit the invention.
Example 1
[0049] (1) The activated alumina is impregnated with a 0.25 mass % lanthanum nitrate solution for 20 h, then aged for 24 h, calcinated at 500° C. for 6 h in a muffle furnace, and finally dried at 110° C. for 4 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0050] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with a 0.8˜10 mass % aqueous solution of NaOH to remove phosphorus, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 80° C.
[0051] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 0.5%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 500 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 80° C., wherein, phosphine is catalytically oxidized, the oxidized products such as phosphorus pentoxide and phosphorus trioxide are adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst. Then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0052] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 4 h when it is deactivated, so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide, are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 2 h, washed with water, then heated to 110° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 24 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
Example 2
[0053] (1) The zeolite is impregnated with a 0.3 mass % ferrous sulfate solution for 24 h, then aged for 24 h, calcinated at 550° C. for 6 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 4 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0054] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution to remove carbon dioxide and some of phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 70° C.
[0055] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 0.5%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 500 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 70° C., wherein, the impurities of phosphorus, sulfur is catalytically oxidized, the oxidized products such as phosphorus pentoxide, phosphorus trioxide, and sulfur are adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst. Then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0056] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 6 h when it is deactivated, so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide, are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 3 h, washed with water, then heated to 100° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 32 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
Example 3
[0057] (1) The activated carbon is impregnated with a 0.5 mass % potassium hydroxide solution for 18 h, then aged for 24 h, calcinated at 350° C. for 12 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 6 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0058] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution to remove carbon dioxide and some of phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 110° C.
[0059] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 0.5%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 600 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 100° C., wherein, the impurities of phosphorus, sulfur is catalytically oxidized, the oxidized products such as phosphorus pentoxide, phosphorus trioxide, and sulfur are adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst. Then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0060] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 8 h when it is deactivated , so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide, are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 4 h, after that, washed with water, then heated to 110° C. with steam, and finally dried with hot air for 48 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
Example 4
[0061] (1) The diatomite is impregnated with a 0.4 mass % aluminum nitrate solution for 20 h, then aged for 18 h, calcinated at 650° C. for 8 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 2 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0062] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution to remove carbon dioxide and some of phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 100° C.
[0063] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 0.5%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 400 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 50° C., wherein, the impurities of phosphorus, sulfur is catalytically oxidized, the oxidized products such as phosphorus pentoxide, phosphorus trioxide, and sulfur are adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst. Then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0064] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 5 h when it is deactivated, so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 3.5 h, washed with water, then heated to 95° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 40 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
Example 5
[0065] (1) The activated carbon is impregnated with a 7 mass % sodium carbonate solution for 10 h, then aged for 20 h, calcinated at 450° C. for 10 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 8 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0066] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 90° C.
[0067] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 0.8%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 300 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 100° C., then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0068] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 5 h when it is deactivated, so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 3 h, washed with water, then heated to 100° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 30 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
Example 6
[0069] (1) The activated alumina is impregnated with a 0.35 mass % lanthanum nitrate solution for 14 h, then aged for 24 h, calcinated at 350° C. for 11 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 8 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0070] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 70° C.
[0071] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 3%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 400 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 90° C., then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
Example 7
[0072] (1) The zeolite is impregnated with a 0.4 mass % ferrous sulfate solution for 16 h, then aged for 18 h, calcined at 650° C. for 6 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 3 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0073] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 110° C.
[0074] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 1%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 500 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 100° C., then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0075] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 5 h when it is deactivated, so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 4 h, washed with water, then heated to 110° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 28 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
Example 8
[0076] (1) The activated carbon is impregnated with a 0.5 mass % sodium hydroxide solution for 22 h, then aged for 20 h, calcinated at 450° C. for 10 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 5 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0077] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 110° C.
[0078] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 2%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 400 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 90° C., then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0079] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 8 h when it is deactivated, so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 4 h, washed with water, then heated to 110° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 48 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again.
Example 9
[0080] (1) The activated carbon is impregnated with a 0.2 mass % copper acetate solution for 21 h, then aged for 24 h, calcinated at 650° C. for 12 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 7 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0081] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 110° C.
[0082] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 1.2%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 600 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 100° C., then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
Example 10
[0083] (1) The diatomite is first impregnated with a 0.55 mass % aluminum nitrate solution for 6 h, then impregnated with 0.25 mass % lead chloride solution for 10 h, then aged for 24 h, calcinated at 350° C. for 12 h, and finally dried at 110° C. for 4 h to obtain the catalyst of high efficiency.
[0084] (2) The tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace are washed with aqueous alkali solution, and then the washed tail gases are preheated to 70° C.
[0085] (3) After the volume content of the oxygen in the tail gases from step (2) is adjusted to 2.5%, the tail gases pass through a catalytic oxidization fixed-bed from the bottom to the top with a flow rate of 600 m 3 (volume of gas)/m 3 (volume of catalyst)·for the purification reaction, and the fixed-bed is loaded with the catalyst of high efficiency obtained from step (1), the reaction temperature is 100° C., then the purified tail gases are cooled to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. The content of the typical impurity such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine in the purified tail gases are less than 1 mg/m 3 respectively.
[0086] In this embodiment, the catalyst of high efficiency is reactivated with hot air for 4 h when it is deactivated , so that the materials which are adsorbed but incompletely oxidized, such as elemental phosphorus, phosphine, phosphorus trioxide and hydrogen sulfide are thoroughly oxidized, then the catalyst is activated with water vapor for 4 h, after that, washed with water, then heated to 95° C. with stream, and finally dried with hot air for 48 h, resulting in the activated catalyst which can be used again. | Disclosed is a process for purifying tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace by catalytic oxidization, which comprises: impregnating a catalyst carrier in an impregnating solution, then aging, calcinating, and finally drying, so as to prepare a catalyst of high efficiency; then washing the tail gases from an ore-smelting electrical furnace with an aqueous alkali-containing solution, pre-heating the alkali-washed tail gas; and adjusting the oxygen volume content in the tail gases, charging the tail gases at a certain speed, purifying the gases by a catalytic oxidization fixed bed containing the catalyst of high efficiency, cooling the purified gas, so as to obtain the feed gases for C1 chemistry. | 1 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority of European Patent Application No. 04405256.1-2304, filed on Apr. 26, 2004, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. The disclosure of all U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications mentioned below are also incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to a method and device for monitoring the wire-stitching on print products in a wire-stitching machine, wherein measuring devices are provided for testing the wire staple quality.
[0003] The technique of stapling together print products by means of wire staples in a wire-stitching apparatus is known. Wire-stitching machines typically comprise a stitching head and a wire-bending device for realizing the stitching operation. The operation involves supplying a wire, cutting the blank, forming the staple, pushing the staple through the product to be stapled, and bending the two staple legs.
[0004] Methods and devices are known which can be used to test for the existence of a wire staple on a product, thus making it possible to remove a product that is missing a wire staple. The testing can be realized, for example, by means of a metal detector which is arranged downstream from the wire-stitching apparatus. Each passing wire staple triggers an impulse. A missing impulse therefore indicates a product with a missing wire staple. Furthermore, European Patent Document EP 0 205 144 teaches an apparatus wherein a missing wire staple is detected by means of a sensor arranged on a stitching machine, wherein the sensor comprises one of an approximation switch or an optical sensor.
[0005] However, the above-mentioned methods and devices can only be used to detect the presence, and not the quality, of the wire-stitching. Thus, wire staples which are defective, for example those that have an outward-projecting leg, are nonetheless indicated as being present. Wire-stitching defects of this type are highly undesirable because they can result in injuries to the users and/or readers of such a print product. For that reason, numerous measures have already been proposed for detecting such defective stitching operations and for removing the corresponding print products. Thus, a device for monitoring the stitching of products is known from European patent document EP 1 029 643 A, which is co-owned by the assignee of the present application, wherein the wire-stitching machine is provided with measuring devices for detecting changes in the condition of the bending device or stitching head. For example, these devices use wire strain gauges to detect the force generated at the bending device during the forming of the wire staple. If this force deviates from a predetermined value, it is assumed that the wire-stitching is defective and the product is accordingly removed via the machine control.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to make available further suitable measures for testing wire-staple quality.
[0007] The above and other objects are achieved according to the invention by the provision of a method for monitoring wire staples on print products applied by a wire-stitching machine, the wire staples having ends to be closed by the wire stitching machine, the method comprising: arranging a measuring device to measure a density of the ends of the wire staples passing by the measuring device; and evaluating a curve obtained from the measured density to test a quality of the passing wire staples.
[0008] The invention is based on the finding that with defective wire staples, e.g. staples where a leg is projecting or missing, the density curve deviates considerably from that of a non-defective wire staple. With a non-defective wire staple both legs are present and are bent in the intended manner to rest against the print product, such that the staple normally does not pose a risk of injury. With the method according to the invention, however, other defects in a stitching operation can also be determined. For example, the method can also be used to detect defects in so-called eyelet wire staples, such as bent eyelets.
[0009] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the measuring device is positioned downstream of a stitching head of the wire-stitching machine. The passing wire staples are tested. A method of this type is particularly suitable for a gathering and wire-stitching machine on which print products are conveyed on a transport chain.
[0010] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the measuring operation is particularly reliable and operationally safe if the measuring device is positioned on the inside of the opened product during the measuring operation. In this embodiment of the invention, the measuring device can be moved comparatively close to the wire staples to be tested.
[0011] In yet another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the measuring device includes a sensor that generates a magnetic field. The wire staples to be tested pass through the magnetic field, thus permitting a particularly precise testing of the density curve of each wire staple. More particularly, the measuring device includes an electric resonating circuit having a coil, the inductance of which is change by the density of the metal staple as it passes by the measuring device.
[0012] The invention furthermore relates to an apparatus to monitor wire staples applied by a wire-stitching machine on print products, the apparatus comprising: a measuring device operative to measure a density of wire staples inserted into print products passing by the measuring device; and an evaluating device to evaluate a density curve obtained from the measured density to test the quality of the wire staples.
[0013] In a further exemplary embodiment of a gathering and wire-stitching machine according to the invention, the measuring device is arranged near the transport chain, below the opened print products, such that the staples can be closely measured at the ends to be closed.
[0014] Further advantageous features will become apparent from the following description, drawings and examples.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in further detail with the aid of the accompanying drawings.
[0016] FIG. 1 schematically depicts a partial section through a wire-stitching machine provided with a device according to the invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 schematically depicts a spatial view of a wire-stitching print product and a device according to the invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a resonating circuit for implementing a sensor according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0019] FIGS. 4 a and 4 b schematically depict representations of non-defective wire staples.
[0020] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b schematically depict representations of defective wire staples.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of components for the apparatus according to the invention.
[0022] FIG. 7 depicts the signal curve for a print product, provided with two spaced apart non-defective wire staples, wherein the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents density.
[0023] FIG. 8 depicts the signal curve for a wire staple with one cut-off leg, wherein the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents density.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 shows a print product 1 which is located on a gathering and wire-stitching machine S that is known per se in the print-processing industry. The print product 1 , for example, is a booklet consisting of several pages 2 , for example held together along a spine 3 with two wire staples 10 , as shown in FIG. 2 . The product 1 can also be held together by a single wire staple 10 or by more than two wire staples 10 . The wire staple 10 is a standard wire staple as shown in FIG. 4 a , having a substantially straight wire staple back 10 b and two wire staple legs 10 a that are bent by 180 degrees. The wire staple legs 10 a form the ends of the wire staples 10 and, as can be seen, are bent toward the inside so that they rest against the inside 4 of the print product 1 pointing toward one another. The wire staples 10 can also be designed as shown in FIG. 4 b to comprise an eyelet 10 c in the center which projects upward from the spine 3 and/or the outside 5 of the print product 1 . The wire staple 10 ′ also has wire-staple legs 10 a which are bent toward the inside. Other wire staple configurations are also conceivable.
[0025] The gathering and wire-stitching machine S comprises a saddle 8 with saddle ridge 9 which is rigidly attached to a frame of the gathering and wire-stitching machine S, not shown herein. The print products 1 are transported by a transport chain 6 which is an endless link chain provided at specified intervals with wing-type carriers 7 that carry along the print products 1 . The gathering and wire-stitching machine S and the transport chain 6 in this case are only examples for transporting and/or gathering devices for assembling print products 1 , e.g. booklets. Thus, other transporting means can also be used for transporting the print products 1 .
[0026] The wire staples 10 are formed in a wire-stitching machine S having a stitching head 11 , which is arranged so that the print products 1 are stapled from above, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . During the wire-stitching operation, the print product 1 is arranged between the stitching head 11 and a bending device, not shown herein. Once the staple is formed, it is then punched through the print product 1 and the two staple legs are bent in the manner known per se with the aid of leg benders which are also not shown herein. For example, if two wire staples 10 are formed as shown in FIG. 2 , the print product 1 is transported on the transport chain 6 in the direction of arrow 22 ( FIG. 2 ) for further processing. For example, the print product 1 is supplied to a cutter.
[0027] If the above-described operation for forming the wire staple 10 is faulty, the print product 1 may contain defective wire staples 10 ″ or 10 ′″ shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b , respectively. For example, one staple leg 10 a ′ of the wire staple 10 ″ shown in FIG. 5 a is not bent toward the inside, as intended, but instead projects outward from the wire staple back 10 b at about 90 degrees. The wire staple leg 10 a ′ accordingly projects on the inside 4 of the print product 1 . Likewise, one staple leg 10 a′″ of the wire staple 10 ′″ is also not bent correctly. The two wire staples 10 ″ and 10 ′″ carry the risk of injury to the user of the print product 1 , this danger being particularly high for children.
[0028] According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , at least one measuring device 12 is provided for detecting such defective wire staples 10 ″ and 10 ′″, as well as other defective forms, and for removing the respective print products 1 . In a further exemplary embodiment, the measuring device 12 is arranged such that the print products 1 are transported across the measuring device 12 , as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . The measuring device 12 is located on the inside 4 of the opened print product 1 and directly below a spine 3 of a print product 1 .
[0029] According to FIG. 6 , each measuring device 12 is provided with a sensor 13 comprising a sensor head 17 having a coil 18 arranged therein. The sensor 17 is connected via a signal line 14 to an oscillator 19 in an evaluation unit 20 for signal processing. The evaluation unit 20 also includes a sensor card 21 with microprocessor. As shown in FIG. 3 , the sensor 13 of the measuring device 12 includes a resonating circuit K. The resonating circuit K comprises the above-referenced coil 18 which is connected in parallel with a capacitor 24 and a resistor 25 . Also provided are an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) 26 , a rectifier 27 , a low pass 28 , and a microcontroller 29 . The aforementioned components and the mode of operation of such a resonating circuit are known to the person skilled in the art.
[0030] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the stitching head 11 of the wire-stitching machine S includes a locally fixed brush 23 for pressing the spine 3 of the passing print product 1 downward against the ridge 9 . The measuring device 12 is arranged below and downstream from the stitching head 11 . As a result, the distance between the spine 3 and the sensor 13 is essentially always the same. The formed wire staples 10 thus pass across the sensor 13 with uniform spacing. Alternatively, the sensor 13 could move back and forth in the transport direction. Thus, the relative movement between sensor 13 and print product 1 is important. When a wire staple 10 is positioned above the sensor 13 , the wire staple 10 influences the inductance of the resonating circuit K and causes the frequency to change. This frequency change signal is detected by the evaluation unit 20 with oscillator 19 and sensor card with microprocessor 21 . The inductance of the resonating circuit K depends on the metal density of the wire staple 10 . The metal density for each wire staple 10 is the amount of metal per unit of length. As a result, the signal curve substantially corresponds to the shape of the wire staple 10 . Since the shape of wire staples 10 ″ and 10 ″′ differs substantially from that of wire staple 10 , the signal curve differs in the same way, wherein this difference is illustrated in the following with the aid of FIGS. 7 and 8 .
[0031] FIG. 7 shows the signal curve during the testing of a print product 1 with two non-defective wire staples 10 which are arranged at a distance from each other, as shown in FIG. 2 , wherein the spacing between the two wire staples 10 is 27 mm. The staples are formed from a copper wire or steel wire having a diameter of 0.6 mm. The two staples 10 generate two pulses P 1 and P 2 , as shown in FIG. 7 . From these peaks, digital signals D 1 and D 2 are generated with the aid of an algorithm. This algorithm is explained in further detail in the following.
[0032] An idle signal indicates the normal, uninfluenced state of the sensor 13 and forms the basis of the algorithm. This idle signal is temperature-dependent and can be influenced by surrounding metal parts. Consistent operation of the sensor 13 is ensured by a reference signal generated by machine control unit 16 to continuously adjust the idle signal. This reference signal is generated during the start-up of the gathering and wire-stitching machine S.
[0033] The digital signals D 1 and D 2 are generated by the above-mentioned algorithm if a wire staple 10 is located above the sensor 13 . A threshold 30 that is below the idle signal is additionally computed. When an analog signal 100 drops below the threshold 30 , the digital “wire staple detected” signal D 1 is emitted and a hysteresis value is added to the threshold value 30 , thus preventing a bouncing at the switching point 110 . The aforementioned threshold 30 follows the actual analog signal 100 until a minimum 120 is reached. Once the analog signal 100 reaches the minimum 120 , the threshold 30 remains constant. When the analog signal 100 subsequently exceeds the threshold 30 , the digital “wire staple detected” signal D 1 is reset and a new threshold 30 is computed on the basis of the analog signal 100 . The threshold 30 again follows the analog signal 100 until a maximum value 130 is reached. Following this, the threshold 30 remains constant, awaiting a new drop below the threshold 30 due to a new wire staple 10 .
[0034] The degree of adaptation of the threshold 30 can be adjusted via two parameters, wherein one parameter adjusts the strength of the adaptation in the OFF state and the other parameter adjusts the adaptation of the threshold 30 in the ON state of the digital “wire staple detected” signal. In the normal, uninfluenced state, a specified offset to the idle signal is subtracted to compute the threshold 30 .
[0035] As shown in FIG. 7 , a passing print product 1 having two non-defective wire staples 10 or 10 ′ generates two digital signals D 1 and D 2 . In contrast, a passing print product 1 having one defective wire staple 10 ″ or 10 ′″ therein generates two digital signals D 1 ′ and D 2 ′, as shown in FIG. 8 . Owing to the density curve for a defective wire staple 10 ″ or 10 ′″, the corresponding peak P′ is irregular. As a result, two digital signals D 1 ′ and D 2 ′ are generated for one defective wire staple 10 ″ or 10 ′″ instead of just one digital signal per wire staple as in the case of a passing non-defective wire staple 10 ′. The control recognizes that two digital signals D 1 ′ and D 2 ′ are generated for the defective wire staple 10 ″ or 10 ′″ and triggers the removal of the defective print product 1 .
[0036] The invention has been described in detail with respect to preferred embodiments, and it will now be apparent from the foregoing to those skilled in the art, that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and the invention, therefore, as defined in the appended claims, is intended to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit of the invention. | A method and apparatus are provided for monitoring the wire-stitching on print products in a wire-stitching machine. The wire-stitching includes wire staples having ends to be closed. The wire-stitching machine includes a measuring device operative to measure a density on the ends of passing wire staples to test the quality of the passing wire staples. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electromagnetic coils of electrical machinery and apparatus such as transformers are made of covered wires. The covered wires are prepared by coating copper or aluminum wires with insulating resins such as polyimides, polyesters, polyesterimides, polyurethanes, epoxy resins, nylon resins and the like. In order to improve the dielectric strength and the heat resistance of the electromagnetic coils, the coils are coated with epoxy resins, polyester resins or acrylic resins. Such coating is effected by sticking powders of the resin to the heated coils and then fixing the resin to the coils. Alternatively, said coating is effected by allowing to adhere electrostatically charged powders to the coils and then fixed the resin to the coil by fusing the resins.
On referring to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a coil coated with powdered resin. The numbers of 1, 2, 3 . . . 20 represent covered wires and the order of windings of the wires. The coil is coated with an insulating layer 21 of resin, which is fixed to a surface of the coil. In this coil, voids 22 are formed. Owing to the voids, the insulating layer of coating deteriorates by repeated use of the electrical apparatus, and the dielectric strength thereof deteriorates.
As high voltages are generated in the windings 1, 10, 11, 20 and 5, 6, 15, 16, a high dielectric strength of the coil is required. In the coil coated by the conventional method as stated above, discharge is apt to occur on the windings on account of the voids.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of insulating electromagnetic coils by which the coils having high dielectric strength and heat resistance can be obtained.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of insulating electromagnetic coils of electrical machinery and apparatus, and more particularly to a method of insulating electromagnetic coils by which high dielectric strength and heat resistance of the coils can be obtained, said coils having been made of a covered wire coated with conventional insulating resins.
The method of the present invention can be summarized as follows:
(1) An electromagnetic coil is made by winding a self-bonding wire and bonding the windings to each other, said self-bonding wire having been prepared by forming a bonding layer consisting of an epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. on a covered wire coated with a conventional insulating resin. The electromagnetic coil thus made is covered with powdered epoxy resin containing a cross linking agent consisting essentially of an acid anhydride and then heated at a temperature of 150° C. to 250° C. for 3 hours to 30 minutes to bridge the epoxy resin. In this way, the coil is coated with an insulating layer of the bridged epoxy resin.
An alternative method is as follows:
(2) An electromagnetic coil is made of a covered wire coated with conventional insulating resin. The coil is coated with a bonding layer consisting of epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. and covered with powdered epoxy resin containing a cross linking agent consisting essentially of acid anhydride, and then heated at a temperature of 150° C. to 250° C. for 3 hours to 30 minutes to bridge the epoxy resin. In this way, the coil is coated with an insulating layer of the bridged epoxy resin.
As stated above, the method of the present invention is characterized in that epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. and powdered epoxy resin containing a cross linking agent consisting essentially of an acid anhydride are used and the powdered epoxy resin is subjected to bridging by heating.
By a method of the present invention, high dielectric strength and high heat resistance of an electromagnetic coil can be obtained. In the coil having an insulating layer of epoxy resin of about 0.3mm in thickness, a dielectric strength of 8kV and the heat resistance temperature of 170° C. can be obtained.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show cross sections of coils coated by the method of the present invention as shown in (1) and (2) above, respectively. Voids as presented in FIG. 1 cannot be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. A bonding layer 23 of epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. is formed between covered wires and a layer 21 of epoxy resin containing a cross linking agent.
Epoxy resin used in the present invention is bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (i.e. 2,2-bis(4'-glycidyloxyphenyl)propane) having the following structural formula: ##STR1## wherein n is zero to 12.
At least one of epoxy resins (1)-(4) listed below may be added to bisphenol A diglycidyl ether.
(1) novolak-type epoxy resin ##STR2## wherein R is hydrogen or an alkyl group of C 1 to C 4 and n is 1 or 2.
(2) hydantoin-type epoxy resin ##STR3##
(3) alicyclic epoxy resin ##STR4##
(4) epoxidized oil ##STR5## wherein n is 1 to 5.
In the method of the present invention, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether is used as the chief ingredient. Epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. is bisphenol A diglycidyl ether having a value of n of higher than 1.5. Such epoxy resin (bisphenol A diglycidyl ether) having n of 1.5 may be obtained, for example, by mixing epoxy resin having n of 1 and epoxy resin having n of 2 in a ratio of 1 to 1. Epoxy resin having the desired value of n may be obtained by mixing epoxy resins having different values of n. Accordingly, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether having the desired melting point may be obtained by mixing epoxy resins having different values of n. Other epoxy resins listed in (1) to (4) above optionally may be added to bisphenol A diglycidyl ether to obtain an epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C.
The reasons for using an epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. must be used, are as follows:
Epoxy resins having a melting point of lower than 60° C. are soft and sticky at room temperature, and wires coated with such epoxy resins stick to each other in the winding operation of the wires, and further a coil having a layer of such epoxy resin is inferior in heat resistance.
Epoxy resins which are used by mixing with cross linking agents are bisphenol A diglycidyl ether having a value of n of zero to 12. Epoxy resins listed in (1) to (4) above may be added in an amount of 1 to 50 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether.
Typical acid anhydrides which may be used as a cross linking agent are as follows:
maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, succinic anhydride, citraconic anhydride, itaconic anhydride, tricarballylic anhydride, linoleic acid adduct of maleic anhydride, maleic anhydride adduct of methylcyclopentadiene, pyromellitic dianhydride, ##STR6## cycropentanetetracarboxylic dianhydride, ##STR7## benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride, ##STR8## ethylene glycol bistrimellitate ##STR9##
As a cross linking agent, pyromellitic dianhydride may preferably be used. However, acid anhydrides as listed above also may be used alone or in a mixture thereof.
Other cross linking agents as listed below may be added to acid anhydrides:
dicyandiamide, diethylenetriamine, diaminodiphenylsulfone, 2-methylimidazole, 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole and 1-benzyl-2-methylimidazole.
Cross linking agents are used in an amount of 0.5 to 90 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of epoxy resins.
Inorganic matters (i.e. fillers) as listed below may be added to a mixture of epoxy resins and cross linking agents in an amount of 0.5 to 70 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the mixture:
silicon dioxide, titanium oxide, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, zirconium silicate, aluminum oxide, aluminum hydroxide, beryllium oxide, chrome dioxide, ferric oxide, clay, talc, mica and glass fiber.
A method of the present invention may be effected as follows:
A wire is coated with epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C., said wire being a covered wire with polyimide, polyester or polyesterimide. A coil is made of the coated wire. A mixture of 100g of epoxy resins and 5g to 90g of cross linking agents are coated on the coil and then the coil is heated at a temperature of 150° C. to 250° C. to bridge the epoxy resin. In this way, the bridged epoxy resin is fixed to the coil.
An alternative method is as follows:
A coil is made of a covered wire as shown above, and the coil is coated with epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. in a thickness of 5μ to 500μ. A mixture of epoxy resin and cross linking agent is coated on the coil and then the coil is heated to fix epoxy resin to the coil by repeating the same procedure as described above.
In the above-mentioned method, fillers may be added to the mixture of epoxy resins and cross linking agents, and the epoxy resin is principally bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and the cross linking agent consists essentially of acid anhydride.
A covered wire or a coil may be coated with epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. by applying the molten epoxy resin to the wire or coil.
A coil may be coated with a mixture of powdered epoxy resin and powdered cross linking agent or powders of a mixture of epoxy resin and cross linking agent by fluid bed technique or electrostatic fluid bed technique as illustrated below:
Fluid bed technique:
A heated coil is dipped into powders suspended in air. Said powders may be suspended by air blown up through a porous plate. Powders adhere to the coil and the powders are fixed to the coil by cooling.
Electrostatic fluid bed technique:
Electrostatically charged powders at high voltage are attracted to a coil, and the attracted powders are fixed to the coil by heating.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following examples are given by way of illustration only and are not intented as limitation of this invention.
EXAMPLE 1
A covered wire (diameter 1mm) coated with polyesterimide was coated with bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (molecular weight 3800; melting point 160° C.) in a thickness of about 40μ. A coil having 2000 turns was made of the coated wire. A mixture of 100g of powdered bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (molecular weight 1500; melting point 105° C.), 10g of pyromellitic dianhydride and 100g of silicon dioxide (particle size 10μ-100μ) was sticked to the coil heated at a temperature of 205° C. by fluid bed technique. A thickness of layer of the powders was 0.3mm. The coil having the powders sticked was heated at a temperature of 200° C. for 30 minutes to form an insulating layer on a surface of the coil. A coil having an insulating layer as shown in FIG. 2 was obtained.
The dielectric breakdown voltage of the insulating layer was 8kV and the heat resistance temperature thereof was 170° C.
Comparison tests were carried out as follows:
(1) An insulating layer was formed on a surface of a coil by repeating the same procedure as described above except that a covered wire coated with polyesterimide was not coated with bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (m.w. 3800; m.p. 160° C.). A coil having an insulating layer as shown in FIG. 1 was obtained. The dielectric breakdown voltage of the insulating layer thus obtained was 6kV and the heat resistance temperature thereof was 140° C.
(2) an insulating layer was formed on a surface of a coil by repeating the same procedure as described above except that dicyandiamide, diethylenetriamine or diaminodiphenylsuefone was used instead of pyromellitic dianhydride as a cross linking agent. The dielectric breakdown voltage of the insulating layer was 6kV and the heat resistance temperature thereof was 130° C.
EXAMPLE 2
A coil having 2,000 turns was made of a covered wire (diameter 1mm) coated with polyesterimide. The coil was coated with bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (molecular weight 3800; melting point 160° C.) in a thickness of about 40μ. A mixture of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether, pyromellitic dianhydride and silicon dioxide as used in Example 1 was sticked to the coil and an insulating layer was formed on a surface of the coil by repeating the same procedure as described in Example 1. A coil having an insulating layer as shown in FIG. 3 was obtained.
The dielectric breakdown voltage of the insulating layer was 8kV and the heat resistance temperature thereof was 170° C.
EXAMPLE 3
An insulating layer was formed on a surface of a coil by repeating the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that 1 to 20% of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (m.w. 1500; m.p. 105° C.) was substituted by novolak-type epoxy resin, hydantoin-type epoxy resin, alicyclic epoxy resin or epoxidized oil. The dielectric breakdown voltage of the insulating layer was 8kV and the heat resistance temperature thereof was 170° C. The same results as those in Example 1 was obtained.
EXAMPLE 4
An insulating layer was formed on a surface of a coil by repeating the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that cyclopentanetetracarboxylic dianhydride, benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride, ethylene glycol bistrimellitate or other acid anhydride such as maleic anhydride was used instead of pyromellitic dianhydride as a cross linking agent. The insulating layer thus formed showed the results similar to those in Example 1.
The formation of voids among covered wires by which a coil is made, can be prevented and therefore the dielectric strength and the heat resistance of the coil can be improved by coating the covered wires with epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C. and forming an insulating layer on a surface of the coil. The insulating layer may be formed by sticking powders on a surface of the coil and heating it, said powders having been prepared by pulverizing a solid obtained by melting a mixture of epoxy resins and acid anhydrides as a cross linking agent.
A method of the present invention as illustrated above is preferably used for insulating magnetic coils of transformers or leakage transformers. The leakage transformer has a leakage core between a high-tension coil and a low-tension coil, and partial discharge is apt to occur between the leakage core and the high-tension coil. Such partial discharge can effectively be prevented by insulating the high-tension coil according to a method of the present invention. Further, the dielectric strength and the heat resistance of the low-tension coil can be improved by insulating the low-tension coil according to a method of the present invention. | There is provided a method of insulating electromagnetic coils comprising coating an electromagnetic coil with epoxy resin containing a cross linking agent consisting essentially of an acid anhydride, said coil having a bonding layer consisting of epoxy resin having a melting point of higher than 60° C, and then subjecting to bridging said epoxy resin containing a cross linking agent by heating. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] In offset lithography, a printable image is present on a printing member as a pattern of ink-accepting (oleophilic) and ink-rejecting (oleophobic) surface areas. Once applied to these areas, ink can be efficiently transferred to a recording medium in the imagewise pattern with substantial fidelity. In a wet lithographic system, the non-image areas are hydrophilic, and the necessary ink-repellency is provided by an initial application of a dampening fluid to the plate prior to inking. The dampening fluid prevents ink from adhering to the non-image areas, but does not affect the oleophilic character of the image areas. Ink applied uniformly to the wetted printing member is transferred to the recording medium only in the imagewise pattern. Typically, the printing member first makes contact with a compliant intermediate surface called a blanket cylinder which, in turn, applies the image to the paper or other recording medium. In typical sheet-fed press systems, the recording medium is pinned to an impression cylinder, which brings it into contact with the blanket cylinder.
[0002] To circumvent the cumbersome photographic development, plate-mounting, and plate-registration operations that typify traditional printing technologies, practitioners have developed electronic alternatives that store the imagewise pattern in digital form and impress the pattern directly onto the plate. Plate-imaging devices amenable to computer control include various forms of lasers. Three-layer plates, for example, are made ready for press use by image-wise exposure to imaging (e.g., infrared or “IR”) radiation that causes ablation of all or part of the central layer, destroying the bonding to the overlying (typically polymer) layer in the exposed areas. This may involve complete ablation of the central layer or ablation of its upper region.
[0003] Subsequently, the de-anchored overlying layer and the central layer are removed (at least partially) by a post-imaging cleaning process—e.g., rubbing of the plate with or without a cleaning liquid—to reveal the third layer (typically an oleophilic polymer, such as polyester). If the central layer is metal (e.g., a very thin layer of titanium), the entire layer will be ablated, and the final printing member will feature unexposed polymer areas over metal and the underlying polymer layer (or layers). If the central layer is polymeric, partial (but de-anchoring) ablation of the layer can be tolerated under either of two conditions: the remainder of the layer is removed by cleaning, or the central layer is oleophilic (so persistence of some portion of that layer, even after cleaning, does not affect the plate's lithographic performance). The edges of the printing member may be pinned to a plate cylinder by metal clamps, which, due to their mechanical association with the press, are electrically grounded.
[0004] This type of plate structure has a tendency to undergo triboelectric charging during printing due to repetitive cycles of contact with and separation from the press form rollers (which, like the topmost polymer plate layer, are made of insulating material). Because the clamps provide a ground path, electrostatic charge accumulating on regions of the plate held by clamps dissipates or never develops. But unimaged islands within the plate, which have both polymer and metal layers, are electrically isolated from the clamps. As a result, the accumulated charge is trapped in these regions. The charge build-up is cumulative and therefore increases as a function of the speed of the printing process. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,906, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.)
[0005] Under standard press operation conditions the static charge can build up rapidly and create high-voltage differences between the different areas of the printing member. The latter can lead to electrostatic discharge (“ESD”) events, when sudden and uncontrolled transfer of static charge occurs. The electrostatic energy is converted into heat that can cause severe damage to the fine features of an imaged plate, leading to unacceptable print-work.
[0006] In a waterless press (in which the printing member has, for example, a silicone topmost layer), the static charge accumulation and/or dissipation can be partially controlled by, for example, increasing the relative humidity of the room; using form rollers made of materials close to silicone in the triboelectric series; and/or using air-ionizing bars. These solutions are cumbersome and expensive, and frequently unrealistic in a commercial printing environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Embodiments of the present invention involve three-layer printing members having a central layer that is non-conductive but at least partially abalatable at commercially realistic fluence levels. In various embodiments, the central layer is polymeric with a dispersion therein of nonconductive carbon black particles at a loading level sufficient to provide layer ablatability.
[0008] Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention relates to a lithographic printing member comprising a first layer presenting a hydrophilic or oleophobic lithographic affinity; a second layer comprising a polymeric matrix and, dispersed therein, nonconductive carbon black particles at a loading level sufficient to provide water compatibility and at least partial layer ablatability and water compatibility of ablation debris; and a third layer presenting an oleophilic lithographic affinity. The second layer is disposed between the first and third layers. In dry-plate embodiments, the first layer may comprise or consist essentially of a silicone or fluorocarbon, whereas in wet-plate embodiments, the first layer may comprise or consist essentially of a polyvinyl alcohol. The third layer may be a polyester substrate or other oleophilic polymeric layer, or may instead be a metal layer. Even if polymeric, the third layer may be thick or sturdy enough to function as a substrate, or may instead be attached (e.g., laminated) to a metal sheet for dimensional stability.
[0009] Preferably, ablation debris generated by imaging the second layer is removable by contact with an aqueous liquid, i.e., it is water-compatible. The loading level may be sufficient to confer ablatability at a fluence of 400 mJ/cm 2 or less, and more preferably at a fluence of 300 mJ/cm 2 or less. The carbon loading level may be at least 25 wt %, although in various embodiments, it is at least 35 or 40 wt %. The second layer may have a dry coating weight of at least 0.2 g/m 2 , or at least 0.4 g/m 2 , or at least 0.8 g/m 2 , or at least 1.0 g/m 2 , or in some embodiments, at least 1.5 g/m 2 .
[0010] In another aspect, the invention pertains to a method of forming an imageable lithographic printing member. In various embodiments, the method comprises applying, to an ink-receptive layer, an imaging layer comprising a polymeric matrix and, dispersed therein, nonconductive carbon black particles at a loading level sufficient to provide at least partial layer ablatability and water compatibility of ablation debris. The imaging layer is then dried (and/or cured). To the finished imaging layer is applied a topmost coating which, when dried or cured, presents a hydrophilic or oleophobic lithographic affinity, and this layer, too, is dried (and/or cured).
[0011] Another aspect of the invention involves a method of imaging a lithographic printing member. In various embodiments, the method utilizes a lithographic printing member comprising (i) a first layer presenting a hydrophilic or oleophobic lithographic affinity, (ii) a second layer comprising a polymeric matrix and, dispersed therein, nonconductive carbon black particles at a loading level sufficient to provide at least partial layer ablatability, and (iii) a third layer presenting an oleophilic lithographic affinity (with the second layer disposed between the first and third layers). The printing member is exposed to imaging radiation in an imagewise pattern so as to ablate the second layer where exposed. Thereafter, the printing member is subjected to an aqueous liquid to remove imaged portions of the imaging layer, including ablation debris of the second layer, thereby creating an imagewise lithographic pattern on the printing member.
[0012] The aqueous liquid may consist essentially of water, e.g., it may be plain tap water. Alternatively, the aqueous liquid may comprise water and a component that eases the removal and silicone and carbon debris, facilitating faster and more efficient cleaning. For example, the aqueous liquid may include not more than 20% (or not more than 15%) by weight of an organic solvent, e.g., an alcohol, and the alcohol may be a glycol (e.g., propylene glycol), benzyl alcohol and/or phenoxyethanol. Alternatively or in addition, the aqueous liquid may comprise a surfactant. The aqueous liquid may be heated to a temperature greater than about 80° F.
[0013] Still another aspect of the invention involves a method of lithographic printing. In various embodiments, the method utilizes a lithographic printing member comprising (i) a first layer presenting an oleophobic lithographic affinity, (ii) a second layer comprising a polymeric matrix and, dispersed therein, nonconductive carbon black particles at a loading level sufficient to provide water compatibility and at least partial layer ablatability, and (iii) a third layer presenting an oleophilic lithographic affinity (where the second layer is disposed between the first and third layers). The printing member is exposed to imaging radiation in an imagewise pattern so as to at least partially ablate the second layer where exposed and thereby de-anchor the first layer. Thereafter, the printing member is subjected to an aqueous liquid to remove imaged portions of the imaging layer, thereby creating an imagewise lithographic pattern on the printing member. Following the removal step, the printing member is used in a printing press—i.e., ink is applied to the printing member (and adheres only to imaged portions of the printing member) and transferred from the printing member to a recording medium. The applying and transferring step occur without deleterious buildup of triboelectric charge (where “deleterious buildup” means, in this context, sufficient charge to create a visible defect in the printed copy).
[0014] It should be stressed that, as used herein, the term “plate” or “member” refers to any type of printing member or surface capable of recording an image defined by regions exhibiting differential affinities for ink and/or fountain solution. Suitable configurations include the traditional planar or curved lithographic plates that are mounted on the plate cylinder of a printing press, but can also include seamless cylinders (e.g., the roll surface of a plate cylinder), an endless belt, or other arrangement.
[0015] The term “hydrophilic” is used in the printing sense to connote a surface affinity for a fluid which prevents ink from adhering thereto. Such fluids include water for conventional ink systems, aqueous and non-aqueous dampening liquids, and the non-ink phase of single-fluid ink systems. Thus, a hydrophilic surface in accordance herewith exhibits preferential affinity for any of these materials relative to oil-based materials.
[0016] “Ablation” of a layer means either rapid phase transformation (e.g., vaporization) or catastrophic thermal overload, resulting in uniform layer decomposition. Typically, decomposition products are primarily gaseous. Optimal ablation involves substantially complete thermal decomposition (or pyrolysis) with limited melting or formation of solid decomposition products.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0017] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1A is a plan schematic illustration of a printing plate having a floating region vulnerable to charge buildup.
[0019] FIG. 1B is an elevational section taken along the line 1 B- 1 B, showing how charge can build up in the floating region.
[0020] FIG. 1C illustrates the type of printing defect that can result.
[0021] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a printing member according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] 1. Problem Addressed by the Present Invention
[0023] Refer first to FIG. 1 , which illustrates the problem addressed by the present invention. A prior-art printing plate 100 is pinned, by means of a pair of end clamps 105 a , 105 b , to the plate cylinder of a printing press or a platesetter. End clamps 105 are grounded through mechanical connection to the machine frame. Printing plate 100 is imaged by ablation using imaging apparatus as described below.
[0024] The prior-art plate 100 has been imaged so as to produce a thin, frame-like image area 110 . This area encloses an unimaged region 112 , and is surrounded by a larger unimaged region 114 in electrical contact with both clamps 105 a , 105 b . As a result, when the plate 100 is used to print, ink is received only by image area 110 , and the printed copy is a replica of this area.
[0025] FIG. 1B shows a cross-section of plate 100 through the imaged region 110 . The plate itself is a three-layer construction having a topmost layer 120 chosen for its lithographic affinity; a metal ablation layer 125 , which is selectively destroyed by imaging radiation; and a substrate 130 whose lithographic affinity is opposite to that of the layer 120 . For example, topmost layer 120 may be silicone; ablation layer 125 may be titanium; and substrate 130 may be polyester, all in accordance with the U.S. Patent No. Re. 33,512 (“the '512 patent”). The result is a dry plate whose silicone surface 120 repels ink.
[0026] Where the plate 100 has been imaged to reveal layer 130 , the plate accepts ink; the imaged regions appear as slot-like gaps 135 . Removal of layer 120 above areas of layer 125 that have been destroyed may entail a post-imaging cleaning process (e.g., rubbing with or without a cleaning liquid as described, for example, in the '737 and '512 patents and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,580). Substrate 130 is in contact with a drum or plate cylinder 140 , which, like clamps 105 , is at ground potential.
[0027] Imaging and/or cleaning of plate 100 results in triboelectric charging—which may be negative or, as illustrated, positive—of region 112 , which is electrically isolated from the remainder 114 of layer 120 (and, hence, grounded clamps 105 ). Electrostatic charge buildup can also occur during printing, i.e., as ink is transferred to and from plate 110 on a press. Electrostatic charge does not accumulate on region 114 because of the contact with clamps 105 .
[0028] If layers 120 , 130 are nonconductive, dielectric materials, region 112 behaves as a capacitor. The larger the area of region 112 , the more charge it can accumulate, and the greater will be the potential difference between region 112 and ground. If this voltage is large enough and image area 110 thin enough (or, with reference to FIG. 1B , if gaps 135 are narrow enough), the charge can arc from region 112 to area 114 (i.e., across gaps 135 ). Arcing results in destruction of a small additional portion of layer 120 in the region of the arc, producing a widening or puckering the image region 110 . The affected areas accept ink although they were not imaged by the laser, and manifest themselves as a series of visible defects 150 (see FIG. 1C ) that mark where arcing occurred.
[0029] Obviously the depicted configuration represents a highly simplified plate image, but similar defects can occur even in more detailed image patterns. For example, the contents of area 114 are essentially irrelevant to the accumulation of static charge on area 112 , and arcing can occur wherever the image area 110 narrows sufficiently. The factors that favor defects 150 are a large, electrically isolated area 112 , a sufficiently thin image region 110 , and adjacent regions having path to ground.
[0030] 2. Printing Members
[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a negative-working printing member 200 according to the present invention that includes a substrate 202 , a polymeric imaging layer 204 , and a topmost layer 206 . Layer 204 is sensitive to imaging (generally IR) radiation as discussed below, and imaging of the printing member 200 (by exposure to IR radiation) results in imagewise ablation of the layer 204 . The resulting de-anchorage of topmost layer 206 facilitates its removal by rubbing or simply as a result of contact during the print “make ready” process. Preferably, the ablation debris of layer 204 is chemically compatible with water in the sense of being acted upon, and removed by, an aqueous liquid following imaging.
[0032] Substrate 202 (or a layer thereover) exhibits a lithographic affinity opposite that of topmost layer 206 . Consequently, ablation of layer 204 , followed by imagewise removal of the topmost layer 206 to reveal an underlying layer or the substrate 202 , results in a lithographic image.
[0033] Most of the films used in the present invention are “continuous” in the sense that the underlying surface is completely covered with a uniform layer of the deposited material.
[0034] Each of these layers and their functions is described in detail below.
[0035] 2.1 Substrate 202
[0036] The substrate provides dimensionally stable mechanical support to the printing member. The substrate should be strong, stable, and flexible. One or more surfaces (and, in some cases, bulk components) of the substrate may be hydrophilic. The topmost surface, however, is generally oleophilic. Suitable materials include, but are not limited to, polymers, metals and paper, but generally, it is preferred to have a polymeric ink-accepting layer (e.g., applied over a metal or paper support). As used herein, the term “substrate” refers generically to the ink-accepting layer beneath the radiation-sensitive layer 204 , although the substrate may, in fact, include multiple layers (e.g., an oleophilic film laminated to an optional metal support 210 , such as an aluminum sheet having a thickness of at least 0.001 inch, or an oleophilic coating over an optional paper support).
[0037] Substrate 202 desirably also exhibits high scattering with respect to imaging radiation. This allows full utilization of the radiation transmitted through overlying layers, as the scattering causes back-reflection into layer 204 and consequent increases in thermal efficiency.
[0038] Polymers suitable for use in substrates according to the invention include, but are not limited to, polyesters (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate), polycarbonates, polyurethane, acrylic polymers, polyamide polymers, phenolic polymers, polysulfones, polystyrene, and cellulose acetate. A preferred polymeric substrate is polyethylene terephthalate film, such as the polyester films available from DuPont-Teijin Films, Hopewell, VA under the trademarks MYLAR and MELINEX, for example. Also suitable are the white polyester products from DuPont-Teijin such as MELINEX 927W, 928W 329, 329S, 331.
[0039] Polymeric substrates can be coated with a hard polymer transition layer to improve the mechanical strength and durability of the substrate and/or to alter the hydrophilicity or oleophilicity of the surface of the substrate. Ultraviolet or electron-beam cured acrylate coatings, for example, are suitable for this purpose. Polymeric substrates can have thicknesses ranging from about 50 μm to about 500 μm or more, depending on the specific printing member application. For printing members in the form of rolls, thicknesses of about 200 μm are preferred. For printing members that include transition layers, polymer substrates having thicknesses of about 50 μm to about 100 μm are preferred.
[0040] 2.2 Layer 204
[0041] The layer 204 can be any polymer capable of stably retaining, at the applied thickness, an IR-absorptive pigment dispersion (generally nonconductive carbon black) adequate to cause ablation of the layer in response to an imaging pulse; and of exhibiting water compatibility following ablation. Furthermore, in embodiments where layer 204 is only partially ablated, it is either (a) sufficiently water-compatible to be fully removed during cleaning, or (b) oleophilic if some of layer remains even after cleaning. It is found that the nonconductive carbon black enhances, or even confers, the desired water compatibility of layer 204 or the ablation debris thereof. Layer 204 should exhibit good adhesion to the overlying layer 206 , and resistance to age-related degradation may also be considered.
[0042] In general, pigment loading levels are at least 25 wt %, and the coating is applied at a dry weight of at least 0.2 g/m 2 , or at least 0.4 g/m 2 , or at least 0.8 g/m 2 , or at least 1.0 g/m 2 , or in some embodiments, at least 1.5 g/m 2 . Representative materials include BAKELITE (phenol formaldehyde) and other phenolic resins, vinyl chloride resins, acrylic resins, and/or polyvinyl butyral.
[0043] Other suitable materials include polymers formed from maleic anhydride and one or more styrenic monomers (that is, styrene and styrene derivatives having various substituents on the benzene ring), polymers formed from methyl methacrylate and one or more carboxy-containing monomers, and mixtures thereof. These polymers can comprise recurring units derived from the noted monomers as well as recurring units derived from additional, but optional, monomers (e.g., (meth)acrylates, (meth)acrylonitrile and (meth)acrylamides). The carboxy-containing recurring units can be derived, for example, from acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid, and similar monomers known in the art. Other suitable materials include polymer binders having pendant epoxy groups. Particularly useful polymers of this type have pendant epoxy groups attached to the polymer backbone through a carboxylic acid ester group such as a substituted or unsubstituted —C(O)O-alkylene, —C(O)O-alkylene-phenylene-, or —C(O)O-phenylene group wherein the alkylene has 1 to 4 carbon atoms. Preferred ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable monomers having pendant epoxy groups useful to make these polymer binders include glycidyl acrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, 3,4-epoxycyclohexyl methacrylate, and 3,4-epoxycyclohexyl acrylate. The epoxy-containing polymers can also comprise recurring units derived from one or more ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable monomers that do not have pendant epoxy groups including but not limited to, (meth)acrylates, (meth)acrylamides, vinyl ether, vinyl esters, vinyl ketones, olefins, unsaturated imides (such as maleimide), N-vinyl pyrrolidones, N-vinyl carbazole, vinyl pyridines, (meth)acrylonitriles, and styrenic monomers. Of these, the (meth)acrylates, (meth)acrylamides, and styrenic monomers are preferred and the styrenic monomers are most preferred. For example, a styrenic monomer could be used in combination with methacrylamide, acrylonitrile, maleimide, vinyl acetate, or N-vinyl pyrrolidone.
[0044] Other useful materials include polyvinyl acetals, (meth)acrylic resins comprising carboxy groups, vinyl acetate crotonate-vinyl neodecanoate copolymer phenolic resins, maleated wood rosins, styrene-maleic anhydride co-polymers, (meth)acrylamide polymers, polymers derived from an N-substituted cyclic imide, and combinations thereof. Particularly useful materials include polyvinyl acetals, and copolymers derived from an N-substituted cyclic imide (especially N-phenylmaleimide), a (meth)acrylamide (especially methacrylamide), and a (meth)acrylic acid (especially methacrylic acid). The preferred polymeric materials of this type are copolymers that comprise from about 20 to about 75 mol % and preferably about 35 to about 60 mol % of recurring units derived from N-phenylmaleimide, N-cyclohexylmaleimide, N-benzylmaleimide, or a mixture thereof; from about 10 to about 50 mol % and preferably from about 15 to about 40 mol % of recurring units derived from acrylamide, methacrylamide, or a mixture thereof; and from about 5 to about 30 mol % and preferably about 10 to about 30 mol % of recurring units derived from methacrylic acid. Other hydrophilic monomers, such as hydroxyethyl methacrylate, may be used in place of some or all of the methacrylamide. Other alkaline-soluble monomers, such as acrylic acid, may be used in place of some or all of the methacrylic acid.
[0045] Other suitable polymeric materials include resins having activated methylol and/or activated alkylated methylol groups. Such resins include, for example, resole resins and their alkylated analogs, methylol melamine resins and their alkylated analogs (e.g., melamine-formaldehyde resins), methylol glycoluril resins and alkylated analogs (e.g., glycoluril-formaldehyde resins), thiourea-formaldehyde resins, guanamine-formaldehyde resins, and benzoguanamine-formaldehyde resins. Commercially available melamine-formaldehyde resins and glycoluril-formaldehyde resins include, for example, CYMEL resins (Dyno Cyanamid) and NIKALAC resins (Sanwa Chemical). The resin having activated methylol and/or activated alkylated methylol groups is preferably a resole resin or a mixture of resole resins. Resole resins are well known to those skilled in the art. They are prepared by reaction of a phenol with an aldehyde under basic conditions using an excess of phenol. Commercially available resole resins include, for example, GP649D99 resole (Georgia Pacific).
[0046] 2.3 Topmost Layer 206
[0047] The topmost layer participates in printing and provides the requisite lithographic affinity difference with respect to substrate 202 . In addition, the topmost layer 206 may help to control the imaging process by modifying the heat dissipation characteristics of the printing member at the air-imaging layer interface. Topmost layer is substantially (i.e., >90%) transparent to imaging radiation.
[0048] In dry-plate embodiments, suitable materials for topmost layer 110 include silicone polymers, fluoropolymers, and fluoro-silicone polymers. Silicone polymers are based on the repeating diorganosiloxane unit (R 2 SiO) n , where R is an organic radical or hydrogen and n denotes the number of units in the polymer chain. Fluorosilicone polymers are a particular type of silicone polymer wherein at least a portion of the R groups contain one or more fluorine atoms. The physical properties of a particular silicone polymer depend upon the length of its polymer chain, the nature of its R groups, and the terminal groups on the end of its polymer chain. Any suitable silicone polymer known in the art may be incorporated into or used for the surface layer 206 .
[0049] Silicone polymers are typically prepared by cross-linking (or “curing”) diorganosiloxane units to form polymer chains. The resulting silicone polymers can be linear or branched. A number of curing techniques are well known in the art, including condensation curing, addition curing, moisture curing. In addition, silicone polymers can include one or more additives, such as adhesion modifiers, rheology modifiers, colorants, and radiation-absorbing pigments, for example. Other options include silicone acrylate monomers, i.e., modified silicone molecules that incorporate “free radical” reactive acrylate groups or “cationic acid” reactive epoxy groups along and/or at the ends of the silicone polymer backbone. These are cured by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) and electron radiation sources. This type of silicone polymer can also include additives such as adhesion promoters, acrylate diluents, and multifunctional acrylate monomer to promote abrasion resistance, for example.
[0050] Examples of suitable fluoropolymers include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), perfluoroalkoxy (PFA), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polytetrafluoroethylene perfluoromethylvinylether (MFA), or tetrafluoroethylene hexafluoropropylene vinylidene (THV). Any suitable fluoropolymer known in the art may be incorporated into or used for the surface layer 110 .
[0051] In wet-plate embodiments, suitable materials for topmost layers 206 include hydrophilic polymers, such as polyalkyl ethers, polyhydroxyl compounds, and polycarboxylic acids, or oleo. For example, a hydrophilic topmost layer may include a fully hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol (e.g., CELVOL 305, 325 and 425 sold by Celanese Chemicals, Ltd. Dallas, Tex.), which are usually manufactured by hydrolysis of polyvinyl acetates. The use of fully hydrolyzed alcohol is preferred to assure that residual non-hydrolyzed acetate does not affect the hydrophilic behavior of the surface. The presence of residual polyvinyl acetate moieties in the topmost layer promotes interaction of the non-image areas of the printing member with printing inks, which can diminish print quality.
[0052] Topmost layers are typically applied between 0.05 and 2.5 g/m 2 using coating techniques known in the art, such as wire-wound rod coating, reverse roll coating, gravure coating, or slot die coating. For example, in particular embodiments, the topmost layer is applied using a wire-round rod, followed by drying in a convection oven. In various embodiments, the topmost layer is applied between 0.2 and 2.5 g/m 2 , e.g., 1.0 to 2.0 g/m 2 . In one embodiment, the topmost layer is applied between 0.2 and 0.9 g/m 2 to create a process-free printing member. Applications from 1.0 to 2.5 g/m 2 create a more durable printing member, but these generally require a mild processing such as water rinse and wipe prior to press use.
[0053] 3. Imaging Apparatus
[0054] An imaging apparatus suitable for use in conjunction with the present printing members includes at least one laser device that emits in the region of maximum plate responsiveness, i.e., whose λ max closely approximates the wavelength region where the plate absorbs most strongly. Specifications for lasers that emit in the near infrared (IR) region are fully described in the '512 patent and U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,092 (“the '092 patent”), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Lasers emitting in other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are well-known to those skilled in the art.
[0055] Suitable imaging configurations are also set forth in detail in the '512 and '092 patents. Briefly, laser output can be provided directly to the plate surface via lenses or other beam-guiding components, or transmitted to the surface of a blank printing plate from a remotely sited laser using a fiber-optic cable. A controller and associated positioning hardware maintain the beam output at a precise orientation with respect to the plate surface, scan the output over the surface, and activate the laser at positions adjacent selected points or areas of the plate. The controller responds to incoming image signals corresponding to the original document or picture being copied onto the plate to produce a precise negative or positive image of that original. The image signals are stored as a bitmap data file on a computer. Such files may be generated by a raster image processor (“RIP”) or other suitable means. For example, a RIP can accept input data in page-description language, which defines all of the features required to be transferred onto the printing plate, or as a combination of page-description language and one or more image data files. The bitmaps are constructed to define the hue of the color as well as screen frequencies and angles.
[0056] Other imaging systems, such as those involving light valving and similar arrangements, can also be employed; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,577,932; 5,517,359; 5,802,034; and 5,861,992, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Moreover, it should also be noted that image spots may be applied in an adjacent or in an overlapping fashion.
[0057] The imaging apparatus can operate on its own, functioning solely as a platemaker, or can be incorporated directly into a lithographic printing press. In the latter case, printing may commence immediately after application of the image to a blank plate, thereby reducing press set-up time considerably. The imaging apparatus can be configured as a flatbed recorder or as a drum recorder, with the lithographic plate blank mounted to the interior or exterior cylindrical surface of the drum. Obviously, the exterior drum design is more appropriate to use in situ, on a lithographic press, in which case the print cylinder itself constitutes the drum component of the recorder or plotter.
[0058] In the drum configuration, the requisite relative motion between the laser beam and the plate is achieved by rotating the drum (and the plate mounted thereon) about its axis and moving the beam parallel to the rotation axis, thereby scanning the plate circumferentially so the image “grows” in the axial direction. Alternatively, the beam can move parallel to the drum axis and, after each pass across the plate, increment angularly so that the image on the plate “grows” circumferentially. In both cases, after a complete scan by the beam, an image corresponding (positively or negatively) to the original document or picture will have been applied to the surface of the plate.
[0059] In the flatbed configuration, the beam is drawn across either axis of the plate, and is indexed along the other axis after each pass. Of course, the requisite relative motion between the beam and the plate may be produced by movement of the plate rather than (or in addition to) movement of the beam. Examples of useful imaging devices include models of the TRENDSETTER imagesetters (available from Eastman Kodak Company) that utilize laser diodes emitting near-IR radiation at a wavelength of about 830 nm. Other suitable exposure units include the CRESCENT 42T Platesetter (operating at a wavelength of 1064 nm, available from Gerber Scientific, Chicago, Ill.) and the SCREEN PLATERITE 4300 series or 8600 series plate-setter (available from Screen, Chicago, Ill.).
[0060] Regardless of the manner in which the beam is scanned, in an array-type system for on-press applications it is generally preferable to employ a plurality of lasers and guide their outputs to a single writing array. The writing array is then indexed, after completion of each pass across or along the plate, a distance determined by the number of beams emanating from the array, and by the desired resolution (i.e., the number of image points per unit length). Off-press applications, which can be designed to accommodate very rapid scanning (e.g., through use of high-speed motors, mirrors, etc.) and thereby utilize high laser pulse rates, can frequently utilize a single laser as an imaging source.
[0061] 4. Imaging and Printing
[0062] When exposed to an imaging pulse, the exposed area of layer 204 absorbs the imaging pulse and converts it to heat. The heat builds up until the layer 204 ablates. After imaging, the topmost layer 206 is de-anchored in the areas that received imaging radiation. The exposed areas that contain ablation debris are purged of the debris prior to printing
[0063] Because the ablation debris generated by layer 204 is water-compatible, in some embodiments, the debris is removed during print “make ready.” Otherwise, the printing member may be subjected to the action of an aqueous liquid by manual or mechanical means. The aqueous liquid may consist essentially of water, e.g., it may be plain tap water. Alternatively, the aqueous liquid may comprise water and not more than 20% (or not more than 15%) by weight of an organic solvent, e.g., an alcohol. The alcohol may be a glycol (e.g., propylene glycol), benzyl alcohol and/or phenoxyethanol. In some embodiments, the aqueous liquid may comprise a surfactant. The aqueous liquid may be heated to a temperature greater than about 80° F. prior to being applied to the imaged printing member.
[0064] Water-miscible solvents that may be present include, but are not limited to, the reaction products of phenol with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide such as ethylene glycol phenyl ether (phenoxyethanol), esters of ethylene glycol and of propylene glycol with acids having six or fewer carbon atoms, and ethers of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and of propylene glycol with alkyl groups having six or fewer carbon atoms, such as 2-ethoxyethanol and 2-butoxyethanol. A single organic solvent or a mixture of organic solvents can be used. By “water-miscible” is meant that the organic solvent or mixture of organic solvents is either miscible with water or sufficiently soluble in the aqueous liquid that phase separation does not occur.
[0065] The aqueous liquid may be an aqueous solution having a pH greater than 2 and up to about 11, and typically from about 6 to about 11, or from about 6 to about 10.5, as adjusted using a suitable amount of an acid or base. The viscosity of the processing solution can be adjusted to a value of from about 1.7 to about 5 cP by adding a suitable amount of a viscosity-increasing compound such as a poly(vinyl alcohol) or poly(ethylene oxide).
[0066] As noted above, the aqueous liquid may include one or more surfactants. Useful anionic surfactants include those with carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid, or phosphonic acid groups (or salts thereof). Anionic surfactants having sulfonic acid (or salts thereof) groups are particularly useful. For example, anionic surfactants can include aliphates, abietates, hydroxyalkanesulfonates, alkanesulfonates, dialkylsulfosuccinates, alkyldiphenyloxide disulfonates, straight-chain alkylbenzenesulfonates, branched alkylbenzenesulfonates, alkylnaphthalenesulfonates, alkylphenoxypolyoxy-ethylenepropylsulfonates, salts of polyoxyethylene alkylsulfonophenyl ethers, sodium N-methyl-N-oleyltaurates, monoamide disodium N-alkylsulfosuccinates, petroleum sulfonates, sulfated castor oil, sulfated tallow oil, salts of sulfuric esters of aliphatic alkylester, salts of alkylsulfuric esters, sulfuric esters of polyoxy-ethylene alkylethers, salts of sulfuric esters of aliphatic monoglucerides, salts of sulfuric esters of polyoxyethylenealkylphenylethers, salts of sulfuric esters of polyoxyethylenestyrylphenylethers, salts of alkylphosphoric esters, salts of phosphoric esters of polyoxyethylenealkylethers, salts of phosphoric esters of polyoxyethylenealkylphenylethers, partially saponified compounds of styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers, partially saponified compounds of olefin-maleic anhydride copolymers, and naphthalenesulfonateformalin condensates. Alkyldiphenyloxide disulfonates (such as sodium dodecyl phenoxy benzene disulfonates), alkylated naphthalene sulfonic acids, sulfonated alkyl diphenyl oxides, and methylene dinaphthalene sulfonic acids) are particularly useful as the primary anionic surfactant. Such surfactants can be obtained from various suppliers as described in McCutcheon's Emulsifiers & Detergents, 2007 Edition.
[0067] Particular examples of useful anionic surfactants include, but are not limited to, sodium dodecylphenoxyoxybenzene disulfonate, the sodium salt of alkylated naphthalenesulfonate, disodium methylene-dinaphthalene disulfonate, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sulfonated alkyl-diphenyloxide, ammonium or potassium perfluoroalkylsulfonate and sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate. The one or more anionic surfactants can be generally present in an amount of at least 1 wt % (% solids), and typically from about 5 wt % up to about 45%, e.g., up to about 30 weight %. In some embodiments, the one or more anionic surfactants can be present in an amount of from about 8 to about 20 wt %.
[0068] The aqueous liquid may optionally include one or more nonionic surfactants. Particularly useful nonionic surfactants include MAZOL PG031-K (a triglycerol monooleate, TWEEN 80 (a sorbitan derivative), PLURONIC L62LF (a block copolymer of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide), and ZONYL FSN (a fluorocarbon), and/or a nonionic surfactant for successfully coating the processing solution onto the printing plate surface, such as a nonionic polyglycol. These nonionic surfactants can be present in an amount of up to 10 wt %, but usually at less than 2 wt %.
[0069] Printing with the printing member includes applying ink to at least a portion of the printing member, preferably the oleophilic exposed areas. The ink is transferred in the imagewise lithographic pattern (created as described above) to a recording medium such as paper. The inking and transferring steps may be repeated a desired number of times, e.g., the approximately 5,000 to approximately 20,000 times in a low to medium printing run.
EXAMPLES
Examples 1 and 2
[0070] Waterless printing plates in accordance with the invention generally include a carbon-polymer composite imaging layer 204 and an oleophobic top layer 206 disposed on a polyester substrate 202 . A preferred substrate is a 175 μm white polyester film sold by DuPont Teijin Films (Hopewell, Va.) labeled MELINEX 331.
[0071] Suitable formulations for the carbon-polymer imaging layer are described below.
[0000]
Parts
Component
Example 1
Example 2
HRJ 12362
1.46
1.82
Micropigmo AMBK-2
5.83
—
Renol Black RH HW30
—
9.56
Cymel 385
0.44
0.55
Cycat 4040
0.44
0.55
BYK 307
0.09
0.09
Dowanol PM
91.75
87.44
[0072] HRJ-12362 is a phenol formaldehyde thermosetting resin supplied as a 72 wt % solid in a 60% n-butanol solution by the SI Group, Inc. (Schenedtady, N.Y.). MICROPIGMO AMBK-2 is a 20% solids proprietary carbon dispersion supplied by Orient Corporation of America (Kenilworth, N.J.). RENOL BLACK R-HW 30 is a carbon black preparation available from Clariant International Ltd. (Switzerland) in a granular form with a low-viscosity polyvinyl butyral binder. CYMEL 385 is a methylated high imino melamine crosslinker supplied by Cytek industries, Inc. (West Paterson, N.J.). CYCAT 4040 is p-toluenesulfonic acid catalyst supplied as a 40% solution in isopropanol by Cytek Industries, Inc. BYK 307 is a polyether-modified polydimethylsiloxane surfactant supplied by BYK Chemie (Wallingford, Conn.). The solvent, DOWANOL PM, is propylene glycol methyl ether available from the Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.).
[0073] The coating solutions were applied to the substrate using a wire-round rod and then dried and cured at 178° C. for one minute to produce dried coatings of about 1.0 g/m 2 . The oleophobic silicone top layer of the plate members was subsequently applied to the dried carbon layer. Suitable formulations well known and described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,048 (the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference).
[0000]
Component
Supplier
Parts
PLY 7500P
Nusil Silicone Technology,
8.55
Charlotte, NC
DC Syl-off 7367
Univar USA Inc., Atlanta, GA
0.37
CPC072
Umicore Precious Metals, S.
0.12
Plainfield, NJ
Heptane
Houghton Chemicals, Allston,
90.96
MA
[0074] The resulting formulation was applied with a wire-round rod and dried and cured at 138° C. for about one minute to provide a coating of about 1.1 g/m 2 .
[0075] The plates were imaged and cleaned on-press on a Presstek 34DI digital offset printing press. Imaging was carried out with Presstek's PROFIRE EXCEL imaging head at a power of about 300 mJ/cm 2 . Once imaging was completed, the plate was cleaned in a two-step automatic cleaning process involving rubbing against a dry roller and a towel impregnated with a glycol solution.
[0076] Plates made as set forth above, and having image patterns susceptible to discharge problems, were selected for testing. These were run on-press under conditions guaranteed to produce ESD events (Using Wero D403-13 ink rubber rollers manufactured by Westland Gummiwerke GmbH & Co. (Germany)). The plates were run under these conditions for more than 1,000 impressions, and the resulting printed images did not show any sign of ESD defects. (Presstek's PEARLDRY product, which contains a metal imaging layer, was run under the same conditions and displayed ESD defects from the start of the press run; these worsened over time.)
[0077] Other parameters considered during the evaluation of a printing plate are durability and environmental stability. These were tested in the laboratory by assessing adhesion (using a X-hatch adhesive test) and solvent resistance (using MEK and heptane rubs) of fresh plates stored at ambient conditions and plates aged in an environmental chamber at 80° C. and 75% RH for 18 hours. In the adhesive test, adhesion of the silicone coating to the metal layer is evaluated, visually and by optical-microscopy inspection, to determine whether the silicone coating can be removed with adhesive tape. The MEK test involves evaluation of silicone loss after applying MEK rubs using a five-pound load under reciprocation on a surface of about 20 cm in length; the cycle is repeated to the point of visual evidence failure. The heptane test involves evaluation of silicone loss after applying 10 heptane rubs using a five-pound load under reciprocation on a surface of about 20 cm in length.
[0078] The results of these test carried out on the plates of Examples 1 and 2, and the standard PEARLDRY plate, are summarized in the following table.
[0000]
Plate Stored @ Standard Conditions
Aged Plate
Sample
X-hatch Test
MEK
Heptane
MEK
Heptane
Pearldry
Pass
10-15
Pass
10-15
Pass
Example 1
Pass
>50
Pass
>50
Pass
Example 2
Pass
>50
Pass
>50
Pass
[0079] The laboratory test shows that the plates of Examples 1 and 2 display excellent wear and solvent resistance, which is not affected by exposure to extreme high temperature and humidity conditions.
Examples 3-5
[0080] Plates similar to those of Example 2 were prepared using carbon imaging formulations with different polymer co-binder resins. Formulation examples are given below for carbon layers made with the RENOL BLACK RH-HW30 carbon dispersion, but the MICROPIGMO AMBK-2 dispersion could also have been used.
[0000]
Parts
Component
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
Vinnol E-15/48A
1.82
—
—
Novolak P2
—
1.82
—
Acryloid B-44
—
—
1.82
Renol Black RH HW30
9.56
9.56
9.56
Cymel 385
0.55
0.55
0.55
Cycat 4040
0.55
0.55
0.55
BYK 307
0.09
0.09
0.09
Dowanol PM
87.66
87.66
87.66
[0081] VINNOL E-15/48A is a vinyl chloride coating resin with hydroxyl functional groups available from Wacker Chemie AG (Germany). NOVOLAK P2 is an o-cresol and p-cresol phenolic resin supplied by Diversitec Corporation (Fort Collins, Colo.). ACRYLOID B-44 is a solid thermoplastic acrylic resin available from Rhom and Haas (Philadelphia, Pa.).
[0082] These carbon formulations were applied with a wire-round rod and dried and cured at 178° C. for about one minute to provide a coating of about 1.0 g/m 2 . Next, the silicone formulation given in the previous examples was applied.
[0083] Plates in accordance with these formulations were imaged, cleaned, and tested on press as described in Examples 1 and 2. The resulting printing members ran without exhibiting any ESD-related defects.
Example 6
[0084] In this example, the carbon and silicone layers as described in Example 1 were applied as described above onto a 200 μm (0.008 inch) anodized aluminum alloy (Alcoa, Pittsburgh, Pa.). The alloy was electrochemically etched and anodized to provide an anodic layer with Ra values in the order of 0.300 μm.
[0085] The plate was imaged, cleaned and ran on a Presstek 34 DI digital offset printing press as described in Examples 1 and 2. The cleaning process allows for complete removal of the silicone layer and partial removal of the carbon-loaded imaging layer in the exposed areas of the plate. Any residual carbon left on the exposed areas enhances the ink receptivity of the image areas of the plate. This printing member was run for more than 1,000 impressions without showing any ESD defects.
Example 7
[0086] The approach of Example 1 was utilized on a thin (50 μm) polyester substrate, which was laminated to a 150 μm coil of aluminum 3103 alloy (Alcoa, Pittsburgh, Pa.). Lamination was performed using a 100% solids acrylate adhesive formulation supplied by DynaTech Adhesives & Coatings (Grafton, W. Va.), which is cured with an e-beam radiation source. This embodiment is intended to expand the use of printing members made on polyester substrates to platemaker applications. The aluminum base facilitates handling of the plate (principally preventing stretching on-press).
Example 8
[0087] A plate made in accordance with Example 1 was imaged off-press and cleaned with water in a plate washer. Specifically, the plate was imaged on a KODAK TRENDSETTER image setter at a power of 300 mJ/cm 2 , and cleaned automatically on a KP 650/860 S-CH plate washer from Konings (Germany). In this machine, the plates are cleaned with tap water at about 90° F. by means of two roller brushes that rotate and move up and down continuously. The plate processor was operated at a throughput speed of 1.9 feet/min and using a brush speed of 500 rpm.
[0088] The cleaned plate was run on a GTO Heidelberg press using black ink and uncoated stock. Under these conditions the printing member was run for 40,000 impressions with no signs of wear or scratch failure.
Example 9
[0089] A plate in accordance with Example 6 was imaged off-press and cleaned with water in a plate washer. The plate was imaged on a KODAK TRENDSETTER image setter using a power of 350 mJ/cm 2 and cleaned on the KPH65/860 S-CH Konings plate washer described in Example 8. The plate was run on a GTO Heidelberg press for more than 50,000 impressions.
Example 10
[0090] The carbon image layer formulation given below was applied to 200 μm (0.008 inch) coil of anodized aluminum alloy (Alcoa, Pittsburgh, Pa.) using a wire-round rod and then dried and cured at 178° C. for one minute to produce dried coatings of about 0.75 g/m 2 .
[0000]
Component
Parts
HRJ 12362
1.00
Micropigmo AMBK-2
7.00
Cymel 385
0.40
Cycat 4040
0.40
BYK 307
0.10
Dowanol PM
91.1
[0091] The oleophobic silicone top layer was subsequently applied to the dried carbon-containing layer as described in previous examples. The resulting plate was imaged on a KODAK TRENDSETTER image setter at the lowest acceptable exposure of 270 mJ/cm 2 and cleaned automatically with water at 90° F. on a KP 650/860 S-CH plate washer from Konings, as described in Example 8.
[0092] The cleaned plate was run on a GTO Heidelberg press for 40,000 impression using black ink and uncoated stock.
Example 11
[0093] A plate made in accordance with Example 1 was imaged off-press on a KODAK TRENDSETTER image setter at a power of 300 mJ/cm 2 and cleaned automatically on the Aquascrubber AS34(E) plate washer manufactured by NES Worldwide Inc. (Westfield, Mass.). In this machine, the plates are cleaned with tap warm water (90° F.) by means of rotary scrub rollers.
[0094] The cleaned plate was run on a GTO Heidelberg press to at least 2,000 impressions using black ink and uncoated stock.
Example 12
[0095] A plate made in accordance with Example 1 was imaged off-press on a KODAK TRENDSETTER image setter at a power of 300 mJ/cm 2 and manually cleaned at room temperature with the HP-7N manual developer from Toray International America (New York, N.Y.).
[0096] The cleaned plate was run on a GTO Heidelberg press to at least 2,000 impression using black ink and uncoated stock.
Example 13
[0097] A plate made in accordance with Example 1 was imaged off-press on a KODAK TRENDSETTER image setter at a power of 300 mJ/cm 2 and cleaned in a two-step process. In the first step, the plate was presoaked for two minutes in a diluted water solution (one part to four) of the DP-1 CTP machine pretreatment solution from Toray (Toray International America, NY). In the second step, the plate was water-cleaned on the automatic KP 650/860 S-CH plate washer from Konings (Germany). The plate processor was operated with tap water at about 90° F. and at a throughput of 1.9 feet/min.
[0098] The cleaned plate was run on a GTO Heidelberg press for at least 2,000 impression using black ink and uncoated stock.
[0099] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific details, it is not intended that such details should be regarded as limitations upon the scope of the invention, except as and to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims. | Embodiments of the present invention involve three-layer printing members having a central layer that is non-conductive yet abalatable at commercially realistic fluence levels. In various embodiments, the central layer is polymeric with a dispersion of nonconductive carbon black particles therein at a loading level sufficient to provide at least partial layer ablatability and water compatibility of the resulting ablation debris. | 1 |
REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
The present patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 626,671 filed Dec. 12, 1990 for a COMPUTER GAME CONTROLLER WITH USER-SELECTABLE ACTUATION, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,584 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 407,468 filed Sep. 15, 1989 for a FOOT CONTROLLED COMPUTER GAME CONTROLLER WITH DETACHABLE WEIGHT HAND SWITCHES, now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally concerns computer game controllers and exercise equipment controllers, and particularly controllers that are suitably actuated in various manners, including by the feet, for the control of computer games and exercise equipments. More specifically, this invention concerns user-adjustable sensor cartridge assemblies for use with video game controllers to selectively position sensors within the assembly housing and relative to the human user, giving the user control over the degree of exertion.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There exist many different types of controllers for computer games, or exercise equipments, or the like. The controllers are selectively actuated by a human user to produce a signal input which the computer game, or exercise equipment, will use to produce a desired effect. These controllers--especially if intended for use with computer games or exercise equipments that elicit user-generated physical forces and/or agile motions for controller actuation--generally predetermine (i) the nature, (ii) the location(s), and (iii) the magnitude, of the forces and motions that must be generated by the user and applied to the controller.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,702 for a JOGGING GAME APPARATUS shows a mat upon which a user jogs in place in order to establish, and control, a simulated race on a game board between a game piece representing the user and a simulated competitive runner. The pace of the jogging is important for the user to win the race, but the magnitude or force of the user-generated jogging motion is not sensed, and the location of the user-generated jogging motion is predetermined.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,095 for an EXERCISE MONITOR SYSTEM AND METHOD shows an exerciser, such as a treadmill for running or an equivalent device for simulated cycling or rowing or the like, that is powered by the user. The user's speed, and progress, is interactive with the monitoring device, and system, so as to change the speed of an outdoors exercising scene that is presented to the user. Though the user may control the magnitude, and pace, of his/her exercise, the fundamental nature of the type of exercise motions--either walking, or jogging, or rowing, etc.-- that the user must supply in order to actuate the monitor system is predetermined. Additionally, the system is interactive with the user, monitoring the user to control the pace of presentations. This type of interactive presentation control is impractical for standard video tapes which run at a fixed and invariant speed on VCRs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,017 for a CONTROL UNIT for video games and the like shows control units actuated by both the hands and feet. The necessary actuation stimuli is, however, predetermined.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,567 for an EXERCISE BICYCLE APPARATUS PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR CONTROLLING VIDEO GAMES shows an exercise bicycle providing control signals based on the motion of the handlebars as well as on the speed at which the bicycle is pedalled. Although the rate, and type, of the actuating motion provided by the user to control the video game may, accordingly, be varied, the fundamental nature of the physical motions that must be undergone by the user in order to control the game are predetermined by the construction of the apparatus, and are neither user selectable nor user selected.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,864 for a HAND GRIP EXERCISING, COMPUTER GAME CONTROLLER shows a spring-loaded hand grip device producing a variable electrical signal in proportion to the force of actuation applied thereto. The signal that is generated in proportion to applied force--which force simulates throwing or hitting or kicking--is predetermined by the preset magnitude of the spring of the hand grip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,817 for a RECREATIONAL APPARATUS again shows a device, similar to the EXERCISE BICYCLE APPARATUS of U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,567, wherein substantial muscular exertion is required by an operator during the controlled play of a video game. Although the user can, by adjusting a resistance in the form of a spring, variably determine the magnitude of the force that must be applied to a cycling apparatus in order to actuate the video game, the user cannot vary the essential cycling nature of this applied force, nor the spatial dimensions of the cycling apparatus by which the force will be applied.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,789 for a VIDEO EXERCISER GAME FLOOR CONTROLLER WITH POSITION INDICATING FOOTPADS shows a floor controller using weight-sensitive pads. The pads occupy fixed positions, and are actuated in accordance with predetermined forces.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,787,624 and 4,801,137 do not concern video controllers at all, but do reveal that it is useful to an exercising user to be able to vary the weight of handles, or hand straps, that are used during physical exercises such as jumping rope.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,189 for a BODY-MOUNTED VIDEO GAME EXERCISE DEVICE shows a video game controller, attachable to the user's upper body, that is actuated by the leaning, bending, or other tilting of the user's upper body. A hand-held push button is attached to the controller via a flexible cord for additional control of the video game, such as the control of simulated firing.
The many previous controllers collectively indicate that it is desirable to allow a user to control different computer games, and to respond to different exercise regimens, by physically generating diverse motions and forces, at diverse rates and magnitudes, to a controller of the computer game or exercise equipment. Although the individual controllers span many different types of user-generated motions and forces, and occasionally permit the rates, or the magnitudes, of the required motion and force inputs to the controller to be preselected by the user, the individual game controllers are, in general, rigid in prescribing the nature and the location(s) of the motions and forces that the user must provide in order to satisfy the requirements of the game or exercise regimen.
Those controllers, or control systems, that permit the greatest flexibility in selecting among user-generated actuating motions and forces are often custom systems. These custom, interactive, controllers are unsuitable for the control of diverse standard computer games or video exercises where only a few simple signals (e.g., up, down, left, right, go (fire), or stop (don't fire)) control the progress, or score, within the game or exercise.
In certain videotaped exercise regimens and computer games it is desired to induce the user to undergo gross physical motions--jumping, hopping, reaching, forcibly contacting, etc.--in order to demonstrate, and to improve, his/her skill or fitness in controlling progress, and/or in obtaining a score, on the game or exercise. In these physical-type games and exercises it would be useful if users of differing physical fitness and energy levels were able to selectively, and variably, configure and reconfigure a universal controller so that a given game, or exercise, would accept different, variably predetermined, user-generated motions and forces in order to produce the same results. The user would desirably be able to preselect a universal computer game or exercise equipment controller in any of the (i) nature (ii) magnitude, or (iii) rate of the motions and forces that he/she will subsequently provide to the controller in order to register a certain level of progress, or score, on the computer game or on the exercise.
For example, advanced or physically fit users would be able to set up such a universal video exercise equipment, or computer game, controller so that it would subsequently require relatively more exacting, or more extensive, or more forceful, user-generated actuating motions and forces in order to accomplish the same results of play, or exercise, that less-advanced users could achieve by less aggressive actuation of the same controller, alternatively initialized. For example, the same user could preselect that same progress, or score, on a computer game that was at one session to be based on his or her agile movement of the legs and feet, would, at another session, be based on forceful strikes by the hands. Of course, if a particular computer game or exercise video were to suggest a certain manner of physical response--such as, for example, running and leaping--to which the user desired to adhere during play or exercise, it should be straightforward for the user to initialize and preselect the universal controller so that it will respond to the desired motions and forces.
In such a manner a controller universally user-configured in the motions and forces to which it responds might be variably customized to the requirements of individual users. It might be altered over time as an individual user either developed in strength or prowess, or desired a change in the nature of the physical motions and forces which he or she provides in order to actuate the computer game or exercise equipment. The set up, and the subsequent manual actuation, of such a variably configured controller would desirably be totally without effect on the computer game, or the exercise equipment (including VCRs playing predetermined exercise videotapes). The computer game, or exercise equipment, or videotape exercise, would proceed normally regardless of how an individual user variably configured his controller in any of the nature, magnitude, or rate of the motions and forces which he/she will provide.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention contemplates a human-actuated controller, electrically interfaced to a standard video game computer or the like, that is variably user-selectable and user-selected as to the user-generated physical motions and forces that the controller will accept. The selected physical motions and forces are provided by the user to the controller for the purpose of controlling the progression, or registering a score, on a computer game or an exercise equipment or the like.
An object of this invention is a controller electrically interfaced to a video game computer or the like and usable by a human player for the purpose of controlling a progression of a video game or the like. Such a controller has a plurality of individual sensors for individually detecting the presence of a human appendage and for individually producing in response to each such detection an individually-associated detection signal.
This controller also has a substantially planar matrix for holding each of the plurality of sensors at a position selectable by the player. A video game control unit, located remotely from any one of the sensors receives the individual detection signals from individual sensors and produces electrical signals suitable to be received by the video game computer or the like, for the purpose of controlling the progression of a video game or the like.
The physical position of individual sensors may be arbitrarily predetermined, at the human's discretion, so that his/her subsequent selective actuation of sensors with his/her appendage for controlling the progression of the video game, or the like, may be rendered relatively more or less difficult, depending upon the distance of separation, and the area covered, by the sensor's positioning.
In one embodiment of the controller of this invention, the plurality of sensors is organized in an array radiating from a central point of the controller matrix. The position of individual sensors within the array of sensors may be arbitrarily altered by the human user by variably positioning the sensor within a sensor assembly housing. The pattern of placement of four sensor assemblies may be such that each pair of assemblies is radially aligned through the center point of the matrix, in opposite fashion, along its axis and the line of one pair bisects and lies perpendicularly to the line of the other pair.
In a preferred embodiment, each of the radial array of independently activatable sensor assemblies houses an independently moveable sensor. In such case, the distance of separation and the area covered relative to the human player are dependent upon user-determined axial positioning of each individual sensor unit within its housing.
An associated object of this invention, is a controller electrically interfaced to a video game computer, or the like, having a platform, the upper surface of which is relatively flat and on which a human user may suitably stand. This controller has, at its lower surface, a multiplicity of points at which a plurality of sensor housings may be individually attached.
Independently activatable sensors inside their individual housings are attachable to the lower surface of the platform at a plurality of points. This is useful for variably retaining the sensors, each at a user-selectable variable location, relative to the point of attachment, and a variable distance of separation of one sensor to the next.
A more particularly stated object of this invention is an adjustable sensor cartridge assembly for use with a video game controller comprising a sensor having a threaded central bore and actuatable by the presence of a human appendage for producing an electrical signal usable by a video game controller. This sensor is contained within an elongated collar, defining a longitudinally extending cavity located at a predetermined position relative to a human user. A threaded shaft rotatably mounted in the collar's cavity and meshing with the threads within the bore of the sensor holds the sensor in place. Rotation of the shaft causes the engaged sensor to travel axially along the shaft within the collar's cavity and to selectively position the sensor within the collar's cavity relative to the human user.
In one embodiment, the sensor cartridge contains at least one pressure sensor for detecting a pressure of greater than a threshold level as is producible by force of a human appendage.
In another embodiment, the sensor cartridge contains a proximity sensor useful for detecting a spatial proximity of a human appendage, and for producing an individually-associated detection signal in response to such a proximity detection.
These and other aspects and attributes of the present invention will become increasingly clear upon reference to the following drawings and accompanying specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the preferred embodiment of a controller in accordance with the present invention arrayed in position for use by a human.
FIG. 2 is an isolated diagrammatic representation of a first embodiment of a controller in accordance with the present invention, which first embodiment uses pressure switches.
FIG. 3, consisting of FIG. 3a through FIG. 3h are various views, some in cut-away, of various embodiments of pressure, and proximity, switches usable in various embodiments of controllers in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a second embodiment of a controller in accordance with the present invention, which second embodiment uses a proximity switch.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the proximity switch previously shown in the second controller embodiment diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a schematic wiring diagram of the control circuit board, previously seen in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, of both embodiments of a controller in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 7, consisting of FIG. 7a and FIG. 7b, shows diagrammatic representations of the plug by which the control circuit board, and controller, in accordance with the present invention, interconnects to the standard, preexisting, video game computer previously seen in FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a particularly preferable embodiment for housing adjustable pressure and proximity switches usable in video game controllers in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a user-selectable controller matrix indicating one arrangement of adjustable switches.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10--10 of FIG. 9.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A Controller 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown in diagrammatic view in FIG. 1. The Controller 1 includes a Control Unit 10 and at least one switch SW1, or, alternatively, proximity switch PSW1. The Controller 1 normally includes four (4) pressure switches SW1-SW4, or four (4) proximity switches PSW1-PSW4. It also optionally includes a hand-held, push button switch-operated, multi-channel remote control transmitter 11.
The control unit 10 contains a CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 that typically receives signals from the switches SW1-SW4, or proximity switches PSW1-PSW4, through wires. The pressure, or proximity, switches may alternativaly communicate with the CONTROL UNIT 10, and with the control circuit board 101 therein, via wireless means, such as radio. In fact, the hand-held multi-channel remote control transmitter 11 does so communicate with the MULTI-CHANNEL REMOTE CONTROL RECEIVER 102 of the CONTROL UNIT 10 via radio. One appropriate remote transmitter-receiver pair suitable for this link is Radio Shack Part No. 277-1012. Additionally, multi-channel remote transmitter-receiver pairs are taught in the chapter titled "Experimenter's Radio Control System" appearing in "First Book of Modern Electronics" at pages 43-50, as well as in other standard references.
The control unit 10 communicates with a preexisting, standard VIDEO GAME COMPUTER 2 (shown in phantom line for not being part of the present invention) via wire 103 and plug 104. The VIDEO GAME COMPUTER 2 may particularly be the Nintendo Electronics System available from Nintendo of America, Inc., 4820 150th Avenue, NE, Redmond, Wash. 98052. Other, interface-compatible, game computers and digital control sections of exercise equipments, are as suitable for use as VIDEO GAME COMPUTER 2. The relatively simple electrical interface to the VIDEO GAME COMPUTER 2, or its equivalents, will be shown in schematic diagram of FIG. 6. In FIG. A television set 3, and a human-user 4, are also shown in phantom line for not being part of the controller 1 in accordance with the present invention.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the pressure switches SW1-SW4, or the alternative proximity switches PSW1-PSW4, may be located on any surface in any locations over any area. The switches are typically located on a level floor, and are arrayed so that switches varying arrows labelled "U", "R", or "L", are respectively positioned to the fore (or up), right, rear (or "down"), and left of the human user 4. The human user 4 diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 1 would normally turn and face television 3 during actual use of the controller 1 during play of a video game under control of VIDEO GAME COMPUTER 2.
The hand-held multi-channel remote control transmitter 11 typically has added removable weight 110 positioned adjacent to the volume 111 containing the electronics, and may be selectively affixed with variable numbers of removable weights 110 in order to vary its mass, and its total weight.
A detailed diagrammatic view of a first embodiment of the controller 1, using selectively positioned and oriented pressure switches SW1-SW4, is shown in FIG. 2. The pressure switches SW1-SW4 connect to the CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 through two (2) wires each, typically eighteen (18) gauge twisted pair wire. The pressure switches SW1-SW4 operate under pressure to produce a closed circuit connection exhibiting electrical continuity between the respective pair of pins by which each such pressure switch SW1-SW4 connects to control circuit board 101.
The hand-held multi-channel remote control transmitter 11 typically transmits up to four (4) signals in response to selective manual actuation of up to four (4) switches, typically push-button switches. These signals are received, and decoded, at MULTI-CHANNEL REMOTE CONTROL RECEIVER 102 to control electronic switches so as to establish electrical continuity between the respective wire pairs that are received at CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 as terminal pairs AB, CD, EF, and GH. The interpretation of these signal inputs is a function of the individual computer game which is connected to CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 via wire 103 and plug 104. Normally, however, at least one such switch closure represents the firing of a gun, or other action event, occurring during play of a computer game.
Thus, all signal inputs to the CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 are simply in the form of establishing an electrical closed circuit, or else an electrical open circuit, condition between an associated input terminal pair. This operation of the CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 will later be confirmed by reference to the electrical schematic shown in FIG. 6.
A first embodiment of a pressure switch 14 suitable for use as one of the pressure switches SW1-SW4 in the controller 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown in diagrammatic view in FIG. 3a. A top surface 141 is separated from a bottom surface 142 by a peripheral rim 143 in the form of an annular ring. A space between top surface 141 and bottom surface 142, at least one of which surfaces is flexible, establishes an air chamber. The air captive in the chamber communicates with flexible elastomeric diaphragm 144 which distends, or which retracts under elastomeric force, in accordance with whether pressure switch 14 is subject to external pressure. A conventional spring-loaded push button switch 145 is located at a variably selected position wherein it is subject to selective actuation by distention of flexible diaphragm 144. When the pressure switch 14 is subject to adequate pressure, distending the diaphragm 144, the switch 145 will close, introducing electrical continuity between leads 146 connected thereto. The physical positioning of the switch 145, which is supported by housing 146, relative to the diaphragm 144 is variable. Normal mechanical means for attachment at a variable distance may be used, including a thumb screw (not shown) manually tightened to hold the switch 145 relative to its housing 145. Accordingly, the amount of pressure that must be applied between the surfaces 141, 142 of pressure switch 14 in order to actuate the spring-loaded switch 145 is selectively variable.
Another, more rudimentary, embodiment of a suitable pressure switch is shown as pressure switch 15 within FIG. 3b. The pressure switch 15 has an electrically conductive upper surface 151 and lower surface 152 which are normally separated by an insulating annular ring 153. Both the upper surface 151 and the lower surface 152, have a shape retentive memory, and are typically of spring steel. When appropriate pressure is applied between upper surface 151 and 152, the separating force of the annular elastomeric ring 153 is overcome, and the surfaces are pressed into momentary electrical contact. Each of the surfaces is connected to an associated one of the leads 154. Accordingly, when appropriate pressure is applied to the pressure sensor 15, electrical continuity is established for the duration of such pressure condition between leads 154.
Still another pressure switch, or sensor, suitable for use in the controller 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown in exploded perspective view in FIG. 3c, and in cut-away cross-sectional view in FIG. 3d. Within this pressure switch 16, an elastomeric upper dome 161 is coated on its bottom side with electrically conductive material 162, normally copper. Meanwhile a bottom plate 163, normally of epoxy glass, is etched with two (2) electrically disconnected copper patterns 164, 165, as illustrated. Each etched copper pattern connects to a respective one of the leads 166. There is normally an electrical open condition between the two leads. However, as will be most clearly illustrated in FIG. 3d, when the flexible elastomeric upper member 161 is suitably depressed under pressure force the electrically conductive coating 162 at the under side of its raised dome will come into simultaneous contact with both of the patterns 164, 165 on the lower member 163. This electrical contact will bridge the patterns, establishing electrical continuity therebetween and between the leads 166.
Still another, fourth, embodiment of a pressure switch suitable for use in the controller 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 3e. Within the pressure switch 17 and upper member 171 is held physically separated from a lower member 172 under the force of springs 173. Both the upper member 171 and the lower member 172 are typically rigid, and circular in area. A micro-switch 174 is located between the upper and lower members, and is subject to being closed, establishing continuity between leads 175 when the upper member 171 is moved proximate to lower member 172 by a pressure force that overcomes the force of springs 173.
A pressure switch 18 suitable for use in the controller 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown in side cross-sectional view in FIG. 3f. A rigid base 181 supports a light source 182, normally a LED, and a light detector 183, normally a phototransistor, at spatial separation. There may be an optional upper elastomeric cover 184 to the pressure switch 18, or such cover may be omitted, exposing a shell cavity between light source 182 and light detector 183 over the base 181. When the light emitted by light source 182 is precluded from reaching light detector 183 by depression of the optional elastomeric cover 184, or by direct insertion of a physical object such as a human foot therebetween, the light detector 183 will establish an electrical continuity condition between leads 185. The necessary power for the light source 182 may be obtained from a battery, or may be connected by electrical leads (not shown) brought from the CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 (shown in FIG. 2).
Still another embodiment of a pressure switch SW1-SW4 is shown as pressure switch 19 is perspective view in FIG. 3g. A bladder, or balloon, enclosing either liquid or air is directly pressure-connected to a pressure switch 92. When the bladder 191 is subject to a predetermined pressure, the pressure switch 192 will close, establishing electrical continuity between leads 193.
A final embodiment of a pressure switch SW1-SW4 suitable for use in the controller 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown in cross-sectional cut away view in FIG. 3h. Within this pressure switch 20 an upper plate 21 is held at separation from a lower plate 22 by force of springs 23. The upper side of lower plate 22 mounts a reed switch 23. The underside of upper plate 21 mounts a magnet 24. The magnet 24 is normally of sufficient separation from reed switch 23 so that the reed switch 23 is not closed, and so that no electrical continuity exists between electrical leads 25. If, however, a pressure force is exerted between upper member 21 and lower member 22, overcoming the force of springs 23, then the movement of magnet 24 into proximity of reed switch 23 will cause the reed switch 23 to close, establishing electrical continuity between leads 25.
Still other forms of pressure switches are possible. Notably, all the switches shown in FIGS. 3a through 3h will function equivalently in any spatial orientation or position. Accordingly, and in accordance with the principles of the present invention, such switches may be arrayed, and distributed, on any surfaces whatsoever such as floors, walls, and/or ceilings.
An alternative, second, embodiment of the controller 1 in accordance with the present invention using proximity switches PSW1-PSW4 is shown in FIG. 4. The same CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101, and multi-channel remote receiver 102 are used as were used within the first embodiment of the controller 1 shown in FIG. 2. The CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 still connects to each of the proximity switches PSW1-PSW4 through 2 leads, and senses the actuation of these proximity switches by an electrical continuity between these leads. Unlike the first embodiment of the controller 1 shown in FIG. 2, however, the proximity switches PSW1-PSW4 require a source of power. This power is indicated as 115V 60 Hz to be supplied to each of the proximity switches PSW1-PSW4.
A schematic diagram of a circuit suitable for use within each of the proximity switches PSW1-PSW4 is shown in FIG. 5. A metal plate 30, typically 6" in diameter and disposed toward the human user 4 (shown in FIG. 1) when each of the proximity switches PSW1-PSW4 is disposed for use within the controller 1, is electrically connected to a first TRIAC 31, type GE2N6027. The variable capacitance which will be seen by the metal plate 30 dependent upon whether a human limb, or other object either is, or is not, proximate will serve to trigger the TRIAC 31 is accordance with the threshold level established by adjustment potentiometer 32, typically 1 megohms, and a DIAC 37, GE Part No. ST2. When the TRIAC 31 is enabled to conduct it will, in turn, enable the conduction of silicone control rectifier SCR 33, GE type C106B. The conduction of the SCR will draw current through 115V relay 34, causing a switch 35 to close. It is this selective closure, and continuity, across switch 35 that is seen across output leads 36 which connect to a respective port of CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 (shown in FIG. 4).
A schematic diagram of the CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101, previously seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, is shown in FIG. 6. For purposes of clarity, the input signals to such CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 connected by pairs to terminals A-Q thereof are not positionally localized within the schematic, such as typically to the left hand side of the schematic diagram, while the output signals from the CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 appearing on pins X1-X5 of plug 104 (shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7) are likewise not localized. According to this organization of the schematic of FIG. 6 for functional appreciation, the schematic of FIG. 6 is not readily capable of being enclosed in a box, as is typical, in order to indicate that it is the identical CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 previously shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. It is, however, the identical CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 previously shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4.
The CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD 101 shown in FIG. 6 is the same as Nintendo Circuit Board No. TW-8394B-0 used in Nintendo Controller Model No. NES-004. Such a circuit board, and controller, is available from Nintendo of America, Inc., 4820 150th Ave., NE, Redmond, Washington 98052. The schematic diagram is shown in FIG. 6 primarily in order that it may be observed that simple continuity events appearing between any of the pairs of pins AB, CD, . . ., IJ are recognizable by the central integrated circuit, type NECD4021BC, and may be used to provide standard signals, on plug pins X1-X5, to a preexisting standard VIDEO GAME COMPUTER 2 (shown in FIG. 1). The detail wiring of the plug jack with these output signals X1-X5, and unused plug pins X6 and X7, is shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b.
Regardless of the several electrical diagrams within the drawings, the paramount principle of the present invention will be recognized to be embodied in its mechanical spatial array, remote electrical connection, and functional use of selectively adjustable pressure switches, proximity switches, remote control transmitter-receiver pairs, and control circuit boards which are, individually, often conventional in construction. The present invention contemplates a physical spatial partition of these elements which partition is, in the aggregate, both user-selected and flexibly variable. The controller 1 of the present invention is distributed. Alternatively, it may be considered to lack a central housing and/or frame, or to employ a distributed housing and external frame (i.e., the earth, or floor) which is user-established and user-selected.
In particular, each of the pressure switches SW1-SW4, or proximity switches PSW1-PSW4, is completely positioned and located, repositioned and relocated, at variable distances of separation and in any individual patterns and collective orientations, and over any reasonable area, whatsoever. Accordingly, a human user 4 (shown in FIG. 1) positioning such pressure, or proximity switches for the purpose of interacting with a video game computer may do so in accordance with whether he/she desires to make the sense (i.e., up/down, or left/right) of the actuation of such switches either conventional or unconventional, normal or reversed The user 4 may locate the switches at greater or lesser proximity to each other in accordance with whether he/she is short or tall, or desires to move over small, or large, regions in order to selectively actuate the switches. The user 4 may even selectively establish at each individual switch, at least in some of the switch embodiments, the pressures, or the proximities, which will be required to actuate the switches.
Accordingly, each user of a controller in accordance with the present invention may set up the controller essentially in accordance with his own whims and dictates in matters of the (i) spatial locations, (ii) spatial orientations, and (iii) magnitude of mechanical (pressure) forces that must be selectively applied to the controller in order to sequence the operation of a computer game, or in order to provide progress inputs into an exercise equipment, including an equipment running an exercise videotape. Dependent upon the variable configuration of the controller 1, a single video exercise tape may suffice to induce a strenuous response on the part of a user who is relatively more physically fit, or a less strenuous response on the part of a user who is relatively less physically fit.
Turning now to FIG. 8, a particularly preferable embodiment of a sensor is an adjustable cartridge 26 containing either a pressure or proximity sensor switch 28 as hereinbefore described and shown in FIGS. 3a-h (14-20). This sensor switch has a centrally located, threaded bore 30 and is engaged by means of a threaded shaft 32 rotatably mounted longitudinally within the walls of an elongated collar 34, which is temporarily placed, or permanently affixed, under a resilient mat or the like. A user may selectively position the switch along its longitudinal axis to suit his/her stride, for example, and maintain a desired degree of difficulty in operation of the switches by turning the screw 32.
FIG. 9 is a top plan view depicting a typical radial arrangement of such sensor cartridges. Four cartridges, containing sensors selected from a group hereinbefore described and depicted in FIGS. 3a-h (14-20), are shown placed beneath a substantially square mat 36, having a relatively flat upper surface on which a human user may suitably stand, and having a lower surface containing a multiplicity of points at which a plurality of sensor housings may be individually attached. Depicted in FIG. 9 is a preferred embodiment showing the longitudinal alignment of each sensor with diagonally opposite corners of the mat, positions T, B, L and R.
The mat can be placed in any orientation, but typically is placed so that sensor T is closest to a viewing monitor. The human user responds to situations presented in the viewing monitor by actuating one or more of the switches with his/her feet. It can readily be seen that increasing the distance between any two switches results in increased travel and concomitant degree of difficulty in responding to the monitor.
Attachment of the above-described cartridges is shown in the sectional view in FIG. 10, taken along the line 10--10 of FIG. 9. The cartridges may be temporarily held in place by the weight of the mat, frictional forces between the cartridge, mat and base due to the nature of surfaces in contact, special coatings, velcro, adhesive or the like. The cartridges may also be permanently affixed by connecting means, such as screws, nails, glue or the like.
In accordance with the preceding explanation, still other embodiments of the present invention will suggest themselves to a practitioner of the electronic game apparatus design arts. For example, a controller might be sold for interactive use with a preexisting equipment, such as a stationery exercise equipment, not initially produced for use with a video game, or an exercise videotape. The controller would come with a number of variably locatable, and positionable, switches, that may be variously sensitive to pressure, acceleration, or rotation (speed) of a wheel. The user would position such switches at appropriate physical points on the preexisting exercise equipment. A video tape, or a game, might then be played whereby the user would actuate the exercise equipment, activating the switches, in accordance with the requirements of the game, or tape. By such a sequence a user could transform a generalized, user-configured, video game controller into a ubiquitous controller suitable for sensing diverse physical actuation associated with diverse physical activities, and/or exercise equipments.
In accordance with these and other adaptations and alterations of the present invention, the present invention should be interpreted broadly, in accordance with the following claims, and not solely in accordance with those embodiments within which the invention has been taught. | A controller electrically interfaced to a video game computer or the like for the purpose of controlling a progression of the video game or the like is selectively actuated by discrete motions and forces the locations, magnitudes, and orientations of which are variably predetermined by the user. Pressure, or proximity, sensor units, normally four in number, are independently placeable upon any surface, and normally upon a floor. The signals produced by the arbitrarily located pressure or proximity sensors are received by a video game control unit and used to produce electrical signals suitable to be received by a conventional video game computer or the like for the purpose of controlling the progression of the video game. An adjustable sensor cartridge assembly for use with a video game controller allows a user to selectively position the sensor within the collar's cavity and relative to the human user. Because the spatial arrangements of the various sensors, and the selection of the forces to be applied thereto, are completely arbitrary, the user is in complete control of the nature and location and magnitude of those motions and forces that he or she must provide, at a preselected degree of difficulty, to the game controller in order to sequence the video game. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The instant invention relates to relatively low volume chemical injection pumps, and more particularly relates, in one embodiment, to low volume chemical injection pumps for use in subsea applications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In the art and science of recovering hydrocarbons from reservoirs beneath water, such as through off shore drilling platforms and other subsea operations, it is necessary to inject treatment chemicals into the well or wellbore, the drilling fluid therein, or in hydrocarbon transmission pipelines, etc. Such treatment chemicals may include, but are not necessarily limited to, corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, paraffin inhibitors, hydrate inhibitors, demulsifiers, and the like, and mixtures thereof.
[0003] The injection of treatment chemicals into these systems requires generally only low flow rates. When delivering low flow rates using positive displacement-type pumps in an atmospheric system, net positive suction head (NPSH) is often a problem. A good design for a subsea pump should try to inherently eliminate NPSH problems. Further, a major problem with positive displacement pumps, especially at high pressure, is that the check valve seats and piston/plunger packing can be inherently leaky, and cause fluid to leak through the pump, back to the suction side or back into the suction piping. Another problem with small volume, positive displacement diaphragm or plunger pumps is that they can vapor or air lock very easily. Small bubbles in the pump chamber can expand and contract with plunger movement and cavitate and stall the pump.
[0004] Further, because the location of such chemical injection pumps is by definition at the bottom of the ocean or sea, they are subjected to severe conditions and are difficult to service due to their remote location. Thus, subsea chemical injection pumps should be strong, durable, and if possible, reparable at a distance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for injecting chemical into a system that is underwater or subsea.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a subsea chemical injection pump that has a minimum of moving parts.
[0007] It is yet another object of the invention is to provide a subsea chemical injection pump which can be repaired from a remote distance and/or which may continue to operate if partially disabled.
[0008] In carrying out these and other objects of the invention, there is provided, in one form, a subsea chemical injection pump having a housing comprising opposing chambers, one on either side of a central enclosure. Each chamber has parallel walls and a cross section, and the opposing chambers extend from the central enclosure on opposite sides thereof. That is, opposing chambers are lined up across the central enclosure, although the opposing chambers are not necessarily coaxial with one another. There is present in the central enclosure at least one actuator (e.g. solenoid coil), where the actuator drives an actuator rod. The actuator rod has two ends, one each extending into an opposing chamber, and a first and second plunger, one on each end of the actuator rod, where first plunger has a circumference adapted to fill and mate with the cross section of its chamber, and where second plunger has a circumference adapted to fill and mate with the cross section of its chamber. The actuator rod and plungers on either end move back and forth between maximum travel points in the opposing chambers under the influence of the actuator, alternately decreasing and increasing the volumes of the opposing chambers, respectively. A seal is preferably present on the circumference of each plunger to inhibit fluid from entering the central enclosure from the opposing chambers. An inert coolant and lubrication fluid is present in the central enclosure between the plungers. Finally, each opposing chamber contains a suction check valve and a discharge check valve therein, in a region beyond the maximum travel point of the plunger.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0009] The Figure is a schematic, cross-sectional illustration of a subsea chemical injection pump of this invention, in one embodiment. It will be appreciated that the Figure is not to scale and that many features are not shown in actual or optimum proportion so that the invention may be clearly illustrated. For instance, the plungers may actually be thinner relative to the actuator rod from what is shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0010] It has been discovered that a double-acting solenoid pump, in one non-limiting embodiment, meets many, if not all of the requirements of a subsea chemical injection pump. Such a pump would be relatively low volume, for example delivering from about 2 to about 250 gallons per day, and produce high pressures, unique to this design up to 15,000 psi differential pressure.
[0011] The subsea chemical injection pump of this invention is schematically shown in the Figure generally at 10 , which has a housing 12 of three main sections, opposing chambers, first chamber 14 and a second chamber 18 on either side of a central enclosure 16 . Opposing chambers 14 and 18 each have parallel walls and a cross-section. Parallel walls are defined as walls a plunger of constant circumference and shape can travel along while the plunger circumference is in constant contact with the walls. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, opposing chambers 14 and 18 are cylinders and their cross-sections are circles, for ease of manufacture, but this is not a requirement. Indeed, in one preferred, but non-limiting embodiment, entire housing 12 generally, and central enclosure 16 may also be cylinders. In the case where opposing chambers 14 and 18 are cylinders, it can be appreciated that the parallel walls are a continuous, curved wall. While it is expected that opposing chambers 14 and 18 would be of equal volumes in most instances, this is not required. Furthermore, while opposing chambers 14 and 18 extend from the central enclosure 16 on opposite sides thereof, it will be appreciated that the chambers 14 and 18 may not be exactly 180° apart, but could be at a lesser angle with respect to each other. Further, it is anticipated that in some embodiments, there may be more than two opposing chambers 14 and 18 .
[0012] Central enclosure 16 contains at least one actuator 20 that is connected to and/or drives an actuator rod 22 . In one non-limiting embodiment of the invention the actuator 20 is a solenoid surrounding actuator rod 22 . Other suitable devices for driving the actuator rod 22 may be used. Actuator rod 22 is oriented in the same direction as opposing chambers 14 and 18 , and the actuator rod 22 has two opposite ends, first end 24 and second end 26 .
[0013] In a preferred embodiment, opposing chambers 14 and 18 have the same direction in the sense that they are generally aligned with each other, but they are not necessarily coaxial. That is, the chambers 14 and 18 are aligned such that actuator rod 22 within solenoid coil 20 is parallel to, but not necessarily coaxial with the chambers. In one preferred embodiment, actuator rod 22 is straight. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, opposing chambers 14 and 18 may actually be coaxial with actuator rod 16 and each other. Alternatively, there could be two actuator rods 20 which could be in line with each other (at a 180° angle) or at an angle less than 180° as long as opposing chambers were at the same angle. One rod 22 would then bear first plunger 30 and the other rod 22 would bear second plunger 32 .
[0014] Actuator rod 22 has a first plunger 30 and second plunger 32 , on the first end 24 and second end 26 , respectively, thereof. First plunger 30 has a circumference adapted to fill and mate with the cross-section of its chamber, here first chamber 14 . Since plunger 30 is seen edge-on in the Figure the entire circumference is not seen. However, if first opposing chamber 14 is a cylinder with a circular cross-section, the circumference of first plunger 30 would be circular in shape. Similarly, second plunger 32 has a circumference adapted to fill and mate with the cross-section of its chamber, here second chamber 18 . Actuator rod 22 and plungers 30 and 32 on either end move back and forth between maximum travel point A in chamber 14 and maximum travel point B in chamber 18 under the influence of actuator or solenoid coil 20 . This action alternately decreases and increases the working volumes of the opposing chambers 14 and 18 . That is, the volume of opposing chamber 14 which may contain treating chemical is decreased the same amount that the volume of opposing chamber 18 which also may contain the same or different treating chemical is increased, respectively, and vice versa.
[0015] There should be at least one seal 34 present on the circumference of each plunger 30 and 32 to inhibit fluid, such as the treatment chemical from entering the central enclosure 16 from the opposing chambers 14 and 18 . Tolerances of seals 34 with respect to the cross-sections of the chambers 14 and 18 should be sufficiently tight to accomplish the sealing function, but not so tight as to undesirably interfere with the movement of plungers 30 and 32 , respectively. Within central enclosure 16 and between the plungers 30 and 32 , and surrounding the solenoid coil 20 and actuator rod 22 there is present an inert coolant and lubrication fluid 36 .
[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the central solenoid enclosure 16 is pressurized with inert, lubricating fluid 36 that serves several purposes, including, but not necessarily limited to, 1) lubricating the actuator rod 22 and piston seals 34 ; 2) providing resistance or “damping” of the actuator rod 22 movement (slightly slowing down actuator rod 22 so that it does not snap or slam back and forth); and 3) allowing the pump 10 to be pressurized at the surface, so that pressure equalizes as it descends to the sea floor for placement. These multiple functions are anticipated to increase pump life under expected heavy loading. In another non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the pump 10 may be pressurized such that equalization occurs approximately half-way to the bottom so that the design thicknesses of the housing 12 only needs to be half that of the pressure the pump 10 will be subjected to at the total water depth. This will keep a positive pressure in the central enclosure 16 and help prevent chemical or sea water from penetrating the central enclosure 16 .
[0017] Each opposing chamber 14 and 18 is provided with at least one “one-way” suction check valve 40 and one “one-way” discharge check valve 42 . These valves 40 and 42 may be of any conventional design or future design which permits fluid to enter chambers 14 and 18 and be discharged therefrom, respectively, in one direction. Valves 40 and 42 must be positioned within their respective chambers at points beyond the maximum travel points (A and B) of the plunger to avoid leaking of the fluid into the central enclosure 16 .
[0018] Check valves 40 and 42 could be integral to the housing 12 , but in a preferred embodiment they would be independent, discrete parts assembled into the pump housing 12 . In another non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the pump 10 design may incorporate a plurality of suction check valves 40 arranged sequentially in a magazine (not shown) so that the valves 40 may be remotely replaced. In one embodiment, the check valve magazines are operated remotely in a sequential or serial fashion to replace nonfunctioning valves. Such a design that permits changing the valve and seat without having to retrieve the pump 10 if a check valve were to fail would be advantageous. The same could be true of the discharge check valves 42 .
[0019] Central enclosure 16 may be provided with a leak detector 44 in the interior thereof to determine if any fluid from the opposing chambers 14 and 18 has leaked into the central enclosure 16 and inert coolant and lubrication fluid 36 . Leak detector 44 may be a pressure switch or conductivity probe or other device on the inert fluid side 16 to detect a leak past the dynamic piston seals 34 . Leak detector 44 need not be located in the center of central enclosure 16 as shown in the Figure. For instance, there may be one leak detector 44 on either end of the interior of the central enclosure 16 near to where actuator rod 22 exits solenoid 20 .
[0020] The subsea chemical injection pump 10 is designed to be electrically actuated via a double-acting solenoid, or two separate, single-acting solenoids, in different, non-limiting embodiments. By “double-acting”, it is meant that the solenoid is of the type that can move the actuator rod 22 alternately in either direction; “single-acting” refers to a solenoid that would move the actuator rod 22 in only one direction; it would have to be paired with a second single-acting solenoid with reverse polarity to move actuator rod 22 back in the other direction. It is expected that the use of one or more solenoids will make the pump 10 precisely controllable.
[0021] The pump 10 is intended to sit on the sea floor (up to 10,000 ft of water depth) adjacent to the subsea tree or manifold. The pump 10 may be controlled by alternating current polarity in order to change direction of the plungers 30 and 32 , in one non-limiting embodiment. Alternatively, if two different solenoids are employed, the pump may be controlled by current to the two solenoids alternately.
[0022] Power would be provided by the subsea manifold. Controlling and monitoring of the pump may be conducted via RS-485 communications through a fiber optic line that provides telemetry to and from the subsea manifold, in one embodiment. Monitoring could include, but not necessarily be limited to, determination of pump function such as speed or force, whether the pump is leaking in any chamber or enclosure, whether the valves are operating properly, etc. Control may include, but not necessarily be limited to, controlling pump operation and speed, causing replacement of faulty valves, switching from one chamber to another, performing repair operations, etc. Control operations could be performed manually or automatically in response to the outcome of monitoring.
[0023] In one embodiment of the invention, the inert coolant and lubrication fluid 36 is selected from fluids including, but not limited to, silicone-based fluids, generally available hydrocarbon-based lubricating fluids, and the like and may have a viscosity between about 10 and about 50 cP. The construction materials must, of course, be strong and durable to withstand the pressures, brines and other conditions of the harsh environment in which they are expected to operate.
[0024] A purpose of the solenoid design of the pump 10 of the invention is to minimize the number of moving parts and thus eliminate failure modes associated with rotating equipment, such as is the design of many conventional pumps. Workovers on subsea equipment such as this are tremendously expensive, and minimizing economic loss is of primary concern. Thus, it is preferred to reduce complexity, be able to tightly control pump operation and build in redundancy, where possible.
[0025] A further advantage of the subsea chemical injection pump of this invention is that flow is relatively continuous. That is, one side can be always discharging into the system. Further, the pump in one sense can be understood to be “sealless”, in that a plunger seal leak will only diffuse into the central inert fluid enclosure and not into the environment.
[0026] The subsea chemical injection pump of this invention would be located adjacent a chemical storage tank on the sea floor, or within the storage tank itself. In one embodiment of the invention, the tank, bladder system and pump could be one integral unit. In a preferred embodiment, the subsea chemical injection pump is integral to coiled tubing or could be retrievable via wireline from the tank.
[0027] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. However, it will be evident that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification is to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. For example, specific proportions, materials, features and operating ranges, falling within the claimed parameters, but not specifically identified or tried in a particular subsea injection pump or in the operation of such a pump, are anticipated to be within the scope of this invention. | A chemical injection pump for injecting chemicals into subsea system at depths up to 10,000 feet is described which uses a minimum of moving parts by employing an actuator, for instance a solenoid, to power a double acting actuator rod and plungers thereon. The pump would generate low pressures and low fluid volumes, but be more durable and reliable than conventional rotating pumps operating under subsea conditions. | 5 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/747,929, filed on May 22, 2006, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates apparatus and methods for drilling and completing a wellbore. Particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for forming a wellbore, lining a wellbore, and circulating fluids in the wellbore. The present invention also relates to apparatus and methods for cementing a wellbore.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the drilling of oil and gas wells, a wellbore is formed using a drill bit that is urged downwardly at a lower end of a drill string. After drilling a predetermined depth, the drill string and bit are removed, and the wellbore is lined with a string of casing. An annular area is thus defined between the outside of the casing and the earth formation. This annular area is filled with cement to permanently set the casing in the wellbore and to facilitate the isolation of production zones and fluids at different depths within the wellbore.
It is common to employ more than one string of casing in a wellbore. In this respect, a first string of casing is set in the wellbore when the well is drilled to a first designated depth. The well is then drilled to a second designated depth and thereafter lined with a string of casing with a smaller diameter than the first string of casing. This process is repeated until the desired well depth is obtained, each additional string of casing resulting in a smaller diameter than the one above it. The reduction in the diameter reduces the cross-sectional area in which circulating fluid may travel. Also, the smaller casing at the bottom of the hole may limit the hydrocarbon production rate. Thus, oil companies are trying to maximize the diameter of casing at the desired depth in order to maximize hydrocarbon production. To this end, the clearance between subsequent casing strings having been trending smaller because larger subsequent casings are used to maximize production.
Drilling with casing or liner is a method of forming a borehole with a drill bit attached to the same string of tubulars that will line the borehole. In other words, rather than run a drill bit on smaller diameter drill string, the bit is run at the end of larger diameter tubing or casing or liner that will remain in the wellbore and be cemented therein. The advantages of drilling with casing are obvious. Because the same string of tubulars transports the bit and lines the borehole, no separate trip out of or into the wellbore is necessary between the forming of the borehole and the lining of the borehole. Drilling with casing or liner is especially useful in certain situations where an operator wants to drill and line a borehole as quickly as possible to minimize the time the borehole remains unlined and subject to collapse or the effects of pressure anomalies, and mechanical instability.
In the drilling of offshore wells or deep wells, the length of casing or liner may be shorter than the water depth. Also, in some instances, the wellbore may be formed in stages, such as installing casing and thereafter hanging a liner from the casing. In both cases, the length of casing may not extend back to surface.
There is a need, therefore, for running a length of drill casing or liner into the hole to form the wellbore.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one embodiment, a drilling apparatus includes a liner as a portion of the drill string. The axial and torsional loads are carried by the drill pipe and then transferred to the drilling liner by the use of a liner drilling tool. The forces are then transmitted along the liner to a latch. The loads are then transferred from the liner to the latch and attached BHA. The drilling apparatus may include an inner string that connects the liner drilling tool at the liner top to the BHA. This way, when the liner drilling tool and latch are disconnected from the liner, the drill pipe can pull the inner string and BHA from the liner and bore hole. In one embodiment, releasing and pulling the liner drilling tool also releases and pulls the BHA out of hole with the inner string. The inner string can also act as a conduit for fluid flow from the drillpipe to the BHA below. It should be noted that the fluid flow could be split between the inner string and the liner ID, or diverted so the entire flow is in the annulus between the inner string and the liner ID.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a wellbore includes running a liner into the wellbore; suspending the liner at a location below the rig floor; running a drilling bottom hole assembly through the liner on a drill string; attaching the drill string to the liner; releasing the liner from its location of suspension; and advancing the liner through the wellbore on the drill string.
The present invention relates methods and apparatus for lining a wellbore. In one embodiment, a method of forming a wellbore includes running liner drilling assembly into the wellbore, the liner drilling assembly including a liner, a conveying member, one or more connection members, and a drilling member. The method includes temporarily suspending the liner at a location below the rig floor; releasing the conveying member and the drilling member from the liner; re-connecting the conveying member to the liner; releasing the liner from its location of temporary suspension; and advancing the liner drilling assembly.
In another embodiment, an apparatus for forming a wellbore includes a liner coupled to a drilling member; a conveying member releasably connected to the liner, the conveying member adapted to supply torque to the liner; a first releasable and re-settable connection members for coupling the conveying member to the liner; and a second connection member for coupling the liner to the drilling member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the liner drilling system according to aspects of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the liner drilling system with the liner top suspended from a blow-out prevent ram.
FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a liner drilling assembly.
FIGS. 4-8 shows the liner drilling assembly of FIG. 3 in operation.
FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of a liner drilling assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In one embodiment, a drilling apparatus includes a liner as a portion of the drill string. The axial and torsional loads are carried by the drill pipe and then transferred to the drilling liner by the use of a liner drilling tool. The forces are then transmitted along the liner to a latch. The loads are then transferred from the liner to the latch and attached BHA. The drilling apparatus may include an inner string that connects the liner drilling tool at the liner top to the BHA. This way, when the liner drilling tool and latch are disconnected from the liner, the drill pipe can pull the inner string and BHA from the liner and bore hole. In one embodiment, releasing and pulling the liner drilling tool also releases and pulls the BHA out of hole with the inner string. The inner string can also act as a conduit for fluid flow from the drill pipe to the BHA below. It should be noted that the fluid flow could be split between the inner string and the liner ID, or the fluid flow can be fully diverted to the annulus area between the inner string OD and the liner ID. In one embodiment, the fluid returning to the surface may flow through the annular area between the wellbore and the outer diameter of the liner and/or the annular area between the inner diameter of the liner and the outer diameter of the inner string.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a drilling with liner assembly of the present invention. As shown, the drilling liner assembly 100 extends below a previously installed casing 10 . The drilling liner assembly 100 is run in on drill pipe 110 from the rig floor 22 . A liner drilling tool 116 is used to connect the drill pipe 110 to the liner 120 . The liner drilling tool 116 may be a component of the liner top assembly 115 , which may also include a liner hanger 117 and a polished bore receptacle (“PBR”). In one embodiment, the liner drilling tool 116 functions as a running tool for connecting the drill pipe 110 to the liner 120 . The running tool may include a latch and/or gripping members that may releasably attach and detach from the liner 120 . The running/drilling tool is adapted to transmit axial and torsional forces from the drill pipe 110 to the liner 120 . The running tool may be released from the liner 120 so that the BHA may be retrieved. Preferably, the running tool has torque capability that equals or exceeds the drill pipe capability and is adapted to endure typical bore hole drilling dynamics. Exemplary running tools are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,613,567, 5,531,273, and 6,032,734, which patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The liner top equipment (liner hanger and PBR) may also include large radial clearance for cuttings bypass and reduced equivalent circulating density (“ECD”) and setting of liner hanger does not reduce the annular clearance area significantly. In one embodiment, setting of the liner hanger and release of drilling tool may be independent of the differential pressure between the inside of the tool and the outside of the liner to prevent premature activation. In another embodiment, the liner top assembly is not equipped with a packer. In yet another embodiment, the liner top assembly utilizes an expandable liner hanger.
An inner string 130 extends from the liner running/drilling tool 116 to a drilling latch 140 below. The inner string 130 may be used to convey fluid from the drill pipe 110 and/or to retrieve the BHA. Also, it should be noted that fluid may be conveyed outside of the inner string, inside of the inner string, or the flow split between both. The drilling latch 140 is adapted to releasably connect to the liner 120 . An exemplary drilling latch is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004-0216892, filed on Mar. 5, 2004 by Giroux et al. having Ser. No. 10/795,214, entitled Drilling With Casing Latch, which application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The drilling latch 140 is adapted to transfer axial and torsional forces from the liner 120 to the bottom hole assembly (“BHA”). The drilling latch 140 may be hydraulically, mechanically, or remotely actuated. Suitable actuating mechanism includes mud pulse technology, wire line, and fiber optics.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the bottom hole assembly includes one or more stabilizers 155 , a motor 160 , an under-reamer 165 , MWD/LWD 170 , rotary steerable systems 175 , and a drill bit 180 . It must be noted that the BHA may include other components, in addition to or in place of the above items, such as other geophysical measurement sensors, stabilizers such as eccentric or adjustable stabilizers, steerable systems such as bent motor housing, other drill bits such as expandable bit or bits having nozzles or jetting orifices for directional drilling, or any other suitable component as is known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the components of the BHA may be arranged in any suitable order as is known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the under-reamer may be place below the motor and MWD/LWD tool.
In operation, the liner drilling tool 116 and the drilling latch 140 are actuated to engage the liner 120 . The liner drilling assembly 100 is then run-in to the hole using drill pipe 110 . The liner drilling assembly 100 is directionally steered to drill the hole. In this respect, the hole may be drilled and lined in the same trip. The directional steering is performed using the rotary steerable system 175 . The axial and torsional forces are transferred from the drilling pipe 110 to the liner 120 through the liner running tool 116 and are then transferred from the liner 120 to the BHA through the drilling latch 140 . In this respect, the inner string 130 experiences little, if any, torque that is transmitted. The inner diameter of the hole may be enlarged using the under-reamer 165 . The liner drilling assembly 100 is advanced until total depth is reached. One advantage of the liner drilling assembly is that the liner protects the drilled hole during drilling. After reaching total depth, the liner hanger 117 is set to connect the liner 120 to the previously set casing. Then, the liner running tool 116 and the drilling latch 140 are released to detach from the liner 120 and are removed from the wellbore, thereby removing the BHA. In one embodiment, setting of the liner hanger 117 triggers the release of the liner running tool 116 . After the BHA is retrieved, a cement operation may be performed.
In one embodiment, a cement retainer valve is tripped in and installed in the liner to enable cementing from the liner bottom. Thereafter, a conventional cementing operation may be performed. In the situation where cement cannot be circulated, a bottom squeeze may be performed. Thereafter, a second squeeze may be performed at the liner top and the liner top packer may be set in another trip into the hole.
In some circumstances, the BHA may become inoperable before total depth is reached and the BHA must be repaired or replaced. In one embodiment, the liner 120 is left in the hole and the liner drilling tool 116 and the drilling latch 140 are released. Then, the BHA is pulled out of the hole. After the BHA is repaired or replaced, the BHA is run-in to the hole and the liner drilling tool 116 and the drilling latch 140 are actuated to re-engage the liner 120 . Thereafter, the drilling operation may continue by applying rotational and axial forces to the BHA. One or more BHAs may be replaced by repeating this process. It must be noted that in this embodiment, a possibility exists that the liner may become stuck during the time it takes to trip the new BHA into the hole.
In another embodiment, the liner drilling assembly 100 may be retrieved to a safe location in the wellbore. For example, the liner drilling assembly may be retrieved back to surface. The liner string 120 may then be hung on the rig floor slips. Then, the BHA may be replaced and the liner drilling assembly may be tripped back into the hole.
In another example, the liner drilling assembly 100 may be retrieved to a position inside the previously installed casing 10 . In one embodiment, the liner drilling tool 100 may be suspended just below a blow out preventer (“BOP”). FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a BOP 200 for suspending a liner drilling assembly in a wellbore. As shown, a liner retaining BOP ram 210 is coupled to a BOP stack having a pipe ram BOP 215 and an annular BOP 220 . It must be noted that the liner retaining BOP ram 210 may be integrated with or an attachment to the BOP stack. The liner top assembly 115 may include a profile 230 for engaging with the ram of the liner retaining BOP 210 . The ram may be hydraulic actuated to move radially into engagement with the profile 230 . Alternately, the liner top 115 may include a hanging shoulder adapted to rest on liner retaining BOP ram. The liner top 115 may be retained using a combination of a profile and/or hanging shoulder. The pipe ram BOP 215 and the annular BOP 220 are then used to close around drill pipe 110 during well control situations. In this respect, the hydraulic forces from the BOP ram are used to park the liner 120 in the wellbore. In one embodiment, one or more sensors may be used to position the liner top assembly 115 relative to the liner retaining BOP ram 210 . An exemplary sensor includes a magnet. The magnet may be positioned on the liner hanger and a sensor may be mounted on the BOP ram 210 to determine the position of the magnet and thereby, the location of the liner hanger (e.g., the profile 230 ). It is contemplated that other suitable sensors such as RFID sensors known to a person of ordinary skill in the art may be used.
In operation, the liner drilling assembly 100 is retrieved sufficiently so that the liner top 115 is adjacent the liner retaining BOP 210 . Then, hydraulic forces are applied to radially move the ram into engagement with the liner top, either by way of the profile, the hanging shoulder, or both. Once parked, the liner drilling tool 116 and the drilling latch 140 are released and the BHA is pulled out of the hole. After the BHA is repaired, the BHA is run-in and the liner drilling tool 116 and the drilling latch 140 are actuated to re-engage the liner 120 . Thereafter, the ram is retracted and the liner drilling assembly 100 is released for further drilling. During operation, while the liner drilling assembly is parked in the wellhead 250 , the well may experience an undesired increase in pressure. To prevent a blowout, the other BOP devices (such as pipe rams, annular preventer, and/or shear rams) may be actuated to mitigate wellbore influxes.
In another embodiment, the liner retaining BOP 210 may be used to facilitate running in the liner drilling assembly. For example, the liner may be initially run-in to the liner retaining BOP 210 . Thereafter, the BHA is coupled to the drilling latch, liner running tool, and the drill pipe, and is tripped into the liner. Then, the liner running tool and the drilling latch are activated to engage the liner, thereby forming the liner drilling assembly. The retaining BOP 210 is deactivated to release the liner drilling assembly to commence drilling.
In another embodiment, the liner top assembly 115 may be adapted to engage a wall of the previously installed casing 10 . The casing may include a liner receiving profile formed on an interior surface of the casing. The liner receiving profile may be adapted to engage the liner hanger of the liner drilling apparatus. In operation, the liner drilling assembly is retrieved sufficiently so that the liner top is adjacent the liner receiving profile. Then, the liner hanger is actuated to engage the profile. Once parked, the liner drilling tool and the drilling latch are released, and the BHA is pulled out of the hole. After the BHA is repaired, the BHA is run-in and the liner drilling tool and the drilling latch are actuated to re-engage the liner. Thereafter, the liner hanger is retracted and the liner drilling apparatus is released for further drilling. It is contemplated that the liner receiving profile may be formed in the previously set casing 10 or the wellhead 250 . Further, it is contemplated that the drilling liner assembly may be retrieved to any suitable portion of the wellbore and suspended therein. It is further contemplated that the liner hanger may engage any portion of the casing, with or without using a liner receiving profile. In this respect, the releasable and re-settable liner hanger may be used to park/hang the liner in the previously set casing 10 . The drilling liner 120 may be left in the open hole or pulled back into the set casing to prevent getting the liner stuck during the BHA replacement trip. The releasable and re-settable liner may be actuated multiple times for potentially multiple BHA trips into and out of the hole.
In another embodiment, the releasable and re-settable liner hanger may be used to facilitate run-in of the liner drilling assembly. For example, the liner equipped with a liner hanger is initially run-in to the casing. Thereafter, the liner hanger is activated to engage the casing and suspend the liner. Then, the BHA is coupled to the drilling latch, liner running tool, and the drill pipe, and is tripped into the liner. Then, the liner running tool and the drilling latch are activated to engage the liner, thereby forming the liner drilling assembly. The liner hanger is deactivated to release the liner drilling assembly to commence drilling.
In another embodiment, the liner drilling assembly may be run without using the inner string. To retrieve the BHA in the event of failure, the liner is first suspend in the wellbore using any of the above described methods of suspension. Then, a work string is lowered into the wellbore to retrieve the BHA. Exemplary work string includes drill pipe, wireline, coiled tubing, Corod (i.e., continuous rod), and any suitable retrieval mechanism known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In one embodiment, wireline is used to retrieve the BHA. After the BHA is replaced or repaired, the BHA is lowered back into the liner and the drilling latch is activated. Then, the drill pipe may be lowered and the liner drilling tool is activated to engage an upper portion of the liner. Thereafter, the liner is released from suspension to continue the drilling operation.
FIG. 3 shows, another embodiment of the liner drilling assembly 300 . The liner drilling assembly 300 is connected to a drill pipe 310 using a running tool 320 . The running tool 320 may releasably attach the liner 305 to the drill pipe 310 and transmit axial and torsional forces. The liner drilling assembly 300 also includes a liner hanger 325 for hanging the liner 305 in a casing 301 . An inner string 330 connects the running tool 320 to the casing latch 335 . In one embodiment, the inner string 330 may include a pressure and volume balanced extension joint with swivel 337 . The inner string 330 may stab into the latch 335 using a spear 340 , which may be provided with a seal assembly. The latch 335 is adapted to releasably attach to the latch in collar 345 of the liner 305 . Any suitable latch known to a person of ordinary skill in the art may be used. One or more non-rotating or rotating centralizers 350 may be used to centralize the liner 305 relative to the casing 301 or the drilled hole. The lower end of the liner 305 may include a casing shoe 355 . As shown, the BHA 360 extends below the liner 305 . The BHA 360 may include a motor, MWD/LWD, and rotary steerable systems. One or more under-reamer 365 and/or pilot bit 370 may be used to form the wellbore. It must be noted that the BHA 360 may include other components, in the to or in place of above listed items, such as other geophysical measurement sensors, stabilizers such as eccentric or adjustable stabilizers, steerable systems such as bent motor housing, other drill bits such as expandable bit or bits having nozzles or jetting orifices for directional drilling, or any other suitable component as is known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the components of the BHA may be arranged in any suitable order as is known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
In operation, a sufficient length of liner 305 with the casing shoe 355 and latch in collar 345 is run so that the casing latch 335 and the BHA 360 may be installed in the liner 305 . Then, the remainder of the liner 305 is run in the hole, as illustrated in FIG. 4 .
After running the liner 305 , the liner hanger 325 is installed on top of the liner 305 , as illustrated in FIG. 5 . The inner string 330 is run inside the liner 305 with the stab in seal assembly 340 on bottom and the pressure volume balanced slip joint 337 below the running tool 320 . The running tool 320 is installed on the end of the inner string 330 and the combined tool 320 /string 330 are installed in the liner hanger 325 . The drilling assembly is now actuated to proceed to drill to the desired depth. Axial and torsional forces may be transmitted from the drill pipe 310 to the liner 305 through the running tool 320 and the latch 345 . In another embodiment, the inner string 330 and the running tool 320 may be connected at the surface and run into the wellbore together for connection with the liner hanger 325 . In yet another embodiment, the liner hanger 325 , inner string 330 , and the running tool 320 may be run in as an assembled apparatus for installation on the liner 305 .
After desired depth is reached, the liner hanger 325 is set. In FIG. 6 , it can be seen that the slips of the liner hanger 325 have been radially extended to engage the previously set casing. The setting of the liner hanger also triggers the release of the running tool 320 from the liner 305 . After the latch 335 is also released the running tool 320 is pulled along with the inner string 330 , casing latch 335 , and BHA 360 out of the hole, as illustrated in FIG. 6 .
In one embodiment, the cementing operation may be performed by running a first (e.g., 16″) packer such as a squeeze packer 381 into the liner 305 . The packer 381 may include slips 383 to engage the interior of the liner 305 . Thereafter, cement is pumped through the packer 381 to squeeze the bottom of the liner 305 , as shown in FIG. 7 . In another embodiment, a second (e.g., 20″) squeeze packer may be installed in the liner 305 and a cement squeeze is performed at the top of the liner 305 . The cement from this second cement squeeze is directed to the annulus between the top of the liner 305 and the liner hanger 325 , and into the formation just below the bottom of the previously run casing. In one embodiment, pressure is applied through the drill string to the top of the liner below the packer set in the ID of the previously run casing located above the liner top. This applied pressure is typically referred to as break down pressure. After establishing the break down pressure, cement is pumped in from surface, circulated down, then squeezed into the annulus between the casing hanger and the previously run casing until a suitable pressure is achieve, which is typically higher than pump in pressure (squeeze pressure). In this respect, the higher pressure provides an indication that a cement barrier has been established at the top of the liner.
In another embodiment, the cementing operation may be performed using subsurface release plugs 375 , 376 , as shown in FIG. 8 . Initially, a wireline set packer 385 having a check valve 387 is run in and is set near the bottom of the liner 305 . Then, a modified running tool 390 containing subsurface release (“SSR”) type cementing plugs 375 , 376 is positioned on top of the liner 305 . A SSR type cementing job is the performed as is known in the art. After cementing, the packing element is set at the top of the liner hanger 325 and the modified running tool 390 is pulled out of the hole.
FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of a drilling with liner assembly of the present invention. As shown, the drilling liner assembly 900 extends below a previously installed casing 10 . The drilling liner assembly 900 is run in on drill pipe 910 . A liner drilling tool 916 is used to connect the drill pipe 910 to the liner 920 . The liner drilling tool 916 may be a component of the liner top assembly 915 , which may also include a liner hanger 917 and a polished bore receptacle (“PBR”). In one embodiment, the liner drilling tool functions as a running tool for connecting the drill pipe 910 to the liner 920 . The running tool may include a latch and/or gripping members that may releasably attach and detach from the liner 920 . The running/drilling tool is adapted to transmit axial and torsional forces from the drill pipe 910 to the liner 920 . The running tool may be released from the liner 920 so that the BHA may be retrieved. Preferably, the running tool has torque capability that equals or exceeds the drill pipe capability and is adapted to endure typical bore hole drilling dynamics. Exemplary running tools are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,613,567, 5,531,273, and 6,032,734, which patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The liner top equipment (liner hanger and PBR) may also include large radial clearance for cuttings bypass and reduced ECD and setting of liner hanger does not reduce the annular clearance area significantly. In one embodiment, setting of the liner hanger and release of drilling tool may be independent of the differential pressure between the inside of the tool and the outside of the liner to prevent premature activation. In another embodiment, the liner top assembly is not equipped with a packer. In yet another embodiment, the liner top assembly utilizes an expandable liner hanger and/or expandable packers.
An inner string 930 extends from the liner running/drilling tool 916 to a drilling latch 940 below. The inner string 930 may be used to convey fluid from the drill pipe 910 and/or to retrieve the BHA. Also, it should be noted that fluid may be conveyed outside of the inner string, inside of the inner string, or the flow split between both. In one embodiment, the fluid returning to the surface may flow through the annular area between the wellbore and the outer diameter of the liner and/or the annular area between the inner diameter of the liner and the outer diameter of the inner string. The drilling latch 940 is adapted to releasably connect to the liner 920 . An exemplary drilling latch is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004-0216892, filed on Mar. 5, 2004 by Giroux et al. having Ser. No. 10/795,214, entitled Drilling With Casing Latch, which application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The drilling latch 940 is adapted to transfer axial and torsional forces from the liner 920 to the bottom hole assembly (“BHA”). The drilling latch 940 may be hydraulically, mechanically, or remotely actuated. Suitable actuating mechanism includes mud pulse technology, wire line, and fiber optics.
As shown in FIG. 9 , the bottom hole assembly includes one or more stabilizers 955 , a motor 960 , an under-reamer 965 , MWD/LWD 970 , rotary steerable systems 975 , and a drill bit 980 . It must be noted that the BHA may include other components, in addition to or in place of the listed items, such as other geophysical measurement sensors, stabilizers such as eccentric or adjustable stabilizers, steerable systems such as bent motor housing, other drill bits such as expandable bit or bits having nozzles or jetting orifices for directional drilling, or any other suitable component as is known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the components of the BHA may be arranged in any suitable order as is known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the under-reamer may be place below the motor and MWD/LWD tool.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow. | In one embodiment, a method of forming a wellbore includes running a liner drilling assembly into the wellbore, the liner drilling assembly having a liner, a conveying member, one or more connection members, and a drilling member. The method includes temporarily suspending the liner at a location below the rig floor; releasing the conveying member and the drilling member from the liner; re-connecting the conveying member to the liner; releasing the liner from its location of temporary suspension; and advancing the liner drilling assembly. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a floor frame assembly, and, in particular, to a floor frame assembly frequently employed in the construction of mobile homes and modular housing.
Floor frame assemblies are prefabricated structures typically used to facilitate the construction of buildings, including buildings such as mobile homes and modular houses. Those assemblies that satisfy government specifications are used in the construction of HUD code houses and BOCA code houses.
Floor frame assemblies are normally manufactured or mass produced to lower costs at a convenient site remote from the eventual location of a building. Mobile home or manufactured housing manufacturers use such assemblies to construct a building structure at a factory location. These building structure units which are sized to be transportable as constructed typically each use a single, specially designed floor frame assembly to serve as the entire floor support of the unit. Manufactured housing units may employ two or more floor frame assemblies, each of which provides a structurally sound base upon which to construct a different portion of a finished unit. After the finished portions are individually transported to a final destination, the floor frame assemblies are interconnected to create a stable home base, and added roofing and siding conceals the fact that the house was initially formed in multiple pieces.
Typical existing floor frame assemblies, while useful to speed the construction of buildings, are not without their shortcomings. For example, it is usual for the assemblies to include outriggers, disposed on longitudinal beams, that extend laterally upwardly, necessitating wood fabrication build up in order to be leveled for support upon foundation walls or attached to an adjacent assembly. Other known floor frame assemblies such as seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,015,375 and 4,106,258 have outriggers, which are built up from several separate wood or metal components. These types of assemblies, in addition to being more expensive to construct due to the number of independent components, are sometimes more difficult to install. Thus, it is desirable to provide a floor frame assembly which provides adequate strength to the floor frame and which simplifies building construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one form thereof, the present invention provides a floor frame assembly including first and second longitudinal support beams. The first and second support beams, which are arranged parallel to each other, each include an outward directed side surface and an inward directed side surface. The assembly also includes a plurality of cross members which extend from one inward side surface to the other inward side surface of the first and second structural support beams and connect the beams together. The assembly also includes outwardly extending rectangular, one-piece outriggers secured to each of the first and second structural support beams at their outward directed side surfaces.
An advantage of the floor frame assembly of the present invention is that the outriggers utilized do not require wood build up for mounting upon a foundation, thereby simplifying construction. Another advantage of the floor frame assembly of the present invention is that the outriggers utilized may be relatively inexpensive due to their one-piece construction. Still another advantage of the floor frame assembly of the present invention is that the one-piece outriggers utilized are both rigid and strong enough for expected use conditions. Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a fragmented top perspective view of a one end portion of the floor frame assembly of the present invention, wherein portions of the associated wall beam, perimeter rails, and floor joist assembly are also shown.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of two floor frame assemblies placed on a building foundation and with parts of the building framework installed thereon.
FIG. 3 shows an end view of the building shown in FIG. 2. Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of an end portion of the floor frame assembly of the present invention, generally designated 10. Disposed on opposite sides of floor frame assembly 10 are outside wall perimeter rails 12 and an inside or mating wall beam 14, all made of wood. A floor joist assembly made of wood and juxtaposed over frame assembly 10 includes longitudinal floor beams 18 and transverse floor joists 16 upon which flooring (not shown) is eventually installed. Although generally coterminous with floor frame assembly 10, perimeter rails 12, mating wall beam 14, and the floor joist assembly are shown fragmented in the Figures for purposes of better illustrating the construction of floor frame assembly 10.
Still referring to FIG. 1, floor frame assembly 10 is fabricated from steel that provides sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand expected uses. Floor frame assembly 10 includes a pair of longitudinal support beams 20, 25 which run the length of assembly 10. Arranged side by side and disposed horizontally, support beams 20, 25 are preferably parallel in alignment. Support beam 20 includes a top flange 21, a bottom flange 22, an outwardly directed side surface 23, and an inwardly directed side surface 24. Support beam 25 similarly includes a top flange 26, a bottom surface 27, an outwardly directed side surface 28, and an inwardly directed side surface 29 which faces side surface 24 of beam 20. While shown as being I-beams, beams 20, 25 could also be constructed from beams with different cross-sections.
A series of spaced, parallel cross members 32, extending between support beams 20, 25, are securely fastened by welding to the inwardly directed side surfaces 24, 29 of beams 20, 25. Tie rods 34 disposed at either end of each cross member 32 further secure each cross member 32 with beams 20, 25. The top surface 33 of each cross member 32 is disposed below the support beams top flanges 21, 26. As a result, when floor joists 16 span beams 20, 25, a space or opening 36 exists between joists 16 and cross members 32 through which electrical conduits, ventilation ductwork, and other building services can be circuited.
Still referring to FIG. 1, a series of parallel outwardly extending outriggers 40 are positioned along support beams 20, 25. In the preferred embodiment, each outrigger 40 is similarly constructed, and consequently the following explanation with respect to a single outrigger 40 has equal application to the other outriggers. Outrigger 40, which is of a one-piece construction, is substantially rectangular in profiled shape and Z-shaped in cross-section as shown. The rectangular shape of outrigger 40 is defined by a top flange 42, a bottom flange 43, an inner end which terminates at and is securely connected, preferably by welding, to outwardly directed side surfaces 23, 28 of beams 20, 25, and an outward surface to which is welded or otherwise connected a mounting plate 45. As outrigger 40 is generally the same height as support beams 20, 25, top and bottom flanges 42, 43 of outrigger 40 are respectively coplanar with the top and bottom flanges of the beams. Mounting plate 45, which is as wide as the longitudinal extent of the flanges of outrigger 40, includes numerous apertures 47 through which fasteners such as nails, bolts or the like are passed during fabrication of the structure being constructed. In addition, while still maintaining a substantially rectangular profiled shape, outrigger 40 could be formed with different cross-sections, including I-shaped or C-shaped cross-sections.
Still referring to FIG. 1, during the initial stages of building construction, outside wall perimeter rails 12 and a wall beam 14 are securely and rigidly attached to floor frame assembly 10. The floor joist assembly which includes joists 16 and beams 18 is then installed over floor frame assembly 10.
Two floor frame assemblies 10 are shown being used to construct a building on a walled foundation 50 in FIGS. 2 and 3. Perimeter rails 12 rest directly on and are supported by opposite foundation walls 50. In some frame assemblies, rails 12 could be omitted so that outriggers 40 rest upon foundation walls 50. Facing wall beams 14 are bolted or otherwise fastened together, thereby rigidly securing together assemblies 10. As shown in FIG. 3, jack-post 52 is positioned directly underneath the attached wall beams 14, to provide a central support for assemblies 10.
After installation of floor frame assemblies 10 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, side wall framing 54 and roof trusses 56 can be built over the floor joist assemblies in preparation for the application of siding and roofing. In modern housing, each floor frame assembly 10 will carry a portion of the wall and roof structure for the building. When the frame assemblies are placed upon the prepared foundation and joined at beams 14, a complete housing structure is fabricated except for finishing.
While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, additional longitudinal beams or outriggers than shown could be employed. For some applications, a single floor frame assembly 10 could be used. Other times, three or more such assemblies could be set upon a foundation. 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. | A floor frame assembly for facilitating the construction of buildings including mobile homes and modular homes. The floor frame assembly includes longitudinally extending structural support beams which are arranged side by side. The structural support beams are rigidly connected by a plurality of cross members extending therebetween. A plurality of one-piece outriggers are separately secured to the longitudinal beams and transversely extend laterally outward therefrom. The outriggers are substantially rectangular in shape. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Unlawful entry into containers is a serious problem. This is true of containers secured to buildings containing wire or cable connections for electrical or conmunication systems. Although not limited thereto, the subject invention is especially useful as a housing for TV cable equipment at the juncture of wires leading to individual living units and the master cable coming to the building. Breaking and entering into conventional boxes is not uncommon. Thieves do this to tap onto the master cable to avoid paying the usual service charges for TV service. Conventional boxes are relatively easy to break into. This is now corrected by the subject invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention is a container which is economical to make; easy to install and operate and which provides adequate resistance to criminals who might attempt to pry open the door of the unit.
The invention features a hinged door which is pushed upward and secured by the cam action of its lock when in the closed position. Such action brings flanges along the top and bottom edges of the door within matching grooves of the body of the container. Also the locking operation brings projections on one side of the door into matching recesses along one side of the container. Having a novel hinge on the remaining edge of juncture, the closed container is sealed. It avoids components that could serve as a bearing surface for tools used in prying.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention with the door closed.
FIG. 2 is perspective view thereof with the door open.
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view thereof with door raised.
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view with the door in the lowered position for opening.
FIG. 5 is the same side view except the door is open.
FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view from the inside of the container.
FIG. 7 is a vertical section thereof taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 1 showing door in a locked position.
FIG. 8 is same as left section of FIG. 7 except door is in an unlocked position.
FIG. 9 is same section as that of FIG. 8 except door is in open positon. It is taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 2
FIG. 10 is a detail of the novel hinge as when the door is locked.
FIG. 11 is same as FIG. 10 except the door is unlocked.
FIG. 12 is a detail showing the alignment of projections and recesses before engagement.
FIG. 13 is a detail showing engagement of projections and recesses.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Again referring to the drawing, wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout, the numeral 20 points to the entire unit. It is preferably made of 16 gauge galvanized sheet steel. Parts are riveted or spot welded together. Item 22 is the body portion. It is of rectangular shell configuration as illustrated. It has conventional "knock-outs" 30 in its bottom panel 50. This is for entry of conduits or cable 32 when used as a junction box. Vent louvers 34 may be provided on the side panels as shown. The top panel 48 may have conventional "knock-out" 60 to create orificies for wires.
Novel features reside in the outer edge of the top, bottom and one side of the body portion. Such edges are provided with recessed members suitable for accepting mating portions on the door. This is to thwart attempts to wedge a tool between the body portion and the abutting door.
Thus integral with, and as an extension of side 22, we have provided a flange with a plurality (preferably two) of L-shaped recesses 42. The end of the horizontal leg of each recess is open and the other leg extends vertically upward.
Attention is next invited to the bottom recessed member. It is preferably an inverted channel member 52 integral with and extended along the entire exposed edge.
Oppositely disposed to the bottom is top recessed member 58. It too is of U-shape channel configuration. One leg thereof is an extension of the outer edge of the top panel. It is beyond the lateral distance of the bottom extension whereby the transverse section of the portion is flush with the face of the door when the door is closed.
Turning now to the novel door, it features projections to snugly fit within the space of the body portion recesses. Thus projections 40 are mounted by their bases to an inwardly turned edge-section (unnumbered) along one side of door 24. They are essentially bosses or pins and are the same in number as recesses 42 in which they fit.
Next in order is bottom flange portion 44. It is formed as the up-turned outer edge of the horizontal bottom section (unnumbered) of the door panel.
Next, is top flange 46. It too is formed as the up-turned outer edge of the horizontal top section (unnumbered) of the door panel. As can be seen, the top horizontal section is more narrow than the parallel bottom horizontal section. This difference accommodates the difference in horizontal extension of the corresponding recessed portions with which the flanges mate.
For locking the door into engagement with the body portion, is securing means 26. Preferably, this securing means is a key 28 operated conventional lock mounted in the horizontal bottom section of the door midway along its length. The key rotates a shaft within the lock to which is affixed, at its opposite end, a bar or arm 36. FIGS. 7 through 9 of the drawings best show the engaging parts of the door, body, the lock and their alignments.
As a final novel contribution, the assembly has a novel hinge between the door and body. It is mounted along the side opposite that of the described projection and L-shape recess arrangement. Preferably it is a modified piano hinge. The common double-leaf 54 with pintle 56 features are retained. Unique space means is added between the leaves where they come together at the pintle. This space is substantially equal, in vertical dimension, to the distance the described projections move into the described recesses. This permits desired vertical movement of the door.
In use, the box is mounted on a building wall by screws or bolts through its back wall and with the projections, recesses and hinge spaces as illustrated. An incoming cable is permanently maintained through a fixed orifice. Outgoing multiple cables separately extend through orifices with suitable connections between the incoming and outgoing cables being provided within the container. To add or remove a cable the operator merely rotates the lock arm with a key. The arm slides off the horizontal surface of the bottom recess member and the entire door automatically drops due to the force of gravity. It drops far enough for the mating parts to clear each other and it stops because one hinge leaf again rests on the other leaf at the hinge pintle. Now the door may be swung open. To close and lock the door the process is reversed. The door is swung shut, then manually raised. Space is closed on one side of the hinge's leaves and equal space is opened on the lower other side. Projections and flanges fit into aligned recesses, the key is again turned and the arm resting on the bottom recess surface holds the door up in a sealed, tamper resistant position.
Skilled persons may make obvious changes without departing from the scope of the subjoined claims. | A container for TV cables and terminals with mating edges between the stationary body part and its hinged door to reduce the opportunity for forced illegal entry by apartment and condominium dwellers. | 8 |
FIELD
The present invention is in the fields of genetic engineering and plant husbandry, and especially provides a means for producing modified 7S legume seed storage proteins in a plant by transforming a plant to contain a modified 7S legume seed storage protein gene. Also provided are plant-transforming prokaryotic plasmid vectors carrying such modified seed storage genes and plant cells transformed by such a vector.
BACKGROUND
Overview of Agrobacterium
Reviews of Agrobacterium-caused disease, plant transformation, genetic engineering, and gene expression include those by, or found in, Merlo DJ (1982) Adv. Plant Pathol. 1:139-178; Ream LW and Gordon MP (1982) Science 218:854-859; Bevan MW and Chilton M-D (1982) Ann. Rev. Genet. 16:357-384; Kahl G and Schell J (1982) Molecular Biology of Plant Tumors; Barton KA and Chilton M-D (1983) Meth. Enzymol. 101:527-539; Weissbach A and Weissbach H, eds. (1986) Meth. Enzymol. 118 (see especially Rogers SG et al., pp. 627-640); Depicker A et al. (1983) in Genetic Engineering of Plants: an Agricultural Perspective, eds: Kosuge T et al., pp. 143-176; Caplan A et al. (1983) Science 222:815-821; Hall TC et al., European Patent application 126,546; and Binns AN (1984) Oxford Surveys Plant Mol. Cell Biol. 1:130-160; Hall TC (1985) Oxford Surveys Plant Mol. Biol. 2:329-338; Hooykaas PJJ and Schilperoort RA (1985) Trends Biochem. Sci. 10:307-309; Thomas TL and Hall TC (1985) Bioassays 3:149-153; Puhler A, ed. (1983) Molecular Genetics of the Bacteria-Plant Interaction; and Schilperoort RA (1984) in Efficiency in Plant Breeding (Proc. 10th Congr. Eur. Assoc. Res. Plant Breeding), eds: Lange W et al., pp. 251-285.
Transformation of Plants by Agrobacterium
Plant cells can be transformed by Agrobacterium by several methods well known in the art. For a review of recent work, see Syono K (1984) Oxford Surveys Plant Mol. Cell Biol. 1:217-219. Inoculation of leaf disks is particularly advantageous (Horsch RB et al. (1985) Science 227:1229-1231).
The host range of crown gall pathogenesis may be influenced by T-DNA-encoded functions such as onc genes (Hoekema A et al. (1984) J. Bacteriol. 158:383-385; Hoekema A et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:3043-3047; Buchholz WC and Thomasshow MF (1984) 160:327-332; Yanofsky M (1985) Mol. Gen. Genet. 201:237-246). Vir genes also affect host range (Yanofsky, supra).
Genes on the Transformation-Inducing Plasmids
The complete sequence of the T-DNA of an octopine-type plasmid found in ATCC 15955, pTi15955, has been reported (Barker RF et al. (1983) Plant Mol. Biol. 2:335-350) as has the TL region of pTiAch5 (Gielen J et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:835-846). Published T-DNA genes do not contain introns. Sequences resembling canonical eukaryotic promoter elements and polyadenylation sites can be recognized.
The ocs gene encodes octopine synthase (lysopine dehydrogenase). Koncz C et al. (1983) EMBO J. 2:1597-1603 provides a functional analysis of ocs. Dhaese P et al. (1983) EMBO J. 2:419-426, reported the utilization of various polyadenylation sites by "transcript 7" (ORF3 of Barker R et al., supra) and ocs.
The nos gene encodes nopaline synthase (sequenced by Depicker A et al. (1982) J. Mol. Appl. Genet. 1:561-573). Shaw CH et al. (1984) Nucl. Acids Res. 12:7831-7846; and An G et al. (1986) Mol. Gen. Genet. 203:245-250, provide functional analyses of nos.
Ti and Ri plasmid genes outside of the T-DNA region include the vir genes, which when mutated result in an avirulent Ti plasmid. The vir genes function in trans, being capable of causing the transformation of plant cells with T-DNA of a different plasmid type and physically located on another plasmid. Such arrangements are known as binary systems and the T-DNA bearing plasmids are generally known as micro-Ti plasmids. Many binary systems are known to the art. T-DNA need not be on a plasmid to transform a plant cell; chromosomally located T-DNA is functional (Hoekema A et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:2485-2490). Ti plasmid-determined characteristics have been reviewed by Merlo, supra (see especially Table II), and Ream and Gordon, supra.
Seed Storage Protein Expression
A gene encoding bean phaseolin has been transferred into and expressed in sunflower tumors. Transcription started and stopped at the correct positions, and introns were posttranscriptionally processed properly (Murai N et al. (1983) Science 222:476-482). The phaseolin gene was expressed at a high level in developing tobacco seeds (Sengupta-Gopalan C et al. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:3320-3324). Similar results have been observed with soybean betaconglycinin which is about 60% homologous with the phaseolin gene (Beachy RN et al. (1985) EMBO J. 4:3047-3053). Some genes for the endosperm protein zein, from the monocot Zea mays, are transcribed in dicot cells, though translational products of these transcripts have not been detected (Matzke MA et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:1525-1531, Goldsbrough et al. (1986) Mol. Gen. Genet. 202:374-381). Murai N et al. (1983) Science 222:476-482, reported fusion of the ocs promoter and its structural gene's 5'-end to a phaseolin structural gene, and expression thereof.
Legume Storage Proteins
A seed storage protein is a protein present in a seed having as its primary function the storage of amino acids for use by a seedling derived after germination of that seed to make other proteins. Legume storage proteins are reviewed by Derbyshire E et al. (1976) Phytochem. 15:3-24, and Millerd A (1975) Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 26:53-72. The 7S storage proteins are classified as such because of their sedimentation coefficient (about 7 svedbergs). Doyle JJ et al. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261:9228-9238, compare sequences of 7S storage proteins from Phaseolus vulgaris (phaseolin), Glycine max (beta-conglycinin), and Pisum sativum (vicilin and convicilin). They found that β-type phaseolin and the α' subunit of β-conglycinin have considerable homology at both the nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels (Doyle et al. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261:9228-9238). Doyle et al. compared the degree of apparent nucleotide divergence for 18 regions and found that the overall corrected divergence between these genes is about 41%. Protein sequences (Doyle et al., FIG. 2) shows that about 40% or more of those residues are either identical or have conservative substitutions (196 conserved or identical residues out of 509 residues compared).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that most herbivores cannot synthesize all twenty of the amino acids used to make proteins. These amino acids which must be supplied in the herbivore's diet, are referred to as "essential amino acids". For many species of mammals, the basic amino acids, i.e. lysine, and the sulfur-containing amino acids, e.g. methionine and cysteine, are essential. As cereal seed storage proteins are low in basic amino acids and legume storage proteins are low in sulfur-containing amino acids, mammalian diets often contain a mixture of legumes and grains so that the total amino acid complement consumed is balanced. The ability to express a 7S legume seed storage protein having relatively high levels of methionine in a plant can allow one to create a more nutritious plant having a better mix of amino acids. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to increase the sulfur-containing amino acid content of a legume storage protein. Methods are provided for expression of these modified genes in plant cells. Furthermore, DNA molecules useful for this are provided. As exemplified herein, a 7S seed storage protein gene from Phaseolus vulgaris, phaseolin, has been modified to contain an insertion of methionine-encoding sequences of a Zea mays seed storage protein, zein. This modified gene has been expressed in seeds of Nicotiana tabacum. Phaseolin is a globulin (i.e., it is soluble in saline solutions), while zein is a prolamine (i.e., it is soluble in ethanolic solutions).
In particular, one can modify a 7S legume seed storage protein. A modification of the Phaseolus vulgaris 7S storage protein phaseolin is exemplified herein, but other 7S storage proteins, such as the Glycine max protein beta-conglycinin, could similarly be modified. The exemplified modification increases the particular phaseolin gene's content of sulfur-containing amino acids, in this case methionine, about three-fold. The modification can be one or more insertions or substitutions. DNA molecules having structural genes encoding such modified 7S legume seed storage protein can also be made. To express such a protein in a plant, one must have the structural gene combined with promoter and a polyadenylation site, the promoter, the structural gene, and the polyadenylation site being in such position and orientation with respect to each other that the structural gene is expressible in a plant cell under control of the promoter and the polyadenylation site. The promoter and the polyadenylation site are most conveniently derived from the same gene as the structural gene or from another 7S legume storage protein gene. The phaseolin and beta-conglycinin genes provide very useful promoters. A plant-expressible modified 7S seed storage protein gene can be transformed into a plant after it has been inserted into a T-DNA, which includes a T-DNA border repeat and a selectable or screenable marker (e.g. a neomycin phosphotransferase gene or an ocs gene). Also disclosed herein is a method for expressing a modified 7S legume seed storage protein in a plant cell by modifying a DNA sequence of a structural gene encoding a 7S legume seed storage protein, transforming a plant cell with the modified structural gene, the modified gene being expressible in a plant cell, and regenerating a plant descended from the transformed plant cell.
It is believed that before this invention there were no published reports of expression of an artificially modified 7S legume seed storage protein structural gene. Before the work presented herein was done, it was not known if, when expressed in a plant cell, a modified 7S legume seed storage globulin would be stable, if it would be glycosylated, if it would undergo proper posttranslational processing, if it would be located in the proper cellular compartment, and if its polypeptide backbone would properly fold.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 diagrams, schematically and not necessarily to scale, construction of a micro-Ti plasmid carrying a plant-expressible phaseolin gene which has been modified to have an increased methionine content. Restriction sites have been abbreviated as follows: Ba, BamHI; Bg, BglII; H, HindIII; and X, XbaI. Other abbreviations include Amp R and Tet R , respectively for bacterial resistance genes for ampicillin and tetracycline, NPT1 for a bacteria-expressible neomycin phosphotransferase I gene, NPT2 for a plant-expressible neomycin phosphotransferase II gene PL for a polylinker (a short stretch of DNA having numerous restriction sites), Neo R for a bacteria-expressible neomycin phosphotransferase II gene, OCS for a plant-expressible octopine synthase gene (ocs), and A and B for the octopine-type T L -DNA A and B border repeats. Phaseolin exons are indicated by the solid-filled boxes. Open boxes indicate the Tet R , Amp R , PL (polylinker), borders A and B, NPT1, NPT2, Neo R , and ocs. Additionally, for p121(+45), pSPPneo, and pSPhiPneo, open boxes can indicate the location of octopine-type T L -DNA sequences that are not part of an indicated gene or border. Arrows inside a circle indicate the direction of transcription of the indicated gene while the arrow out of the circle next to the filled boxes indicates the location of the phaseolin promoter and its direction of transcription.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following definitions are provided, in order to remove ambiguities to the intent or scope of their usage in the Specification and Claims.
7S Legume Seed Storage Protein: Refers to any protein having at least 20% homology to either the nucleic acid or protein sequence of either phaseolin or beta-conglycinin.
Modified Protein: Refers to having a different amino acid sequence than a naturally occurring protein.
Promoter: Refers to sequences at the 5'-end of a structural gene involved in initiation of transcription. A plant-expressible promoter is any promoter capable of driving transcription in at least one type of plant cell in at least one developmental stage. Eukaryotic promoter sequences are commonly recognized by the presence of DNA sequences homologous to the canonical form 5' . . . TATAA . . .3' about 10-30 base pairs (bp) 5'-to the location of the 5'-end of the mRNA (cap site). About 30 bp 5'-to the TATAA, another promoter sequence is often found which is recognized by the presence of DNA sequences homologous to the canonical form 5' . . . CCAAT . . . 3'.
Transcript Terminator: Refers herein to any nucleic acid sequence capable of determining the position of the 3'-end of a transcript. The transcript terminator DNA segment may itself be a composite of segments derived from a plurality of sources, naturally occurring or synthetic, prokaryotic, or eukaryotic, and may be from a genomic DNA or an mRNA-derived cDNA (mRNA: messenger RNA). Transcript termination sites include polyadenylation sites and sites determining the 3'-end of ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and nonpolyadenylated mRNAs (e.g. histone mRNA: Krieg PA and Melton DA (1984) Nature 308:203-206).
A polyadenylation site is a nucleic acid sequence correlated with polyadenylation of mRNA in eukaryotes, i.e. after transcriptional termination polyadenylic acid "tails" are added to the 3'-end of mRNA precursors. Polyadenylation sites are commonly recognized by the presence of homology to the canonical form 5' . . . AATAAA . . . 3', although variations of distance 5' to the 3'-end of the transcript, partial "read-thru", and multiple tandem canonical sequences are not uncommon. DNA sequences between 20 and 35 bp downstream from the transcripts 3'-end seem to be necessary (McDevitt MA et al. (1984) Cell 37:993-999). It should be recognized that a canonical "polyadenylation site" may actually determine the location of the 3'-end of the mRNA and not polyadenylation per se (Proudfoot N (1984) Nature 307:412-413; Birnstiel ML et al. (1985) Cell 41:349-359).
Transcription Controlling Sequences: Refers to a promoter/transcript terminator site combination flanking a structural gene. The promoter and terminator DNA sequences flanking a particular foreign structural gene need not be derived from the same gene (e.g. pairing two different T-DNA transcripts) or the same taxonomic source (e.g. pairing sequences from T-DNA with sequences from non-T-DNA sources such as plants, animals, fungi, yeasts, eukaryotic viruses, bacteria, and synthetic sequences).
Translational Initiation Site: Refers herein to the 5'AUG3' translational start codon at the 5'-end of a structural gene, the nucleotide following the AUG, and the 3 nucleotides preceding the AUG (see Kozak M (1983) Microbiol. Rev. 47:1-45, and Kozak M (1984) Nucl. Acids Res. 12:857-872).
5'-Untranslated Sequence: Refers herein to the part of an mRNA between its 5'-end, or "cap site", and the translational start codon.
3'-Untranslated Sequence: Refers herein to the part of an mRNA between its translational stop codon and either its polyadenlylic acid segment or the 3'-end of a nonpolyadenylated mRNA.
Plant-Expressible Selectable or Screenable Marker: Refers herein to a genetic marker functional in a plant cell. A selectable marker (e.g. a kanamycin resistance gene) allows cells containing and expressing that marker to grow under conditions unfavorable to growth of cells not expressing that marker. A screenable marker (e.g. a beta-galactosidase gene) facilitates identification of cells which express that marker.
Plant-Expressible: Refers to the ability of a gene to be expressed in a plant cell. A gene is plant-expressible if a plant is capable of expressing it in at least one tissue or cell type in at least one developmental stage.
T-DNA: Refers in the art to the DNA sequence between and including two T-DNA border repeats capable of being transferred to a plant cell from a vir gene-containing Agrobacterium cell.
Transforming: Refers to the act of causing a cell to contain a nucleic acid molecule or sequence not originally part of that cell. Often, but not always, a transformation involves insertion of the transformed DNA into the cell's DNA.
Plant Tissue: Includes differentiated and undifferentiated tissues of plants including but not limited to roots, shoots, pollen, seeds, tumor tissue, such as crown galls, and various forms of aggregations of plant cells in culture, such as embryos and calluses. The plant tissue may be in planta or in organ, tissue, or cell culture.
Plant Cell: As used herein includes plant cells in planta and plant cells and protoplasts in culture.
The following terms are well known in the art and are not specifically or specially defined herein: insertion, substitution, T-DNA border repeat, transcription under control of a promoter, and structural gene.
Production of a genetically modified plant cell expressing a modified 7S legume seed storage protein gene combines the specific teachings of the present disclosure with a variety of techniques and expedients known in the art. In most instances, alternative expedients exist for each stage of the overall process. The choice of expedients depends on variables such as the choice of the particular 7S seed storage protein gene, the particular modification, the exact location(s) of the modifications, the dicot species to be modified, the basic vector system for the introduction and stable maintenance of the promoter/structural gene combination, and the like, all of which present alternative process steps which those of ordinary skill are able to select and use to achieve a desired result. As novel means are developed for the stable insertion and transcription of foreign DNA in plant cells, those of ordinary skill in the art will be able to select among those alternate process steps to achieve a desired result. The fundamental aspects of the invention are the nature of the 7S seed storage protein and the nature of the modification thereof and the use of a gene encoding this storage protein to synthesize this modified protein in cells of plants transformed therewith. Other aspects include the means of insertion and expression of this modified gene in a plant genome. The remaining steps of the preferred embodiment for obtaining a genetically modified plant include inserting the combination into T-DNA, transferring the modified T-DNA to a plant cell wherein the modified T-DNA becomes stably integrated as part of the plant cell genome, techniques for in vitro culture and eventual regeneration into whole plants, which may include steps for selecting and detecting transformed plant cells and steps of transferring the introduced gene combination from the originally transformed strain into commercially acceptable cultivars, and monitoring expression in transformed plants.
A principal feature of the present invention in its preferred embodiment is the construction of a T-DNA derivative having an inserted modified gene under control of plant-expressible transcription controlling sequences, i.e., between a promoter and a transcript terminator, as these terms have been defined, supra. The structural gene must be inserted in correct position and orientation with respect to the promoter. Position relates to which side of the promoter the structural gene is inserted. It is known that the majority of promoters control initiation of transcription and translation in one direction only along the DNA. The region of DNA lying under promoter control is said to lie "downstream" or alternatively "behind" or "3' to" the promoter. Therefore, to be controlled by the promoter, the correct position of a structural gene insertion must be "downstream" from the promoter. Orientation refers to the directionality of the structural gene. That portion of a structural gene which encodes the amino terminus of a protein is termed the 5'-end of the structural gene, while that end which encodes amino acids near the carboxyl end of the protein is termed the 3'-end of the structural gene. Correct orientation of the structural gene is with the 5'-end thereof proximal to the promoter. Similarly to the promoter region, the transcript terminator must be located in correct position and orientation relative to the structural gene being proximal to the 3'-end of the structural gene. Differences in rates of gene expression or developmental control may be observed depending on the particular components, e.g. promoters, transcript terminators, flanking DNA sequences, or site of insertion into the transformed plant's genome. Storage protein accumulation may also be affected by storage protein mRNA stability, which can be greatly influenced by mRNA secondary structure, especially stem-loop structures. Different properties, including, but not limited to, such properties as stability, intracellular localization, posttranscriptional processing, and other functional properties of the expressed structural gene itself may be observed when promoter/structural gene/transcript terminator components are varied. All of these variations present numerous opportunities to manipulate and control the functional properties of the 7S seed storage protein, depending upon the desired physiological properties within the plant cell, plant tissue, and whole plant.
The fundamental principle of the present invention is that modified 7S legume seed storage globulins are capable of being made in plant cells that contain a plant-expressible modified 7S legume seed storage protein gene combination. The requirements for which DNA sequence segments are to be included in such a gene are best couched in functional terms. Transcript terminators, in particular polyadenylation sites, and promoters are understood in the art to be functional terms. However, the art understands a promoter to be that DNA segment capable of initiating transcription. Numerous promoters have been defined by methods such as deletion analysis. A promoter is the smallest continuous DNA segment that is necessary and sufficient to cause RNA polymerase to transcribe a flanking DNA segment. A promoter-bearing DNA segment may contain additional DNA sequences that are not necessary for transcription. Similarly, a polyadenylation site (or other transcript terminator) is functionally defined as the smallest continuous DNA segment that is necessary and sufficient to cause a transcript to become polyadenylated (or otherwise terminated). The functional requirements for a structural gene are also well understood. A structural gene must start with a translational initiation (start, AUG) site, end with a translational termination (stop) codon (UAA, UAG, or UGA) and have a integral number of triplet codons in-between, without an intervening stop codon.
The transcript of the modified 7S legume seed storage globulin gene may include heterologous sequences in addition to sequences encoding the modification. Inclusion of various heterologous sequences may affect mRNA stability, cellular localization of the mRNA, posttranscriptional processing, and the like. It is known to the art that RNA stability is affected by terminal structures such as 5'-capping and 3'-polyadenylation and by the extent of internal structure, i.e. intramolecular basepairing. Translational efficiency can similarly be affected by structures in the 5'-untranslated region, and by the exact sequence of the translational initiation site. An intron may be included in a mRNA, provided that, if the splice sites are derived from two different genes, the intron splice sites be compatible.
Combining of DNA segments, including coding, promoter, and transcript terminator sequences, to form a promoter/structural gene/terminator combination is accomplished by means known and understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of recombinant DNA technology. Choice of promoter depends on the developmental regulation desired. Use of developmentally regulated promoters for gene expression in plants is well known in the art. T-DNA or cauliflower mosaic virus promoters are advantageous as they are constitutive. The promoter of the gene for the small subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase may be useful for expression in the green tissues of a plant transformed to contain a promoter/seed storage gene combination. The promoter of seed storage protein gene (e.g. phaseolin) can be used to express a monocot seed storage protein structural gene in plant seeds including seed of nonlegumes (e.g. Nicotiana tabacum). In the preferred embodiments, the transcript terminator is a polyadenylation site. The plant gene source of the polyadenylation site is not crucial provided that the polyadenylation site, the promoter and the structural gene are compatible for transcription and posttranscriptional processing.
As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the plant-expressible modified gene can be placed between any restriction sites convenient for removing the gene from the plasmid it is carried on and convenient for insertion into the plant transformation vector of choice. For example, location of the gene insertion site within T-DNA is not critical as long as the transfer function of sequences immediately surrounding the T-DNA borders are not disrupted, since in prior art studies these regions appear to be essential for insertion of the modified T-DNA into the plant genome. The gene/T-DNA combination is inserted into the plant transformation vector by standard techniques well known to those skilled in the art. The orientation of the modified gene with respect to the direction of transcription and translation of endogenous vector genes is not usually critical; generally, either of the two possible orientations is functional.
As is well known in the art, T-DNA of micro-Ti plasmids can be transferred from an Agrobacterium strain to a plant cell provided the Agrobacterium strain contains certain trans-acting genes whose function is to promote the transfer of T-DNA to a plant cell. Micro-Ti plasmids are advantageous in that they are small and relatively easy to manipulate directly, eliminating the need to transfer the gene to T-DNA from a shuttle vector by homologous recombination. After the modified gene has been inserted, the micro-Ti plasmid can easily be introduced directly into an Agrobacterium cell containing trans-acting vir genes, the vir genes usually being on a "helper plasmid", that promotes T-DNA transfer. Introduction into an Agrobacterium strain is conveniently accomplished either by transformation of the Agrobacterium strain or by conjugal transfer from a donor bacterial cell, the techniques for which are well known to those of ordinary skill. For purposes of introduction of novel DNA sequences into a plant genome, Ti plasmids, Ri plasmids, micro-Ti plasmids, and T-DNA integrated into chromosomes should be considered functionally equivalent.
T-DNA having a modified 7S seed storage protein gene can be transferred to plant cells by any technique known in the art. For example, this transfer is most conveniently accomplished by cocultivation of the Agrobacterium strain with plant cells or with plant tissues. Using these methods, a certain proportion of the plant cells are transformed, that is to say have T-DNA transferred therein and inserted in the plant cell genome. In either case, the transformed cells must be selected or screened to distinguish them from untransformed cells. Selection is most readily accomplished by providing a selectable marker or screenable marker incorporated into the T-DNA in addition to the gene combination. Examples of artificial markers are well known in the art. In addition, the T-DNA provides endogenous markers such as gene(s) controlling abnormal morphology of Ri-induced tumor roots and gene(s) that control resistance to toxic compounds such as amino acid analogs, such resistance being provided by an opine synthesizing enzyme (e.g. ocs). Screening methods well known to those skilled in the art include, but are not limited to, assays for opine production, specific hybridization to characteristic nucleic acid sequences (e.g. storage protein mRNA or T-DNA) or immunological assays for specific proteins (e.g. phaseolin or neomycin phosphotransferase II).
Although the preferred embodiments involve use of micro-Ti plasmids, other T-DNA-based vector systems known to the art may readily be substituted. Furthermore, though the preferred embodiment of this invention incorporates a T-DNA-based Agrobacterium-mediated system for incorporation of the modified 7S seed storage protein gene into the genome of the plant which is to be transformed, other means for transferring and incorporating the modified gene into a plant genome are also included within the scope of this invention. Other means for the stable incorporation of the modified gene into a plant genome additionally include, but are not limited to, use of vectors based upon viral genomes, minichromosomes, transposons, and homologous or nonhomologous recombination into plant chromosomes. Alternate forms of delivery of these vectors into a plant cell additionally include, but are not limited to, fusion with vector-containing liposomes or bacterial spheroplasts, microinjection, encapsidation in viral coat protein followed by an infection-like process, and direct uptake of DNA, possibly after induction of plasmalemma permeability by an electric pulse, a laser, or a chemical agent. Means for transient incorporation and/or expression are also included within the scope of this invention. Systems based on Agrobacterium cells and T-DNAs can be used to transform angiosperms, including dicots and monocots, by transfer of DNA from a bacterium to a plant cell; systems based on alternate vectors or means for vector delivery may be used to transform gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Regeneration of transformed cells and tissues is accomplished by resort to known techniques. An object of the regeneration step is to obtain a whole plant that grows and reproduces normally but which retains integrated T-DNA. The techniques of regeneration vary somewhat according to principles known in the art, and may depend upon the plant transformation vector and the species of the transformed plant. Regeneration of transformed tobacco plants, petunia plants, and plants of related species is well known to the art. As means for regeneration of other plant species are developed, the art will understand, without undue experimentation, how to adapt these newly discovered means for regeneration of plants from transformed plant cells and transformed plant tissues.
The genotype of the plant tissue transformed is often chosen for the ease with which its cells can be grown and regenerated in in vitro culture and for susceptibility to the selective agent to be used. Should a cultivar of agronomic interest be unsuitable for these manipulations, a more amenable variety is first transformed. After regeneration, the newly introduced gene may be readily transferred to the desired agronomic cultivar by techniques well known to those skilled in the arts of plant breeding and plant genetics. Sexual crosses of transformed plants with the agronomic cultivars yield initial hybrids. These hybrids can then be back-crossed with plants of the desired genetic background. Progeny are continuously screened and/or selected for the continued presence of the introduced gene, T-DNA, or for a new phenotype resulting from expression of the gene combination or other genes carried by the inserted DNA. In this manner, after a number of rounds of back-crossing and selection, plants can be produced having a genotype essentially identical to the agronomically desired parents with the addition of inserted DNA sequences.
EXAMPLES
The following Examples are presented for the purpose of illustrating specific embodiments within the scope of the present invention without limiting the scope, the scope being defined by the claims. Numerous variations will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
The Examples utilize many techniques well known and accessible to those skilled in the arts of molecular biology and manipulation of T-DNA and Agrobacterium; such methods are fully described in one or more of the cited references if not described in detail herein. All references cited in this Specification are hereby incorporated by reference. Enzymes are obtained from commercial sources and are used according to the vendors' recommendations and other variations known to the art. Reagents, buffers, and culture conditions are also known to those in the art. Reference works containing such standard techniques include the following: Wu R, ed. (1979) Meth. Enzymol. 63; Wu R et al., eds. (1983) Meth. Enzymol. 100 and 101; Grossman L and Moldave K, eds. (1980) Meth. Enzymol. 65; Weissbach A and Weissbach H, eds. (1986) Meth. Enzymol. 118 (see especially Rogers SG et al., pp. 627-640); Miller JH (1972) Experiments in Molecular Genetics; Davis R et al. (1980) Advanced Bacterial Genetics; Schleif RF and Wensink PC (1982) Practical Methods in Molecular Biology; Walker JM and Gaastra W, eds. (1983) Techniques in Molecular Biology; and (1983) Genet. Engin. 4:1-56, make useful comments on DNA manipulations.
Textual use of the name of a restriction endonuclease in isolation, e.g. "BclI", refers to use of that enzyme in an enzymatic digestion, except in a diagram where it can refer to the site of a sequence susceptible to action of that enzyme, e.g. a restriction site. In the text, restriction sites are indicated by the additional use of the word "site", e.g. "BclI site". The additional use of the word "fragment", e.g. "BclI fragment", indicates a linear double-stranded DNA molecule having ends generated by action of the named enzyme (e.g. a restriction fragment). A phrase such as "BclI/SmaI fragment" indicates that the restriction fragment was generated by the action of two different enzymes, here BclI and SmaI, the two ends resulting from the action of different enzymes.
Plasmids, and only plasmids, are prefaced with a "p", e.g., pTi15955 or pH400, and strain designations parenthetically indicate a plasmid harbored within, e.g., A. tumefaciens (pTi15955) or E. coli H802 (pH400). The following strains have been deposited:
______________________________________E. coli K802 (pCT29K-2) NRRL B-18010A. tumefaciens (pTi15955) ATCC 15955E. coli HB101 (p3.8) NRRL B-15392______________________________________
(ATCC: American Type Culture Collection, 12301 Parklawn Dr., Rockville, Md. 20852 USA; NRRL: ARS Patent Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 N. University St., Peoria, Ill. 61614 USA.) Other plasmids and strains are widely available and accessible to those in the art.
EXAMPLE 1
Construction of a micro-Ti plasmid, pH575
E. coli K802 (pCT29K-2), which has been deposited as NRRL B-18010, was disclosed by Sutton DW et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 788,984, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The T-DNA of pCT29K-2 can be represented as follows:
borderA . . . bacteria-selectable NPT1 . . . unique BglII site . . . plant-selectable NPT2 . . . 5'-end of tml . . . ocs . . . border B.
Except for NPT1 (NPT1 is neomycin phosphotransferase I, NPT2 is neomycin phosphotransferase II), all of these genes are transcribed in the same direction. This T-DNA can be removed from pCT29K-2 on a 9.52 kbp Hind III fragment.
The micro-T-DNA-carrying 9.52 kbp (kilobase pair) HindIII fragment of pCT29K-2 was mixed with and ligated to HindIII-linearized, dephosphorylated pTJS75 DNA (see Klee HJ et al. (1985) Biotechnol. 3:637-642). Restriction mapping of E. coli transformants resistant both to kanamycin and to tetracycline resulted in identification of a colony harboring a plasmid designated pH575 (FIG. 1).
EXAMPLE 2
Preparation of a phaseolin gene
p121 (Murai N et al. (1983) Science 222:476-482) has the pTi15955 BamHI fragment spanning positions 9,062 and 13,774 (T-DNA positions are as reckoned by Barker RF et al. (1983) Plant Mol. Biol. 2:335-350) inserted into the BglII site of pRK290 (Ditta G et al. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77:7347-7351). The T-DNA position 11,207 SmaI site had been converted to a HindIII site and a 6.8 kbp HindIII fragment having a phaseolin gene on a 3.8 kbp BamHI/BglII segment carried by p3.8 (AG-PVPh3.8 of Slightom JL et al. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80:1897-1901), a Tn5kanamycin resistance gene (kan), and some pBR322 sequences; both the phaseolin and kan genes are oriented parallel to the T-DNA tml gene. p121 is described in greater detail by Hall TC et al., European patent application Ser. No. 84302533.9 wherein it is designated p499/6/7. E. coli K802 (p499/6/7) has been deposited as NRRL-15384.
EXAMPLE 3
Insertion of methionine codons into phaseolin gene
p121 has a single XbaI site which is within the third phaseolin exon at about position 805 as reckoned by Slightom et al., supra. XbaI-linearized, p121 DNA was mixed with and ligated to a phosphorylated synthetic oligonucleotide having the following duplex structure: ##STR1## This oligonucleotide encodes 15 amino acids, and has a composition of Arg 2 Asp 3 Gln 2 LeuMet 6 Val, basically representing a duplication of a 15 kD zein sequence encoded by DNA resides 271-291, reckoned as described by Pedersen K et al. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261:6279-6284, inserted into the phaseolin structural gene. This particular 15 kD zein peptide was chosen for its high content of methionine and its alpha-helical structure as predicted by the well known algorithm of Chou and Fasman. This oligonucleotide also contained a FokI restriction site useful for detecting and determining the orientation of the insert, and six methionine codons. When inserted into the phaseolin gene, this oligonucleotide triples the quantity of methionine encoded thereby. (The mature phaseolin polypeptide encoded by the unmodified gene contains three methionine residues, the two methionine residues at the amino terminus being removed by posttranslational processing of the signal peptide.) After ligation the modified phaseolin gene has the following structure: ##STR2## The uppermost portion of the above representation indicates the protein from which the sequence below the line was derived, with the numbers on the ends of the lines indicating the coordinate of the end of the segment as reckoned by Pedersen et al. for zein and Slightom et al. for phaseolin. Note that duplication of the XbaI site lead to duplication of a phaseolin leucine residue encoded thereby, and that the Asp-Gln doublet in the middle of the insertion is duplicated at the 5'-end of the insert. The ligation mixture was transformed into E. coli MC1061 and selected for resistance to tetracycline. Colonies containing the oligonucleotide were identified by hybridization With [32]P-labeled oligonucleotide. A colony was identified by restriction mapping of DNA isolated therefrom which harbored a plasmid, designated p121(+45) (FIG. 1), having the insertion in the orientation so that it encoded an amino acid sequence as indicated above.
EXAMPLE 4
Placement of phaseolin gene between Bam HI sites
p121(+45) DNA was digested with HindIII and a 6 kbp fragment carrying the phaseolin gene/kan combination was electrophoretically isolated. This 6 kbp fragment was mixed with and ligated to HindIII-linearized pSP64 (FIG. 1) DNA (Melton DA et al. (1984) Nucl. Acids. Res. 12:7035-7056). After transformation into E. coli MC1061, DNAs isolated from transformants resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline were characterized by restriction mapping. A colony was identified which harbored a plasmid designated pSPhiPneo (FIG. 1) having the modified phaseolin on a 4.1 kbp BamHI fragment in pSP64.
The above operations were also done with p121 substituting for p121(+45) as a starting material. This resulted in identification of a colony which harbored a plasmid designated pSPPneo (FIG. 1) lacking the 45 bp (base pair) insertion in the phaseolin gene but was otherwise identical to pSPhiPneo.
EXAMPLE 5
Insertion of phaseolin gene into a micro-Ti
BamHI-digested pSPhiPneo DNA was mixed with and ligated to BglII-linearized pH575 DNA. After transformation into E. coli, DNAs isolated from tetracycline-resistant transformants were characterized by restriction analysis. A colony was identified which harbored a plasmid, designated pH5hiP (FIG. 1), having the modified phaseolin gene inserted into the pH575 T-DNA.
The above operations were also done with pSPPneo substituting for pSPhiPneo as a starting material. This resulted in identification of a colony which harbored a plasmid designated pH5P (FIG. 1). pH5P lacked the 45 bp insertion in the phaseolin gene but was otherwise identical to pH5hiP. pH5P served as a wild-type phaseolin control for the pH5hiP mutant.
EXAMPLE 6
An alternative manipulation of phaseolin
A somewhat simpler construction is also possible. p3.8 is opened at its sole XbaI site which is located within the phaseolin gene. The 45 bp insert is then ligated into the phaseolin gene. This modified gene can be removed on a 3.8 kbp BamHI/BglII fragment and be inserted into the BglII site of pH575. The resulting high methionine phaseolin gene-carrying micro-Ti plasmid is virtually identical with pH5hiP, differing only in some sequences 5'-from the phaseolin gene. p3.8 can also be used to make a control plasmid virtually identical to pH5P.
EXAMPLE 7
Plant transformation
pH5hiP and pH5P were individually transferred into A. tumefaciens LBA4404 (Ooms G et al. (1981) Gene 14:33-50), a vir gene-harboring, micro-Ti-mobilizing strain, by the triparental mating technique (Ruvkun GB and Ausubel FM (1981) Nature 289:85-88), which is well known in the art. Tobacco leaf tissue was obtained from 4- or 5-week old Nicotiana tabacum var. Xanthi NC plants grown in a greenhouse. Inoculation was by a modification of the method Horsch RB et al. (1985) Science 227:1229-1231. Inocula were prepared by placing two loopfuls of agrobacteria in 10 ml of L-broth. After suspension by forceful pipetting with a Pasteur pipet, inocula could be used immediately. Leaves were excised and midribs were removed; cutting surfaces were wetted with L-broth to help keep the leaves wet. Leaf pieces were about 2-4 mm wide and about 7-10 mm long. Leaf pieces were dipped in the inoculum for 5-10 min, though in some experiments, leaf pieces were just dipped into the inoculum or were infiltrated with the inoculum in a vacuum flask. Pieces were then blotted dry on sterile filter paper and placed upside down on feeder plates prepared from a Xanthi suspension culture. The feeder plates had a SMPi medium (SMPi: MX - supplemented with 0.1 mg/l p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (pCPA) and 7.5 mg/l 6-(8,8-dimethylallylamino)purine (2iP); MX - : 1.65 g/l NH 4 NO 3 , 1.9 g/l KNO 3 , 440 mg/l CaCl 2 .sup.. 2H 2 O, 370 mg/l MgSO 4 .sup.. 4H 2 O, 170 mg/l KH 2 PO 4 , 0.83 mg/l KI, 6.2 mg/l H 3 BO 3 , 22.3 mg/l MnSO 4 .sup.. 4H 2 O, 8.6 mg/l ZnSO.sub. 4.sup.. 7H 2 O, 0.25 mg/l Na 2 MoO 4 .sup.. 2H 2 O, 0.025 mg/l CuSo 4 .sup.. 5H 2 O, 0.025 mg/l CoCl 2 .sup.. 6H 2 O, 1 g/l inositol, 50 mg/l nicotinic acid, 50 mg/1 pyroxidine.sup.. HCl, 50 mg/l thiamine.sup.. HCl, 30 g/l sucrose, pH 5.8, solidified with 8 g/l agar). Leaf pieces were removed from feeder plates after 4-6 days and placed on SMPi medium supplemented with 500 mg/l carbenicillin, 50 mg/l cloxacillin, and 100-300 mg/l kanamycin (200 mg/l optimum). The resulting shoots were excised and placed on MX - medium supplemented with 100-300 mg/l kanamycin (200 mg/l optimum).
EXAMPLE 8
Expression in plants
Regenerated tobacco plants descended from cells transformed by A. tumefaciens LBA4404 (pH5hiP) or A. tumefaciens LBA4404 (pH5P) were self-fertilized. The resulting can be germinated on MX - supplemented with 100-300 mg/l kanamycin (200 mg/l optimum) to select plants containing the nonmonocot promoter/monocot seed storage protein structural gene-bearing T-DNA. Presence of the transformed T-DNA was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. Presence of mRNA encoding modified or unmodified phaseolin can be confirmed by Northern blot analysis. Presence of phaseolin protein in developing tobacco seeds was detected by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by transfer to membrane filters and immunological detection (western blots). Modified phaseolin was observed in seeds of plants transformed by pH5hiP. The phaseolin promoter is known to be able to express phaseolin in tobacco seeds at levels above about 0.05% total protein levels, often at a level of about 1% protein. | The present invention discloses plant cells which contain modified 7S legume seed storage protein. Modification of 7S seed storage proteins which are expressible in plant cells and transformation of such genes into plant cells is also taught. Furthermore, methods and DNA molecules useful for producing plant cells containing modified 7S seed storage proteins are also disclosed. The invention is exemplified by insertion of an oligonucleotide encoding 15 amino acid residues, including 6 methionines, into a Phaseolus vulgaris phaseolin gene, thereby tripling its content of sulfur-containing amino acids. | 2 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/542,026, filed on Feb. 5, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Polysaccharides such as agaroses, dextrans and cyclodextrans are widely used materials in the life science and biology fields. They can be used as substrates for electrophoresis or as a capture or chromatography media, either directly as a size exclusion material or through the bonding of various capture ligands, such as Protein A to their surfaces or pores.
These products have for the most part been formed by a thermal phase separation process that separates the polymer from an aqueous phase. This is done because these polymers have a melting point and a gel point.
According to the prior art, to make an aqueous solution of agarose, the polymer must be heated above its melting temperature, which is about 92° C., in the presence of water. At or above that temperature the polymer melts and the molten polymer is then solvated by the water. The polymer remains soluble in water as long as the temperature is above the polymer's gel point, which is about 43° C. At and below the gel point, the polymer phase separates and becomes a hydrogel that takes on whatever shape the solution was in just before gelling.
An example of this process is the method for making agarose gel beads as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,601. In this process, an agarose solution is prepared by heating a mixture of agarose and water above the melting point of the polymer; the solution is then maintained at a temperature between the gel point and the melting temperature so that it can be processed. The hot agarose solution is then poured into a hot water-immiscible non-solvent for agarose (oil) and an emulsion is then prepared to form small droplets of aqueous agarose solution suspended in oil. Once the droplets have been formed, the entire system is cooled below the gel point of agarose to gel the droplets and thus form the gel beads.
The two main problems with the polysaccharide solutions of the prior are: (1) the need to maintain them at elevated temperatures without losing water thereby altering the composition of the solution and (2) the gelling behavior of the solution at lower temperatures thereby creating a gel of a fixed shape. This limits the range of applicability of these polymers to formats other than beads or slabs, such as coatings on porous materials due to the inability to process the polymer at room temperature to create layers (coatings) without substantially blocking the pores of said porous materials.
An alternative is known from WO 00/44928 in which agarose is dissolved in water with the use of one or more chaotropes such as urea, guanidium salts or potassium iodide. The solution of agarose formed in this way does not gel at room temperature. However, the coated porous structure that is made is not substantially porous. This may be due to the method of re-gelling the agarose or other factors not stated in the text.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a room temperature polysaccharide solution. More particularly, it relates to a room temperature agarose solution.
The present invention is based on the finding that the gel point of aqueous agarose solutions that normally gel at a temperature above that of room temperature (20-23° C.) and preferably above 30° C. can be suppressed to near or below room temperature thereby creating stable solutions in which the polymer remains in solution under normal room temperatures. It has been found that by incorporating certain gel-inhibiting agents into an aqueous polysaccharide solution, the gel point is reduced or eliminated and the solution remains liquid at room temperature indefinitely. Gel-inhibiting agents that have been found to work include salts, such as lithium chloride and zinc chloride, and bases, such as sodium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide. Mixtures of said salts and said bases can also be used with the same desired results. The composition of the agarose solutions of the present idea can be further modified to include other additives, such as organic co-solvents or non-solvents, pH modifiers, surfactants or other polymers to customize the properties of the solution to improve the processability for the desired application.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A room temperature stable, non-gelling polysaccharide solution according to the present invention is comprised in one embodiment of a polysaccharide such as agarose, a solvent for the agarose, such as water and one or more gel-inhibiting agents.
Another embodiment comprises a polysaccharide such as agarose, a solvent for the polysaccharide, such as water, one or more gel-inhibiting agents and one or more wetting agents.
The polysaccharide of the present solution is an agarose or other polysaccharide that does not dissolve at room temperature in water but will dissolve at higher temperatures and then gel as the temperature falls toward room temperature. Generally, the gel point is above 30° C. This includes most agaroses as well as some dextrans, substituted or cyclodextrans and the like. Other polysaccharides such as most dextrans or low gel point agaroses that easily dissolve in water at room temperature or celluloses that do not dissolve at all in water would not need to use the solution of the present invention.
The room temperature stable solution is formed of polysaccharide preferably a dextran or agarose, one or more gel-inhibiting agents such as various salts or bases, and one or more solvents such as water for the polysaccharide.
To form the solution of the present invention, the polysaccharide, one or more gel-inhibiting agents and solvent are mixed and heated above the melting point of the polysaccharide. The melting point varies for different grades of polysaccharide, but typically for agarose it is between about 90° C. and 98° C., most commonly between 92° C. and about 98° C. This may be done in one step by combining and heating all three components together.
Alternatively and preferably, one can first add the polysaccharide in powdered form to a solvent such as water and disperse the powder into a slurry. It is then heated to dissolve the polysaccharide and cooled it to form a gel. The gel-inhibiting agent is added and dissolved into the gel and form a room temperature stable solution. Optionally, the gel can be reheated to speed the solution of the gel-inhibiting agent is added and dissolved into the solution. Once it has completely dissolved, the solution is cooled, typically to about room temperature (20-23° C.).
In either method, the polysaccharide is dissolved by heating the dispersion in a range of from approximately 90° C. to the boiling temperature. This can be done, for example, in a stirred vessel, or in a microwave oven. The hot solution may be filtered if needed to remove undissolved gel or other particles. Once a clear solution is formed, the solution preferably is allowed to cool.
One may allow this cooling to occur naturally or one may, if desired, affirmatively cool the solution. At room temperature, the solution is a stable, non-gelled solution. The gel point (typically between 30° C. and 68° C.) is suppressed by the addition of the one or more gel-inhibiting agents.
The type of polysaccharide used will be determined by the properties desired of the final coating. The dispersion is made so that the final concentration of polysaccharide is between about 0.1% to about 20%, preferable between about 1% to about 10%, more preferably between about 2% to about 6%, by weight of total final solution.
While water is the preferred solvent for the polysaccharide, a minor amount, up to 20% by weight of the dissolving solution, of co-solvent may be added to improve solubility of the polysaccharide. Examples of suitable co-solvents are dimethylacetamide or dimethylsulfoxide. Others are known to those skilled in the art.
A gel-inhibiting agent is used to prevent the gel from re-gelling after melting and cooling. The agent may be added to the hot solution, or to the solution after cooling to a temperature above the gel point, or at any time prior to complete gelation. In a preferred method, a gel-inhibiting agent is simply added and stirred into the gelled solution. When added to the gel, the heat generated by the addition of the agent tends to assist dissolution of the agent and the formation of a room temperature stable solution. Preferred agents are based on zinc, lithium or sodium salts such as ZnCl 2 , LiCl, and NaOH. Zinc salts can be used at a concentration of greater than about 15% by weight, based on the dissolving solution, up to the solubility limit, about 45.8% for ZnCl 2 , and about 54.6% for Zn(NO 3 ) 2. Lithium salts can be used at concentrations greater than about 18%, to their solubility limit, about 45.8% for LiCl, 51.0% for LiNO3, or 54.0% for LiSCN. NaOH can also be used at about IM concentration. A preferred salt is ZnCl 2 .
The present solution may be used to form gel films such as those used in 2D and 3D electrophoresis, or beads, such as agarose or dextran beads used in chromatography, or as a coating on a porous support to form a porous absorptive structure.
When used as a coating, it is preferable to add gel-modifying materials to the solution in order to modify and control the structure and properties of the final coating. Likewise in forming certain films or beads the addition of various gel-modifying materials may also be beneficial.
One class of added gel-modifying materials comprises volatile organics, miscible with the solution. Examples are monohydric alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, and propanols. These can be used up to concentrations that give a slightly cloudy solution. Higher amounts of these alcohols can cause precipitation of the agarose. Preferred amounts are equi-volumetric with the water in the solution, more preferred is to add the alcohols to about 40% to about 60% of the water. A preferred alcohol is methanol. Miscible ketones such as acetone can also be used, but care must be used as the solubility of agarose is less in ketone-water mixtures. Any mixture of two or more of these materials is also contemplated.
Another class of added gel-modifying materials comprises non-volatile miscible organics. Non-limiting examples of these included glycerine, ethylene glycol, methyl pentane diol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, triethylene glycol, the methyl, ethyl, or n-butyl ethers of ethylene glycol, the dimethyl or diethyl ethers of ethylene glycol, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether acetate ethylene glycol diethyl ether acetate, diethylene glycol methyl ether, diethylene glycol ethyl ether, diethylene glycol n-butyl ether, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, diethylene glycol diethyl ether, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether acetate, diethylene glycol diethyl ether acetate, N-methyl morpholine, N-ethyl morpholine, and the like. Polyethylene glycols of low molecular weight are also examples of materials that are in this class. Any mixture of two or more of these materials is also contemplated.
Another class of added gel-modifying materials comprises water-soluble polymers, which include by way of examples, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycols, dextrans, and water-soluble polyacylamides, including substituted polyacrylamides, such as polydimethylacrylamide. These polymers are believed to act as “porogens.” That is, they control the amount of volume of the coating that is freely permeable to dissolved solutes when the coated porous substrate is in use.
These polymeric additives can be used as blends with the polysaccharide in the initial dissolution step, or they can be dissolved in the solution with or after the added materials just discussed are mixed. Care must be taken not to add an excessive amount of polymer, as coagulation of the solution may occur. Ratios of polymer to polysaccharide of from about 0.1 to 10 are possible. Preferred polymers are polyvinyl alcohol and dextrans. Polyacrylamides have also been found to be useful.
To obtain optimum coatability of the solution on to a substrate, one or more surfactants are added to the solution. Each combination of solution type and substrate will require some experimentation to determine the optimum type of surfactant. Anionic surfactants have been found to be useful, with anionic fluorosurfactants being preferred. Of these, 3M FC-99 and FC-95 or equivalents from other suppliers are most preferred. These can be used in concentrations of from about 0.001% to about 10%, preferably from about 0.01% to about 5% by total weight of the solution.
When formed as a coating, the substrate is impregnated with the coating such as soaking the substrate in a bath of the coating, applying the coating material by a doctor blade, spray nozzle, curtain coater, roll coater, extrusion coater or any other method known to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply a coating to a porous substrate. Excess coating material is removed such as by blotting or shaking the coated substrate, squeezing such as through a nip roller, scraping the surface of the coated matrix or by blowing air or a gas at the substrate's surface.
The solvent for the solution (be it in a film, bead or coating form) is then preferably at least partially removed by evaporation. Preferably, this is a controlled evaporation such that the coating evaporates relatively uniformly throughout the entire substrate. The use of heat warmed air (preferably between 20 and 80° C.), microwave drying, vacuum oven drying and the like to control and/or sped evaporation may be used if desired. This causes a polysaccharide hydrogel to be formed that is dry to the touch, but still contains some residual moisture within it.
The structure formed by the solution of the present invention can be gelled by subjecting the solution in whatever form to a gelling agent that removes the salts from the coating and causes the polysaccharide to form a porous hydrogel structure. The agent can be water, if done so as not to overly swell the coating. This can be done by controlling the previous solvent removal/drying step (if used) so that the water extracts the gel-inhibiting agents before deleterious swelling can occur. Once a large proportion of the gel-inhibiting agents are removed, swelling in water is reduced to a minimum. The use of water with added salts reduces the tendency of the aqueous rinse to swell the coating.
The use of organic solvents as the gelling agents to remove the gel-inhibiting agents without swelling the gel is preferred. Acetone, methanol, ethanol, or propanols are useful. Mixtures of from about 25% to about 95% acetone or methanol in water have been found to be useful. Similar acetone/methanol mixtures are also useful.
The solution in whatever form (film, bead or coating) may be sprayed with the gelling agent, although preferably it is immersed into a bath containing the agent. The agent is preferably applied at room temperature.
It is then rinsed with water and maintained preferably in a wet state. This rinsing step is generally done at temperatures between about 15° C. and about 50° C., preferably between 20° C. and 50° C. In the embodiment of a coated substrate, the underlying substrate will have at least a portion of all of its surfaces (facial and interior surfaces) covered with a coating that is permeable to biomolecules. Preferably the coating is relatively uniformly applied to the matrix. More preferably, substantially all of the surfaces are covered by the coating. Also preferably, the coating is of relatively uniform thickness throughout the substrate.
To form a gel film, one simply selects a flat surface such as metal tray or glass plate and spreads the solution over that surface. A gelling agent that is a non-solvent or poor solvent for the polysaccharide and a solvent for the gel-inhibiting agent is then applied to the surface. This can be accomplished by simply sinking the tray or plate into a bath of the gelling agent or by applying a stream of the gelling agent to one or more surfaces of the solution. The gelling agent removes the solvent for the polysaccharide such as water and the gel-inhibiting agent(s) from the solution causing the polysaccharide to gel and form a self-supporting stable structure.
To form a bead, one may simply applies the solution drop wise to a bath of a gelling agent that is a non-solvent for the polysaccharide and a solvent for the gel-inhibiting agent. The gelling agent removes water and the gel-inhibiting agent(s) from the solution causing the polysaccharide to gel as a bead and form a self-supporting stable structure. Alternatively, one can use one or more nozzles that apply the drops to the bath or one may an atomizer to form spray droplets that then contact the bath. In another embodiment, one can use one or more screens spaced apart from each other and located above the bath through which the solution can be fed to form droplets of the desired size. Likewise, one can simply swirl the solution into a bath of gelling agent with sufficient turbulence or with sufficient immiscibility of the polysaccharide that a distinct two-phase fluid is formed with the solution of polysaccharide being the discontinuous phase.
In forming a coating for a porous substrate, a porous matrix needs to be chosen.
The matrix may be a fiber, a sheet such as a woven fabric, a non-woven, a mat, a felt or a membrane or it may be a three dimensional structure such as a sponge, poly(HIPES) or other monolithic structure such as a honeycomb, or a porous bead such as a controlled pore glass, porous styrene beads, silica, zirconia and the like. Preferably, the matrix is sheet formed of a woven or non-woven fabric or a membrane.
The solution is applied as described above to the matrix so that at least a portion of all its surfaces (both facial surfaces as well as the interior surfaces of the pores) are covered by the solution. Preferably, it then dried before being subjected to the gelling agent that causes the coating to form on the matrix surfaces.
The coating may then be crosslinked if desired by any of the chemistries commonly used in the industry to crosslink materials containing multiple hydroxyl groups, such as polysaccharide beads, these chemistries being as non-limiting examples, epichlorohydrin or other multifunctional epoxy compounds, various bromyl chemistries or other multifunctional halides; formaldehyde, gluteraldehyde and other multifunctional aldehydes, bis(2-hydroxy ethyl)sulfone, dimethyldichloro-silane, dimethylolurea, dimethylol ethylene urea, diisocyanates or polyisocyanates and the like. For dextran coatings, the use of a crosslinking step is required. Typically this occurs after drying of the coating to the substrate, although some partial crosslinking of the solution before coating maybe done is desired.
It may also have one or more functionalities applied to it, including ligands, such as Protein A or Protein G, natural or recombinatorily derived versions of either, modified versions of protein A or G to render them more caustic stable and the like, various chemical ligands such as 2-aminobenzimidazole (ABI), aminomethylbenzimidazole (AMBI), mercaptoethylpyridine (MEP) or mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI), or various chemistries that render the coating cationic, anionic, philic, phobic or charged, as is well-known in the art of media formation.
Functional groups used in liquid chromatography that are adaptable to the present invention include groups such as, but not limited to, ion exchange, bioaffinity, hydrophobic, groups useful for covalent chromatography, thiophilic interaction groups, chelate or chelating, groups having so called pi-pi interactions with target compounds, hydrogen bonding, hydrophilic, etc.
The following are examples of the solutions of the present invention, their manufacture and their uses.
EXAMPLE 1
Room Temperature Stable Agarose Solution
4 grams of agarose powder (type XII, obtained from Sigma-Aldrich) were added to 76 grams of water, the mixture was agitated while heating at a temperature of 95° C. until an initial agarose solution was formed. This initial free flowing solution was cooled to room temperature, at which point the solution became a gel having no free flowing characteristics at all. To this gel, 20 grams of lithium chloride were added and the mixture was heated again to 95° C. while agitating until the gel and the salt dissolved to form a homogeneous solution. This solution was then cooled to room temperature, the solution's free flowing characteristics were retained at this temperature.
EXAMPLE 2
Room Temperature Stable Agarose Solution Having Other Additives
6 grams of agarose powder (type XII, obtained from Sigma-Aldrich) were added to 40 grams of water, the mixture was agitated while heating at a temperature of 95° C. until an initial agarose solution was formed. This initial free flowing solution was cooled to room temperature, at which point the solution became a gel having no free flowing characteristics at all. To this gel, 15 grams of zinc chloride were added and the mixture was heated again to 95° C. while agitating until the gel and the salt dissolved to form a homogeneous solution. This solution was then cooled to room temperature, the solution's free flowing characteristics were retained at this temperature. To this solution, 39.9 grams of methanol and 0.1 grams of Fluorad FC-95 fluorosurfactant (3M Company) were added while mixing to form the final agarose solution. This final solution remained liquid at room temperature.
EXAMPLE 3
Coating Using Room Temperature Stable Agarose
A polyolefin non-woven fabric (Type F02463 from Freudenberg Nonwovens NA of Lowell, Massachusefts) having a pore size of about 100 microns and a porosity of about 85% was coated with agarose of Example 2 according to the following procedure. The fabric was exposed to the agarose solution of Example 2 such that the fabric was completely wetted by the solution. The wet fabric was then placed between two sheets of polyethylene film and squeezed gently to remove excess solution from the surface of the fabric, the fabric was then removed from the film sheets and allowed to dry at room temperature to remove the methanol and unbound water by evaporation. The dry coated fabric was then immersed in an acetone gelling agent to gel the agarose and to remove the salt and surfactant thus creating the coating of essentially pure agarose. The coated fabric was immersed in water to further rinse the fabric and to remove the acetone, the agarose coated fabric was then kept in water.
EXAMPLE 4
Crosslinking of Agarose Coating
The water-wet agarose coated fabric from example 3 was immersed in a mixture containing 5 grams of epichloroghdrin and 95 grams of 2M sodium hydroxide, the temperature of this mixture was then raised to 50° C. and the crosslinking reaction was allowed to proceed at this temperature for 16 hours under gentle agitation. The crosslinked coated fabric was rinsed with water several times to remove excess reactants and base.
EXAMPLE 5
Functionalization of Crosslinked Agarose Coating with Sulfopropyl (SP) Groups
The crosslinked agarose coated fabric of example 4 was immersed in a solution containing 6 grams of sodium bromopropanesulfonate 94 grams of 1M sodium hydroxide, the temperature of this solution was then raised to 50° C. and the functionalization reaction was allowed to proceed at this temperature for 16 hours under gentle agitation. The sulfopropyl functionalized coated fabric was rinsed with water several times to remove excess reactants and base, the fabric was kept in water.
EXAMPLE 6
Protein Binding of SP Functionalized Agarose Coated Fabric
A 13 mm disk of the SP functionalized agarose coated fabric from example 5 was immersed in 6 ml of phosphate buffer at pH7, conductivity of 2 mS and containing lysozyme in a concentration of 1 g/L, the fabric was allowed to remain in contact with the protein solution for 16 hours at room temperature under agitation. After 16 hours, the concentration of lysozyme in the protein solution was measured and the amount of protein bound to the fabric was calculated based on the volume of the 13 mm disk of fabric. The protein binding capacity of the fabric was measured to be 50 mg lysozyme/ml fabric. The water flow rate through the media was determined by measuring the flow rate through a circular sample of the modified fabric having a diameter of 13 mm and using a column of water 15 cm in height. The sample had a flow rate of water of 50 ml in 14 seconds under these conditions. The uncoated substrate had a flow rate of 50 ml in 6 seconds under the same conditions.
EXAMPLE 7
Making Agarose Beads Using Room Temperature Stable Agarose Solution
The agarose solution of Example 1 was placed in a Badger airbrush (Franklin Park, Ill.) model 250 and the solution was sprayed over an acetone bath under constant stirring. The droplets of agarose solution gelled immediately upon contacting the acetone thereby forming small gel beads, which quickly sank to the bottom of the acetone bath. The beads were then recovered by filtration and were subsequently washed with water several times to remove the acetone. The agarose beads (about 5 microns in diameter) were kept in water. | Room temperature stable, non-gelling polysaccharide solutions such as agaroses, dextrans and cyclodextrans are made by the present invention. It has been found that by incorporating certain gel-inhibiting additives into an aqueous polysaccharide solution, the gel point is reduced or eliminated and the solution remains liquid at room temperature indefinitely. Additives that have been found to work include salts, such as lithium chloride and zinc chloride and bases, such as sodium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide. Mixtures of said salts and said bases can also be used with the same desired results. The composition of these solutions of the present idea can be further modified to include other additives, such as organic co-solvents or non-solvents, pH modifiers, surfactants or other polymers to customize the properties of the solution to improve the processability for the desired application and to form structures such as films, beads and coated porous substrates. | 8 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to the field of the iron and steel industry, more particularly to a more efficient method and plant for production of liquid iron in blast furnaces, with reduced coke consumption by recycling upgraded top gas with an adjusted H 2 /CO ratio.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In a blast furnace producing pig iron, iron ore is charged together with coke and fluxes. A hot air blast is injected through tuyeres at the bottom of the furnace, thereby generating heat by the combustion of carbon in the coke which melts down the charge. Periodically liquid iron and slag are tapped from the furnace. The combustion gases flow up through the furnace and reduce the iron oxides, and exit the furnace as a stream of dust-laden hot gas which from heat is recovered for preheating the air blast, and which is then normally used as fuel in other areas of the steel plant.
[0003] Metallurgical coke is needed in the charge of a blast furnace because this material (produced by pyrolysis of coal in coke ovens) provides the structural support of the charge of the furnace above the so-called “dead man” zone where the metallic iron starts melting and falling down to the bottom part of the furnace where molten iron and slag are collected, There is a minimum amount of coke which cannot be replaced by other fuels in order to assure the needed structural support of the charge.
[0004] Coke also provides the heat for melting the iron charge by its combustion with an oxygen containing gas, typically preheated air, the combustion gases, mainly composed of CO and CO 2 , some H 2 and water flow upwardly through the shaft portion of the furnace and reduce the iron oxides to wustite (FeO). Final reduction of wustite to metallic iron at the conditions prevailing in the blast furnace is carried out by reaction with carbon (known in the art as “direct reduction”).
[0005] Several proposals for recycling top gas in a blast furnace with the aim of reducing the coke rate, are found in the prior art. One of the problems to be solved is the nitrogen content of the top gas originating from the air blast. Another problem is the need for reheating the recycled gas prior to its being fed into the reduction area of the blast furnace, because the high content of CO causes carbon formation which may cause clogging and fouling of the reheating equipment and of the heating path equipment.
[0006] Applicants have found the following patents and patent applications concerning top gas recycle to a blast furnace:
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,934 to Kelmar discloses a method of making iron or steel in a blast furnace where pure oxygen is fed to the tuyeres instead of air. The high temperature developed by combustion of coke with oxygen is moderated by injecting with oxygen recycled gas, iron ore, limestone, coke or flue dust. Using oxygen instead of air eliminates the nitrogen in the top gas allowing recycling of the top gas.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,370 to Stephenson teaches a method of operating a blast furnace in which the top gas is recycled, The top gas is cleaned in a dust collector and a static filter. Thereafter, the clean gas is stripped of nitrogen utilizing molecular sieves and then is heated to a temperature of about 2000° F.=1,093° C. and recycled back to the tuyeres of the blast furnace, whereby the CO and H 2 contained in the recycled gas contribute to the reduction of iron ores lowering the coke consumption.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,737 to Oono et al, discloses a blast furnace where pure oxygen instead of air is fed to the blast tuyeres along with pulverized coal, top gas is cleaned and cooled down and a portion thereof is heated and recycled to the middle portion of the shaft. No teaching is found of modifying the gas composition for decreasing the CO content and increasing the H 2 content in the recycled gas.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,727 to Saito et al. describes a method of operating a blast furnace where pure oxygen instead of air is fed to the blast tuyeres along with pulverized coal, top gas, is cleaned and cooled down and a portion thereof is heated and recycled to the middle portion of the shaft. No teaching is found of modifying the gas composition for decreasing the CO content and increasing the H 2 content in the recycled gas.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,654 to Frederick et al discloses a process for producing a reducing gas by partial combustion of oil and/or coal and/or coke for utilization in a direct reduction furnace or a blast furnace. This patent shows a blast furnace where air is used as blast for coke combustion and where in the off-gas of said blast furnace contains nitrogen. The top gas is cleaned and scrubbed and treated in a CO shifter for adjusting the CO content. CO 2 is removed from the shifted gas thus forming a Hydrogen-rich stream which is then heated to a temperature from 500° C. to 700° C. and the hot hydrogen is fed back to the blast furnace. This process has the drawback of needing a cryogenic plant for separating nitrogen contained in the top gas. Since the recycled stream is mainly hydrogen, the patent is mute regarding the coking, clogging and fouling problems in heaters when heating a gas containing CO.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,490 to Kundrat describes a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace where top gas is cleaned of dust and soot and then dehydrated and cooled down. A portion of the cooled and clean top gas is preheated to a temperature between 900° C. and 1000° C. before it is recycled to the blast furnace for reducing the iron ore. However, the process of this patent is limited in the amount. This patent is mute about the recycled gas preheater and about the carbon deposits, clogging or fouling of heaters when heating a CO-containing gas.
[0013] U.S. Patent application No. 2010/0212457 A1 describes a blast furnace with air blast where a stream of hydrogen generated from the top gas is heated prior to being recycled. CO 2 is removed from the top gas and the CO is used for reducing a metal oxide which thereafter is used for generating hydrogen by oxidizing the reduced metal. The method of this patent does not have any problems relative to heating a CO-containing gas and the benefits of H 2 /CO adjustment.
[0014] British Patent No. GB 1,218,912 discloses a blast furnace where preheated air blast is fed to the tuyeres so that the coke consumption is reduced while a reducing gas is generated by reaction of a hydrocarbon with off-gas of the bias, furnace which is cleaned, washed and cooled down, mixed with a hydrocarbon, such as methane or naphta and heated in a tubular heater to 950° C. and fed to the blast furnace for reducing the iron ores at a level above the blast tuyeres. This patent is mute regarding the elimination of nitrogen and about carbon deposit problems arising when a hydrocarbon is heated in tubular heaters.
[0015] Japanese Patent Publication No. JP55113814 describes a blast furnace where the consumption of coke is reduced by supplying fuel and oxygen fed as a gas blast through the lower tuyeres into the blast furnace. Top gas is treated to remove CO 2 therefrom, is heated, and is recirculated to the blast furnace. No teaching is found of modifying the gas composition for decreasing the CO content and increasing the H 2 content in the recycled gas.
[0016] None of the above patents or patent applications teach or suggest that modifying the composition of the recycled top gas using a CO shift reactor to drastically reduce the coking problems of the heaters for the recycled gas Solutions for this practical problem of the heaters and the possibility of utilizing tubular fired heaters for improving the operation of blast furnaces and allowing for a significant reduction of the overall CO 2 emissions are not envisioned in the prior art, while the present invention allows for the practical design and construction of new blast furnaces and revamping of existing blast furnaces with lower coke consumption.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0017] It is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for improving the operation of a blast furnace by upgrading and recycling top gas.
[0018] It is another object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for improving the operation of a blast furnace by decreasing the coke consumption per ton of iron produced.
[0019] It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for improving the operation of a blast furnace by decreasing the carbon dioxide emissions per ton of iron produced.
[0020] It is another object of the invention to provide a method for heating recycled top gas in tubular fired heaters minimizing the problems of carbon deposition, dogging or fouling of the heater and other equipment in the heating path of the CO-containing recycled gas.
[0021] Other objects of the invention will be evident for those skilled in the art or will be pointed out in the description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The objects of the invention in its broader aspects can be achieved by providing a method of producing iron in a blast furnace where the combustion of the coke is carried out by feeding oxygen to the tuyeres instead of air thereby avoiding a large nitrogen content in the top gas; withdrawing the top gas stream comprising CO, CO 2 and H 2 ; cleaning the top gas stream of dust and adjusting the volume ratio of H 2 /CO in the top gas to the range between 1.5 to 4 by reaction with water; cooling said top gas stream for removing water therefrom; removing CO 2 from a major portion of said cooled top gas stream, resulting in an effective reducing gas stream; heating said reducing gas stream to a temperature above 850° C., and feeding said hot reducing gas stream as a recycled reducing gas to the blast furnace. Removal of CO 2 from the cooled top gas stream may be carried out by absorption using an amines solution or carbonates solution or by physical adsorption in a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) or vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) unit. The resulting upgraded top gas is then heated to a temperature above 800° C. and fed to the blast furnace, above the level where iron starts melting, for reducing the iron oxides charge to metallic iron.
[0023] The objects of the invention in its broader aspects can be achieved by a further embodiment providing a blast furnace system for producing molten iron in a blast furnace to which iron ore, metallurgical coke and fluxes are charged at its upper part and molten iron and slag are tapped from its lower part, said blast furnace having a plurality of tuyeres in its lower part for introducing an oxygen-containing gas for generating heat and reducing gases by combustion of the coke within said furnace characterized by comprising means for feeding oxygen instead of air through the tuyeres of said blast furnace; outlet means for withdrawing a top gas stream comprising CO, CO2 and H2; means for cleaning the top gas stream of dust connected to said outlet means; means for adjusting the volume ratio of H2/Co to the range between 1.5 to 4 by reaction with water; means for cooling said top gas stream for removing water therefrom; means for removing CO2 from a portion of said cooled top gas stream forming a CO2 lean reducing gas stream, means heating said reducing gas stream to a temperature above 850° C., and corresponding piping means connecting the components of said blast furnace system to recycle said hot reducing gas stream to said blast furnace.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic process diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1 , numeral 10 generally designates a blast furnace having a crucible section 12 where molten iron and slag are collected, a blast section 14 where the oxygen containing gases are introduced for carrying out the combustion of coke, and a shaft section 16 where iron ore particles in the form of sinter, pellets or lumps and mixtures thereof are charged along with coke, limestone and other fluxes 18 , and next the iron oxides are reduced to wustite and finally to metallic iron as is known in the art. Molten iron 19 and slag 21 are periodically tapped from the bottom zone 12 of blast furnace 10 .
[0026] Oxygen from a source 26 of industrial purity, instead of air, is fed to mixing device 24 where a temperature moderating agent is fed from a source 28 for preventing the flame temperatures from reaching excessively high levels and therefore from damaging the blast nozzles in tuyeres 27 . The temperatures moderating agents 28 may be for example, steam, carbon dioxide, oil, pulverized coal, coke fines or other hydrocarbon that will undergo an endothermic reaction with the oxygen and lower the temperatures to levels of about 2000° C. to 2600° C. Also a portion of the top gas after treatment can be recycled to the tuyeres for moderating the high combustion temperature of oxygen with coke. Oxygen blast 26 combined with the moderating agent 28 are fed to header 23 and then through feeding pipes 25 to tuyeres 27 .
[0027] The composition of top gas varies in a wide range depending on the characteristics of the materials charged to the blast furnace. A typical composition on a dry basis is 25% CO, 12% CO 2 ; 5% H 2 and 56% N 2 and traces of other gases. The top gas effluent from the top of the blast furnace 10 exits through pipe 30 and is fed to a de-dusting device 32 , where dusts from the charge and soot or other solid materials 34 are separated. The cleaned gas flows through pipe 36 to shift reactor 38 where the composition of the cleaned and cooled gas is adjusted to increase the hydrogen content so as to obtain a H 2 /CO ratio of 1.5 to 4, preferably between 2 and 3 (measured by % volume). Steam 40 is supplied as the reactant for the shift reaction through pipe 42 . The CO reacts with H 2 O to form H 2 according to the reaction:
[0000] CO+H 2 O→H 2 +CO 2
[0028] The reaction temperature is above about 300° C.; so, if necessary, the top gas stream may be heated by means known in the art as a heat exchanger before being fed to shift reactor 38 . The shifted gas is then passed through pipe 46 to a cooler/scrubber 48 with water 50 where the water content of the gas is condensed and extracted as water stream 52 .
[0029] The de-watered gas then flows through pipe 49 from where a minor portion of the cleaned and dewatered gas 54 is purged from the recycle circuit through pipe having a pressure control valve 56 (for pressure control of, and for maintaining a N 2 concentration below 13% by volume in, the recycle circuit). A majority of the gas stream flows through pipe 58 to be recycled to the blast furnace 10 . The purged gas 54 may be advantageously utilized as fuel in burners 88 for the gas heater 70 and optionally, if needed, may also be supplemented with other fuel as for example coke oven gas or natural gas 86 .
[0030] The cleaned and dewatered reducing effluent gas is then transferred to compressor 60 through pipe 58 wherein its pressure is raised to a level suitable for further treatment prior to its ultimate recycling to blast furnace 10 . In order to upgrade the reducing potential of the recycled reducing gas, the pressurized effluent gas flows through pipe 62 to an absorption tower 64 where CO 2 66 is removed, leaving a reducing gas mainly composed of CO and H 2 . The CO 2 lean gas is led through pipe 68 to heater 70 where its temperature is raised above 800° C. The resulting hot reducing gas is led through pipe 71 to header 72 , and this recycled reducing gas is introduced into the shaft part 16 of the blast furnace through peripheral pipes 74 and nozzles 76 . Oxygen from source 78 may be added to the hot reducing gas for further increasing the temperature of the reducing gas to between 1000° and 1100° C. A suitable fuel 86 , for example natural gas or coke oven gas, is used in burners 88 of heater 70 .
[0031] It is known that under the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions of the gas composition derived from the combustion of coke (mainly composed of CO, CO 2 and H 2 ), the reduction of the iron oxides the progresses until wustite is formed. The continued reduction, of wustite to metallic iron, is carried out by the direct reduction reaction of carbon with FeO Therefore, the amount of coke needed for reduction may only be decreased if more metallic iron reaches the blast furnace's dead-man zone 15 , thus requiring less carbon for final reduction of wustite; in which case, since the heat for melting the charge may be obtained from fuels other than coke, then the coke rate can be effectively lowered. This approach of adjusting reducing gas composition of recycled gas as a mixture of hydrogen and CO has not been addressed in the prior art. Recycling of hydrogen only would not produce the same results, because hydrogen requires higher energy levels, while a proper combination of hydrogen and CO will efficiently reduce the wustite to metallic iron.
[0032] Removal of CO 2 from the cooled gas stream being recycled may be carried out by absorption using an amines solution or carbonates solution or by physical adsorption in a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) or vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) unit.
[0033] Upgraded recycled top gas with an improved H2/CO ratio and high reduction potential (measured as the ratio of H 2 +CO/CO 2 +H 2 O and having a value above 2), is heated in coils 80 of the heater 70 to a temperature above 800° C. for reducing the iron oxides in the shaft section 16 . The relatively high content of CO however, may produce carbon deposits by the reaction 2CO→C+CO 2 in the heating path of the recycled gas. Such carbon deposits may require that heater 70 be periodically shut down for cleaning such carbon residues to avoid clogging or fouling of coils 80 and other equipment where CO flows in the range where the thermodynamic conditions of the gas tend to produce elemental carbon.
[0034] In order to avoid the above mentioned production losses caused by the heater carbon cleaning, such cleaning may be done by shutting down the heater 70 and passing steam 82 , or steam and an oxidizing agent 84 , which may be air or oxygen, through the heating tubes 80 , whereby the carbon deposits are gasified and eliminated. A preferred and efficient way of performing such carbon cleaning is done by injecting said steam 82 with or without an oxidizing agent 84 only to one heating tube, or a group of heating tubes, of the heater 70 so that the overall reduction potential of the reducing gas composition fed to the blast furnace is not significantly affected by the increase in the amount of oxidants in said tubes 80 . In this way, the carbon cleaning is done in-line without shutting down the heater 70 and avoiding production losses.
[0035] Although a tubular fired heater 70 is preferred, it will evident to those skilled in the art that the upgraded recycled gas stream may be heated using other types of heaters like ceramic heaters, also called regenerative heaters, as pebble heater, stoves similar to those used for heating the air blast for blast furnaces.
[0036] The present invention may be applied to either new of existing furnaces so as to provide the advantages of lower coke consumption per ton of molten iron and also making the blast furnace more environmentally friendly because the CO 2 removal from the recycled top gas allows for CO 2 utilization for other industrial purposes or for its sequestration. At the same time the lowered coke consumption decreases emission of CO 2 and other contaminants to the environment which coke ovens normally produce, thus decreasing the overall amount of CO 2 released to the atmosphere per ton of molten iron produced.
[0037] It is of course to be understood that in this specification only some preferred embodiments of the invention have been described for illustration purposes and that the scope of the invention is not limited by such described embodiments but only by the scope of the appended claims. | A blast furnace where coke is combusted with oxygen, instead of air, and where a top gas comprising CO, CO 2 , H 2 , and without excess nitrogen is withdrawn from the upper part of the blast furnace, cleaned of dust, the H 2 /CO volume ratio adjusted to between 1.5 to 4.0 in a water shift reactor, water and CO 2 are removed (increasing its reduction potential), heated to a temperature above 850° C. and fed back to the blast furnace above where iron starts melting (thereby increasing the amount of metallic iron reaching the dead-man zone and decreasing the amount of coke used for reduction). Also carbon deposit problems caused by heating the CO-containing recycled gas are minimized by on-line cleaning of the heater tubes with steam without significantly affecting the reduction potential of the recycled reducing gas. | 2 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/636,046, filed on Apr. 20, 2012 and entitled “Water-Borne Thiol-Ene Polymerization,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to thiol-ene polymerization and, more specifically, to methods for water-borne thiol-ene polymerization.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Thiol-ene reactions involve the addition of an S—H bond across a double or triple bond. These reactions are highly tolerant of a wide range of functional groups, solvents, and reaction conditions, and produce high yields with little or no byproducts. Indeed, the mechanism of the thiol-ene reaction offers many practical advantages to polymer synthesis. This particular chemistry involves relatively simple reactions that can result in potentially uniform crosslinked systems. In addition, this system incorporates readily available monomers that offer a large variety of compatibility for numerous multifunctional thiol and alkene monomers. Furthermore, the utilization of this step-growth mechanism allows for high rates of conversion of monomers to polymers potentially with high molecular weight.
[0006] Interest in thiol-ene polymerizations has increased in recent years with the development of thiol-ene reactions as a method of “click” chemistry for small molecule syntheses. Consequently, the use of thiol-ene chemistry for the development of a crosslinked colloidal assembly offers promise for research into new areas of materials and applications. Water-borne thiol-ene polymerization that follows a suspension-like mechanism is one particular area that, as yet, has not been developed, in stark contrast to the widely practiced water-borne polymerizations of acrylics and styrenic monomers. Development of suspension, dispersion, and various types of emulsion polymerizations using these latter monomers has occurred over many years as a response to ever increasing requirements in manufacturing and environmental controls. Thiol-ene polymerizations have been often used in thin films and coatings, but in bulk rather than in an emulsified system.
[0007] The utilization of thiol-ene chemistry for the synthesis of water-borne polymer microspheres offers great potential toward the development of a novel material system for various applications. The step-growth mechanism of thiol-ene polymerization means that the production of such microspheres is fundamentally different to regular chain-growth polymerizations normally associated with emulsion, dispersion, and suspension polymerizations. Accordingly, there is a continued need for methods, systems, and mechanisms of water-borne thiol-ene polymerization that follow a suspension-like mechanism.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] According to an aspect, a method for suspension polymerization of thiol-ene particles, the method comprising the steps of: (i) combining a plurality of thiol-ene precursor monomers, with or without a solvent, to create a first mixture; (ii) combining an emulsifier and water to create a second mixture; (iii) combining an initiator, with or without a solvent, to either the first or second mixture; (iv) combining the first mixture and second mixture to create a third mixture; (v) agitating the third mixture to create a heterogeneous dispersion; and (vi) initiating polymerization of thiol-ene particles from the thiol-ene precursor monomers in the third mixture, wherein the third mixture is simultaneously agitated.
[0009] According to another aspect, the first mixture, second mixture, and/or initiator comprises a solvent.
[0010] According to an aspect, the thiol-ene precursor monomers are selected from the group consisting of: a thiol compound, an alkene, an alkyne, and combinations thereof. According to one embodiment, the thiol compound comprises one or more thiol groups. According to yet another embodiment, the alkene comprises one or more alkene groups, and/or the alkyne comprises one or more alkyne groups.
[0011] According to another aspect, the second mixture further comprises a stabilizer.
[0012] According to yet another aspect, polymerization is induced through photochemical, redox, or thermal means.
[0013] According to an aspect, the third mixture further comprises a first compound, wherein the first compound affects a characteristic of the polymerized thiol-ene particles. The characteristic can be, for example, hardness, hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, biocompatibility, particle size, stability, or a thermal property.
[0014] According to an aspect, the first compound is a diluent selected from the group consisting of: chloroform, toluene, dichloromethane, 1,4-dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, ethyl acetate, or other common diluent compounds, and combinations thereof.
[0015] According to yet another aspect, the polymerized thiol-ene particles comprise a crosslinked or linear structure.
[0016] According to an aspect, the polymerized thiol-ene particles comprise a diameter that is dependent upon the energy input of the agitation. According to an embodiment, the diameter is between approximately 100 nm and 1 mm.
[0017] According to an aspect, after the polymerization is induced the third mixture comprises a solids content ranging between approximately 1% and 30%.
[0018] According to another aspect, the emulsifiers are selected from the group consisting of common anionic, cationic or non-ionic emulsifies, such as and not limited to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, Tween, Gum Arabic, and combinations thereof. The emulsifiers can be added, for example, at a concentration of between approximately 0.01% and 20%.
[0019] According to an aspect, the initiator is a free radical initiator. According to yet another aspect, the initiator is a photoinitiator, a thermal initiator, and/or a redox initiator. Non-limiting examples include, for example, 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone, 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile, benzoyl peroxide, and combinations thereof, among others. According to an aspect, the initiator is added at a concentration of between approximately 0.05%-5%.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0020] The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is schematic representation of thio-ene polymer particle formation according to an embodiment;
[0022] FIGS. 2A and 2B are optical microscope images of photoinitiated reactions according to an embodiment with a triene, 3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6 (1N,3H,5H)-trione (“TTT”) and a tetrathiol, (pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (“PETMP”) with 5 wt. % SDS in a “small scale” reaction with 10 wt. % monomers in water with a 1:1 volume ratio monomers:chloroform, at different homogenization energies ( FIG. 2A is stir rate 4 and FIG. 2B is right stir rate 8 ) using a magnetic stir plate;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a scanning electron microscopy image of a photoinitiated overhead-stirring reaction with TTT and PETMP examining 10 wt. % SDS in a “large scale” reaction with 10 wt. % monomers and a 1:1 volume ratio of monomers:toluene, according to an embodiment;
[0024] FIGS. 4A and 4B are scanning electron microscopy images of photoinitiated sonicated reactions with TTT and PETMP examining 10 wt. % SDS in a “large scale” reaction with 10 wt. % monomers and a 1:1 volume ratio of monomers:toluene, according to an embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 5 contains a graph of differential scanning calorimetry analysis of polymer made by either suspension polymerization to yield particles, or bulk polymerization to yield monolithic samples, according to an embodiment, in which both samples have the same composition (1:1 mole ratio of ene and thiol groups from TTT and PETMP, respectively).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] Described herein are methods for water-borne thiol-ene photopolymerization which, according to an embodiment, yield spherical polymer particles. The utilization of this method offers great potential as a method for the development of crosslinked polymer (sub-) micron spheres. According to embodiments, different parameters are used for the development and understanding of the mechanism of microsphere formation. It is demonstrated that higher homogenization power allows for the development of smaller particles. In addition, higher concentrations of surfactant as well as solvent allow for the development of non-aggregated polymer particles that are smaller in size. This approach is predicted to work with a variety of thiol-ene (or yne) monomers, surfactants and co-solvents.
[0027] According to one embodiment, thiol-ene polymerizations are conducted in a water-borne suspension-like polymerization. Using the method, spherical particles can be synthesized with a range of diameters, ranging from sub-microns to hundreds of microns. According to an embodiment, particle size and dispersion stability are dependent upon various experimental variables, including but not limited to stirring rate, surfactant concentration, and amount of solvent used to dissolve the viscous monomers. With initiation occurring in the organic phase along with particle size being strongly dependent upon homogenization energy and surfactant concentration, it is inferred that microsphere synthesis follows a suspension mechanism.
[0028] The approach used in the production of water-borne thiol-ene polymers according to one embodiment is outlined in FIG. 1 , and is discussed in greater detail herein. Notably, the use of a crosslinking polymerization, i.e. using the PETMP and/or TTT, was found to be necessary for successful particle formation.
Example 1
Thiol-Ene Particles
[0029] According to one embodiment, thiol-ene particles are made using monomers TTT and PETMP in a ratio that provide equal number of ene and thiol functionality. Because TTT and PETMP are viscous liquids, it was necessary to add a co-solvent to the monomers before this solution was added to the water/surfactant mixture. The commonly used surfactant SDS was chosen, and used at either a 5 or 10 wt. % (SDS/water) concentration. Other surfactants, such a non-ionic (e.g. Brij98) and cationic (e.g. dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide) surfactants, can also be used, as can different amounts and concentrations of surfactants. Photoinitiation was used as the method for generating radical species, although thermal and redox decomposition of initiators can also be performed. Photoinitiation is unusual for water-borne polymerizations, but is common for thiol-ene polymerizations. Photopolymerization rates tend to be very fast, and allow spatial and temporal control. In this particular application, photopolymerization was successful because of the highly efficient thiol-ene chemistry used, and adds to the uniqueness of this approach to the synthesis of polymer particles.
[0030] According to an embodiment, a simple magnetic stirrer and a small reaction volume (˜10 ml total) in a scintillation vial and a small magnetic stir bar (˜8 mm diameter, ˜1 mm length) were utilized. The settings on the stirrer could be adjusted to provide more or less shear in the reaction mixture. The optical microscope images shown in FIG. 2 show that under these conditions spherical polymer particles were formed, with diameters ranging from tens-to-hundreds of microns. Such a diameter range, however, means the particle size distribution is relatively large. It was found that by increasing the surfactant concentration that the particle size decreased somewhat (data not shown), but not to the sub-micron range.
[0031] According to another embodiment, a more energetic stifling process is utilized in order to decrease particle size and reduce the particle size distribution. This agitation method consisted of an overhead stirrer and 75 ml of the reaction mixture placed in a 250 ml round-bottom flask. FIG. 3 shows particles with 5-20 μm diameters made using an embodiment of the overhead stirred “large scale” reaction, which provides an approximate 10 times decrease in particle size. However, the size distribution is still not monodisperse.
[0032] According to another embodiment, sonication was used in order to further decrease particle size and possibly narrow the particle size distribution. The reaction mixture (75 ml) in a 250 ml round-bottom flask was exposed to a sonic horn for 30 minutes, and after 20 minutes was the reaction was irradiated (with overhead stifling) for 10 minutes. FIG. 4 shows particles with ˜100-1000 nm diameters made using the sonication approach. While this is again a substantial decrease in particle size, the distribution is not monodisperse. This may be a function of monomer droplet stability, thus dependent on dispersion energy and/or surfactant type/concentration, thus efforts are underway to explore these parameters more fully with the expectation that more monodisperse particles will be produced.
[0033] The suspensions made from the three different means of mixing showed varying degrees of colloidal stability. As expected, the smaller particle sizes made with sonication showed the longest period of stability, with the solution remaining dispersed for several days after polymerization with little material settling out. In contrast, the material made with stifling from the magnetic stirrer settled out within an hour of synthesis.
[0034] In terms of the mechanism by which particle formation takes place, these reactions appear to be occurring via a suspension polymerization process. This terminology is normally associated with radical chain-growth mechanism of polymerization (where high molecular weight polymers are formed at a very early stage in the polymerization) that is initiated with an oil-soluble initiator. This is compatible with the present case where the step-growth thiol-ene mechanism can occur inside the monomer droplet when initiated by the oil-soluble initiator. Further evidence that these are suspension polymerizations comes from the fact that the size of the polymer particles decreases with increasing surfactant concentration and increasing homogenization energy. In contrast, emulsion polymerizations typically require water-soluble initiators and typically need particle nucleation to occur when the growing polymer chain in the aqueous phases reaches a critical molecular weight and phase inversion. Because thiol-ene polymerizations only achieve appreciable molecular weights at high conversions (i.e. they are step-growth polymerizations), the latter phenomenon is not likely to occur in our systems. Conventional emulsion and micro-emulsion polymerizations generally do not exhibit a dependence of particle size on homogenization energy, in contrast to what we have seen here. Additionally, the experiments shown here have a surfactant concentration above the critical micelle concentration (“CMC”) (the CMC of SDS is approximately 0.009 mole/L; 10 wt. % SDS in water is 0.35 mole/L), and if emulsion polymerizations by micellar nucleation were occurring, then the particle sizes would be significantly smaller and not dependent on the homogenization energy. The current system is also not a dispersion polymerization, as dispersion polymerizations begin with a homogeneous monomer-solvent mixture and become heterogeneous as monomer conversion increases. The descriptions of the different heterogeneous polymerization reaction mechanisms given herein are consistent with those in Lovell and El-Aasser [ Emulsion Polymerization and Emulsion Polymers ; Lovell, P. A.; El-Aasser, M. S. Eds.; Wiley: Chichester, Great Britain, 1997].
[0035] In order to examine any differences between the thiol-ene polymers made via the suspension polymerization and bulk polymerizations, the glass transition temperatures (T g ) of the two types of polymers were measured using DSC. The T g values for the particles and bulk material were found to be essentially the same (−1° C. and +3° C., respectively), indicating that the polymerization process occurring during the water-borne polymerization is the same as that which occurs during the bulk polymerization. Also, the presence of surfactant in the particles does not significantly affect the thermal properties.
[0036] In comparison to other works in the field, there are no reports of thiol-ene suspension polymerizations. In one recent paper, porous thiol-ene (and thiol-yne) based polymers were made via an emulsion-templating process [Lovelady, E.; Kimmins, S. D.; Wu, J.; Cameron, N. R. “Preparation of Emulsion-Templated Porous Polymers using Thiol-Ene and Thiol-Yne Chemistry” Polym. Chem. 2011, 2, 559-562]. In these experiments a mixture of water, a polymeric surfactant, chloroform and thiol-ene (or yne) monomers were blended to make a high internal phase emulsion (HIPE). The HIPE was subjected to photoinitiation and formed a porous poly(thiol-ene) materials, not particles as we are able to make. In another study, the authors examined the thiol-ene photopolymerization of commercially available adhesives in various solvent mixtures, including diglyme/water and acetone/isopropanol. [Guenthner, A. J.; Hess, D. M.; Cash, J. J. “Morphology Development in Photopolymerization-induced Phase Separated Mixtures of UV-Curable Thiol-Ene Adhesive and Low Molecular Weight Solvents” Polymer 2008, 49, 5533-5540]. It was found that during the polymerizations the homogeneous monomer/solvent mixture undergoes phase separation, and yielded either three-dimensional interconnected networks or polymer microspheres. The size and morphology of the resulting features were governed by polymerization rate, solvent evaporation rate and monomer-solvent ratio. No surfactants were used, nor was there any attempts to provide homogenization during the polymerization.
Example 1
Materials and Methods
[0037] It is noted that Example 1, and any other examples provided, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the materials, conditions, or process parameters set forth in the examples
[0038] Materials:
[0039] 1,3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6 (1N,3H,5H)-trione (TTT), pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich® and used without further purification. Solvents (chloroform and toluene) were obtained from VWR® Scientific and used without further purification.
[0040] Synthesis of Thiol-Ene Polymer Microspheres:
[0041] The suspension-like photopolymerization system for particle synthesis has been developed for both “small” scale and “large” scale reactions. Each experimental setup follows the same fundamental principles for the polymerization reaction. In general, the organic phase is added drop-wise to the stirring aqueous phase and stirred for 5-10 minutes followed by curing under ultra-violet (UV) light for 5-10 minutes. In a round bottom flask, a 5 or 10 wt. % SDS solution with 0.02% (mass/vol.) photoinitiator is made to create the aqueous phase. In a separate vial, an “organic phase” is prepared by combining the monomers TTT and PETMP (1:1 mole ratio of ene and thiol groups from TTT and PETMP, respectively) with a solvent (chloroform or toluene in a 1:1, 2:1, or 4:1 volume ratio of solvent to monomer). The two monomers constituted a 10 wt. % monomer to water mixture. “Small” scale reactions (total volume ˜10 ml) used magnetic stirring whereas “large” scale reactions (total volume ˜75 ml) used overhead stirring.
[0042] Synthesis of Thiol-Ene Polymer Sub-Micron Spheres.
[0043] Sub-micron spheres were synthesized in a similar manner to the microspheres discussed above except instead of stirring the reaction mixture before polymerization the reaction mixture was subjected to sonication by an Ace Glass sonic horn (Model GEX600, 20 Hz, 600 W) for 30 minutes. Twenty minutes after the sonication had finished the reaction was irradiated for 10 minutes with overhead stirring.
[0044] Characterization.
[0045] Analysis of general product material was performed using an Olympus optical microscope, where samples were prepared by simply air-drying, or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using a JEOL JSM 7400 (for field-emission SEM) or JEOL JSM 6300 (for regular SEM) instruments. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed on a TA Instruments Q100 instrument, with a heating rate of 10° C./min. Results from the second heating cycle are reported.
[0046] Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it should be understood that modifications, alterations, and additions can be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. | A method for suspension polymerization of thiol-ene particles comprising combining a plurality of thiol-ene precursor monomers with or without a solvent to create a first mixture, combining an emulsifier and water to create a second mixture, adding an initiator to either the first or second mixture, adding the first mixture and the second mixture to create a third mixture, agitating the third mixture to create a heterogeneous dispersion, and initiating polymerization of thiol-ene particles from the thiol-ene precursor monomers in the third mixture which is simultaneously agitated. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to ceremonial installations or installations for conducting ceremonies.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Conducting ceremonies often makes use of mobile or fixed, sound or light objects, such as, for example, sound transmitters or diffusers, projectors of fixed or variable intensity, light torches or even light sticks held by the people attending the ceremony. Thus, in document GB-A-2 135 536, there are proposed light devices, which react to the intensity of a sound source. In document U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,647, clothes are described that are equipped or decorated with accessories including a light source.
[0003] Also proposed are glasses or goblets, the foot or bottom of which is provided with an enclosure containing a light source (FR-A-2 807 282), and drinks containers (glasses, goblets) decorated with light or sound accessories, which react to changes to the physical state of the liquid in the container (U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,548).
[0004] Various other movable light objects have been proposed, in particular bottles, lighters, light tubes or sticks, beacons or clothing accessories (FR-A-2 807 281).
[0005] These known devices and accessories include button cell or standard electric batteries, that need to be replaced or recharged periodically. To this end, document U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,113 relates to an installation combining light glasses and a support for the periodic recharging, by induction, of a battery housed in the bottom of each glass.
[0006] Document WO-03/026358 describes an installation for the radiofrequency control of light sources linked to moving objects such as light sticks or clothing accessories. The light source is initially controlled from a programmer and an interface, according to local parameters such as temperature, noise or the intensity of the local light. This known installation is not suitable for reacting to event-driven parameters associated with the movement of the object and its environment.
[0007] Document WO-03/067934 describes an installation for controlling light equipment comprising a large number of individual, scattered and fixed lamps, the control being provided via programmers and interfaces. This known installation is not suitable for controlling moving light equipment or objects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The object of the invention is to remedy the limited performance characteristics of the known installations described above, by providing a novel ceremonial installation, comprising movable objects (for example drinks containers), provided with an energy source, said objects having enhanced performance with regard to the ceremonial aspect.
[0009] The invention especially relates to an installation of this type, in which said objects are capable of adopting a behaviour that varies according to various circumstances, such as their position in a public, the presence of personalities, the appearance of defined phenomena, and so on, this behaviour also being able to be programmed or modified at will by a user of said installation.
[0010] Consequently, the invention relates to a ceremonial installation, comprising
[0011] at least one object, provided with at least one energy source and one device for actuating said source, provided with a memory;
[0012] a programmer for the actuation device; and
[0013] an interface between the programmer and the memory of the actuation device,
[0014] the installation being characterized in that the object is movable and in that the abovementioned actuation device and its memory are controlled by
[0015] a physical separation of the object from a support; and/or
[0016] a physical contact of the object with said support, after said separation; and/or
[0017] a variation of a physical and/or chemical parameter of the environment of the object; and/or
[0018] a defined spatial position of the object.
[0019] In the installation according to the invention, the term “object” denotes any physical object. The expression “movable object” denotes a physical object that is specially designed to be subject to substantial and varied movements during a ceremony, and one of the main technical functions of which is specifically to be subject to such movements during a ceremony. Conversely, the expression “fixed object” denotes a physical object that does not fulfill the technical function defined above of the movable object. It is an object, the position of which is not normally subject to a substantial change during a ceremony or is subject only to sporadic movements.
[0020] In the ceremonial installation according to the invention, the movable object can, for example, comprise an object normally worn by a person or by an animal or an object mounted on a carriage that is moved on the floor or in the atmosphere.
[0021] The form, the dimensions and the weight of the movable objects are not critical for the definition of the invention and depend on various parameters, particularly the type of ceremony for which it is intended. Examples of movable objects that fall within the scope of the invention include drinks containers (glasses, cups, goblets), items of clothing, clothing decorations, jewelry, mobile signaling systems, torch lamps, light sticks, sound emitters (exemplary and non-exhaustive list).
[0022] The movable object of the installation according to the invention is provided with at least one energy source. The expression “energy source” generally denotes any means likely to generate a work. It encompasses in particular acoustic radiation sources, electromagnetic radiation sources, radioactive sources, hydraulic energy sources and calorific energy sources, as well as mechanical or electrical devices likely to generate an instruction for the control of a mechanism present on the object or outside the latter (exemplary and non-exhaustive list).
[0023] According to the invention, preference is given to selecting the energy source from acoustic radiation sources and electromagnetic radiation sources. In the case of an acoustic radiation source, the latter can be an ultrasound source, when the object is intended to be located by a receiver sensitive to ultrasounds or by an animal sensitive to ultrasounds (for example, a dog trained to react to ultrasounds). Generally, preference is given to the use of a sound source in the range of frequencies audible to the human ear. In the case of an electromagnetic radiation source, the latter is advantageously a light source. It can be a monochromatic or polychromatic light source, or a laser beam. Invisible radiation sources (for example, in the infrared or ultraviolet spectra) fall within the scope of the invention. In a particular embodiment, the energy source could comprise a flash lamp (of the type of those commonly used in photography) or a pyrotechnic device.
[0024] The function of the actuation device is to activate the energy source. It comprises a memory and is generally multifunctional, which means that it is designed to act on one or more parameters of the energy source, according to a defined operating program, contained in its memory. In the particular case of an acoustic or electromagnetic radiation source, these parameters comprise the activation, the frequency and the intensity of the radiation source. A simplified explanatory example of operating program comprises automatically varying the frequency or the intensity of an electric light torch carried by an individual in an auditorium, according to the spatial position of said individual in the auditorium. Detailed examples of defined programs will be explained later.
[0025] The function of the programmer is to create the abovementioned operating program and communicate it to the memory of the actuation device. The operating program is normally created by an operator (for example, a person organizing a ceremony). The operating program can be created by combining a series of diverse instructions. It is also possible, according to a particular embodiment of the invention, to select the operating program at the outset from some pre-established programs pre-stored in the programmer. To this end, in a preferred embodiment of the installation according to the invention, the programmer contains a number of pre-stored programs and a device for selecting, as required, one of these pre-stored programs which is then the abovementioned operating program.
[0026] Subsequently, the expression “operating program” will denote the program which is located in the memory of the actuation device of the energy source of the object and which controls the operation of this actuation device. The expression “pre-established program” will denote a program created by an operator (an individual or a group of individuals) and the expression “pre-stored program” will denote a pre-established program, stored in the programmer.
[0027] The programmer can be movable or fixed, the terms “movable” and “fixed” having the same definitions as those provided above, for the movable object and the fixed object definitions.
[0028] As stated above, the memory of the actuation device of the energy source of the movable object contains an operating program. This operating program is used to control the actuation device of said energy source. It has been created in the programmer by assembling instructions (pre-established program) or it has been selected from a list of programs that have been previously stored in the programmer (pre-stored program). The operating program and, where appropriate, the pre-stored programs, then contain a series of instructions that depend on the movable object proper, its destination and its function. As an example, in the case of a movable object intended to be carried in a defined space, the operating program selected in the programmer and transmitted to the memory of the movable object will be different, according to whether this space will be a garden, an open-air property or inside a building. Similarly, the operating program selected in the programmer and transmitted to the memory of the movable object will be different according to whether this movable object is a drinks container intended for a festive ceremony or an electric torch used in a mass demonstration, or even a clothing accessory.
[0029] The function of the interface is to transfer the abovementioned operating program from the programmer to the memory of the actuation device of the movable object. The interface can be movable or fixed, the terms “movable” and “fixed” having the same definitions as those provided above, for the movable object and the fixed object definitions. Moreover, the interface can be linked removably or permanently to the programmer. In the case of a permanent link, the programmer can be an integral part of the interface. It is preferable, however, according to a variant of the invention, for the programmer to be separate from the interface and for it to be linked removably, to be able to be separated from it.
[0030] Any appropriate interface for the transfer of signals containing data or instructions can be used, within the scope of the invention. The selection of the most appropriate interface will depend on the movable object and the programmer and it may differ according to whether the programmer is movable or fixed, according to whether the interface is movable or fixed and according to whether the programmer and according to whether the interface is linked removably or permanently to the programmer.
[0031] According to the invention, the actuation device of the energy source is managed by a defined control means.
[0032] In a first embodiment of the invention, said control device comprises a physical separation of the movable object from a support. In the rest of this specification, the expression “physical separation” should be considered in a broad sense to include the case where the object physically touches the support before being separated from it and the case where it does not touch it. In this embodiment of the invention, the support will depend on the nature of the movable object and the circumstances in which the installation is used. For example, in the case where the movable object is a clothing decoration (for example, an item of jewelry), the support may be a box for the clothing decoration (the item of jewelry). In the case where the movable object is a drinking glass, the support may consist of a tray supporting the glass.
[0033] In a second embodiment of the invention, said control means comprises a physical contact of the object with the abovementioned support, which follows a separation of the object from the support. In the rest of this memory, the expression “physical contact” should be considered in a broad sense to include the case where the object physically touches the support and the case where it approaches the latter without touching it. This embodiment is applicable to the case where the movable object is a glass for drinks and where the support is a tray intended to support the glass.
[0034] In a third embodiment of the invention, the control means comprises a variation of a physical and/or chemical parameter of the environment of the object. The environment denotes the vicinity or the surroundings of the movable object, for example the ambient air, the presence of fixed or mobile things, animals or people near the object, gas emanations near to the object, the presence of irregularity in the contours or of a sheet of water (exemplary and non-exhaustive list). The environment of the movable object obviously varies according to the movement of the object.
[0035] Examples of physical parameters include temperature, pressure and time, whereas examples of chemical parameters include the chemical composition of the ambient atmosphere.
[0036] In a fourth embodiment of the invention, the control means comprises a spatial position of the movable object. This spatial position is normally defined relative to one or more beacons, which can be fixed or mobile.
[0037] In a particular embodiment of the installation according to the invention, the abovementioned interface comprises a straightforward or induction-based electrical coupling between the programmer and the memory of the actuation device. In this embodiment of the invention, the interface comprises a physical surface, against which the movable object is physically applied. This physical surface can generally comprise a support made of metal or another material, the form and the dimensions of which are suited to those of the movable object. This surface can then include electrical connectors intended to cooperate with complementary electrical connectors on the movable object. As a variant, it can include one or more electrical induction loops, intended to cooperate with one or more induction loops of the movable object. The physical contact between the movable object and the surface must be removable. The material in which this surface is made, its form and its dimensions are not critical for the definition of the invention and they will in particular depend on the shape of the movable object, its destination and its function, and on the electrical coupling mode. In this particular embodiment of the invention, the interface can advantageously comprise the support mentioned above, with reference to the first and second embodiments of the invention. When operating this particular embodiment of the invention, the programmer and the interface are linked to the mains electrical network, the movable object is placed in physical contact with the interface-forming support and an operating program is selected from a list of programs pre-established and pre-stored in the programmer, so that it can subsequently be transferred to the memory of the actuation device of the energy source of the movable object via the interface (the support). The link between the programmer and the memory of the actuation device is obviously eliminated when the movable object is physically separated from the interface support. It follows that, from this moment, the program of the actuation device is fixed and, if it needs to be modified, the movable object must be physically linked again to the interface support. For example, in the particular case where the movable object is a drinks container, (for example a glass), the support forming the interface can be a tray or a surface on which a cloth has been placed or a sheet has been glued (for example, a self-adhesive sheet) provided with straightforward electrical contacts or, preferably, induction loops to support the drinks container.
[0038] In a variant of the particular embodiment that has just been described, straightforward or induction-based electrical coupling of the interface is replaced wholly or partly by a local generator of electromagnetic waves of limited and well-defined range, and the object is provided with a receiver of said electromagnetic waves.
[0039] In a specially advantageous embodiment of the installation according to the invention, the programs are transferred by means of an energy-wave interface. To this end, the movable object is equipped with a receiver of energy waves and at least one beacon comprising a transmitter of energy waves and a memory that has stored an instruction created using the programmer is involved. The link between the memory of the actuation device of the energy source of the movable object and the beacon is via energy waves.
[0040] According to the invention, an energy-wave link consists in a transmission of energy which is mainly performed without involving a physical connection by wires, cables or similar. The energy waves providing this communication can comprise sound waves. They preferably comprise electromagnetic waves, especially radiofrequency waves of the type of those commonly used in radio links. VHF and UHF waves are perfectly suitable. Laser-beam links can also be appropriate.
[0041] The use of a beacon for the interface makes it possible in particular to determine at any time the position of the movable object according to that of the beacon. To this end, the known method, which consists in equipping the beacon with a pulse counter and sending electromagnetic signals from the transmitter of the beacon to the receiver of the movable object at defined time intervals, can advantageously be applied.
[0042] In a particular variant of the advantageous embodiment described above, the beacon can replace an active operating program of the movable object with another operating program.
[0043] In the advantageous embodiment described above and its particular execution variant, the operating program can have added to it a spatialization table and/or a topography table. The spatialization table comprises a series of parameters that are selectively activated to control the actuation device of the movable object, in response to the instructions transmitted by the beacon and relative to the spatial coordinates of the movable object. Under the effect of this control, the energy source will produce a work defined by the actuation device, according to the relative spatial coordinates of said movable object. The topography table comprises a series of parameters that are activated selectively to control the actuation device of the movable object, in response to the instructions transmitted by the beacon and relative to information related to the topography of the premises, such as different levels or floors of a building or obstacles to the normal movement of the participants in the environment where the ceremony is being held. These obstacles can, for example, comprise walls, staircases, gradients, lowered ceilings, statues or other decorations, plant pots, water bowls, fountains, etc. For example, in the case where the energy source of the movable object comprises an acoustic or electromagnetic radiation source, the abovementioned control will act on the frequency and/or the intensity of the acoustic or electromagnetic source as a function of the spatial coordinates of the movable object (in the case of a spatialization table) or as a function of the presence of a defined obstacle in the vicinity of the movable object (in the case of a topography table).
[0044] The specially advantageous embodiment described above and its particular execution variant have the particular feature that they make it possible to maintain a link between the programmer and the memory of the movable object., even in the case where the movable object and/or the programmer are/is moved. It makes it possible in this way to modify, permanently and at will, the operating program included in the memory of the movable object or to send to the latter specific instructions, to adapt the function of the actuation device of the energy source according to various circumstances that would not have been pre-programmed such as, for example, the spatial position or geography of the movable object, the appearance of an unexpected or particular phenomenon, the unforeseen arrival of local or chance information, a variation in the ambient pressure or temperature, or in the ambient lighting (exemplary and non-exhaustive list).
[0045] In another particular execution variant of the advantageous embodiment described above, the movable object can, if necessary, comprise a transmitter of energy waves and the beacon can, if appropriate, comprise a receiver of energy waves. In this variant of embodiment of the invention, the transceiver of the movable object and the transceiver of the beacon can dialogue such that the abovementioned actuation device of the movable object reacts to signals from the beacon, said signals being controlled from information transferred by the transmitter of the movable object to the receiver of the beacon.
[0046] In a preferred execution variant of the specially advantageous embodiment defined above, the installation comprises at least two beacons networked together (by means of dedicated cables, by means of mains electricity network cables or by means of transmission by energy waves), each beacon comprising a transceiver of energy waves and a memory as explained above. One way of implementing the network comprises a scanning of the movable object, in turn, by the transmitter of each beacon, acting individually. For example, in the case where the installation comprises, on the one hand, five movable objects, each provided with a radiation source and a receiver and, on the other hand, four beacons, each provided with a transmitter, the receiver of each movable object (considered individually) is scanned by a succession of four individual signals, originating respectively, successively and in a predefined order from the beacons. This execution variant of the invention is not, however, limited to this embodiment of the network, other known methods being able to be substituted for it, for example a network with a protocol allowing collisions.
[0047] In this preferred execution variant of the invention, the actuation device of the movable object is controlled by the transmitters of the programmer, so as to obtain a regulation of the energy source, according to the position of the movable object relative to each beacon. For example, in the case where the energy source is a source of electromagnetic radiation, the regulation will act on the frequency or the amplitude of the radiation so that it is modified in a predetermined direction (for example, progressively increases) when the movable object moves away from a beacon and approaches another beacon, and vice versa. In the case of a movable object having several energy sources (for example, several sources of electromagnetic radiation), these energy sources can be controlled according to different procedures, when the spatial position of the movable object relative to the beacons changes, these procedures being governed by the abovementioned pre-established program. For example, in the case of two sources of electromagnetic radiation, the frequency and/or the intensity of one of the sources will vary according to the spatial position of the movable object relative to one of the beacons, whereas the frequency and/or the intensity of the other source will vary according to the spatial position of the movable object relative to another beacon. The installation conforming to this variant of the invention comprises at least two beacons. It can comprise a greater number of beacons (the number of beacons not being critical) scattered in the space where the ceremonial event is taking place, randomly or in a predefined manner. The beacons can equally well be all fixed or all movable; as a variant, some of them can be fixed, while others are movable.
[0048] In an additional execution variant of the specially advantageous embodiment described above, the energy-wave link between the receiver (or, where appropriate, the transceiver) of the movable object and the transmitter (or, where appropriate, the transceiver) of one or more beacons, passes through at least one relay equipped with a transceiver of energy waves (for example, a radio wave relay). This variant of the invention is of interest in the case of installations for which movable objects or beacons are intended to be disposed or moved over a large surface area or one that has natural or artificial obstacles to the propagation of the energy waves.
[0049] In an additional execution variant of the specially advantageous embodiment described above, the installation also comprises a control device, designed to transfer one-off instructions to the actuation device of the movable object in addition to those of its memory or after short-circuiting the latter. This embodiment of the invention requires the movable object and the or each beacon of the interface to comprise transceivers of energy waves. In a particular case of this additional embodiment of the invention, the installation allows said control device to cooperate with a specific movable object defined by a serial number in order to transfer instructions to this movable object.
[0050] In an additional embodiment of the installation according to the invention, the energy source of the movable object comprises a relay. In this embodiment of the invention, the relay is intended to actuate a mechanism present on the movable object or separate from the latter, in response to an instruction originating from the actuation device.
[0051] In an additional embodiment of the installation according to the invention, the movable object comprises a second memory, the function of which is to memorize and store parameters of the environment of said movable object, obtained by means of sensors or other equivalent means, and the spatial position of said object relative to one or more beacons, said second memory being able to be read via the interface. This additional embodiment of the installation allows for traceability of the object. It makes it possible to monitor the movement of the object and therefore finds an application in ensuring the traceability of the object or the security of the object and/or its user and/or its environment. In some cases, the object can take the initiative in communicating to the interface the data contained in this second memory, or transmitting to the interface, directly and in real time, the data that it collects.
[0052] When the installation according to the invention comprises a large number of movable objects as defined above, intended for a large public, it may prove interesting to mark the movable objects to be able to locate them and recover them. To this end, in a particular embodiment, the installation comprises a unit for marking said movable objects. In this embodiment of the invention, it may prove advantageous for the installation also to comprise a unit for marking its other components, such as the programmer and the interface. This particular embodiment of the invention makes it possible to differentiate the elements of an installation according to the invention, from corresponding elements of another installation conforming to the invention. It thus avoids an element of a defined installation (for example, an object or a beacon) being able to be replaced by a corresponding element of another installation. The invention can provide for a procedure enabling differently marked elements to be able to be used simultaneously in one and the same installation as if they were all marked in the same way.
[0053] In the installation according to the invention, the movable object must be equipped with a standalone electricity generator, to be able in particular to operate its actuation device. Similarly, in the case where the programmer is movable, it must normally be equipped with a standalone electricity generator. The same applies for the interface if the latter is movable or separable from the programmer.
[0054] This standalone electricity generator of the movable object and, where appropriate, of the programmer and/or of the interface is not critical for the definition of the invention. Its choice will depend on various parameters, such as the nature, the form, the dimensions and the intended use of the movable object (and, where appropriate, of the programmer and/or of the interface). It can be an AC current generator or a DC current generator. Depending on circumstances, the standalone electricity generator can, for example, be chosen from electrical batteries, fuel-cell batteries and electrical accumulators (such as capacitors and rechargeable electrical batteries).
[0055] When they are fixed, the programmer and the interface can be equipped with a standalone electricity generator or be linked to the mains electricity network.
[0056] In a particular embodiment of the installation according to the invention, the abovementioned interface comprises a straightforward or induction-based electrical coupling as defined above and an energy-wave link (involving one or more beacons and, where appropriate, one or more relays, these elements having been defined and explained above). This embodiment is well suited to installations which include rechargeable electrical accumulators and units for marking its components. The straightforward or induction-based electrical coupling is then used for marking the components and coupling the electrical accumulators to an electrical charger, while the energy-wave link is used to place the programmer in communication with the memory of the actuation device of the movable object.
[0057] In a modified embodiment, the straightforward or induction-based electrical coupling is also used to place the programmer in communication with the memory of the actuation device of the movable object. In this modified embodiment of the invention, the electrical coupling is used to transfer an operating program into said memory, from a program pre-established and pre-stored in the programmer, whereas the link via beacons and energy waves is used, while the installation is being used, to adapt this operating program in real time or to send it instructions specific to local circumstances such as ambient pressure and temperature, ambient light, the spatial position of the movable object, the presence of natural or artificial obstacles, the topography of the premises (exemplary and non-limiting list).
[0058] In the installation according to the invention, the movable object can, if appropriate, comprise one or more sensors, the technical function of which is to enable the abovementioned operating program, stored in its memory, to react independently on the actuation device of the energy source of this movable object, in response to local parameters (for example, the light intensity of the premises, a modification of this light intensity or, in the case of a drinks container, the level of liquid that it contains). As a variant, the operating program can be designed to transfer these local parameters to the interface, such that the latter can then send particular instructions to the actuation device of the energy source of the movable object.
[0059] For the electronics of the installation according to the invention, preference is given to the choice of small and low-energy-consumption components. The invention thus makes it possible to miniaturize the components of the installation and reduce its electrical consumption, both while it is active and while idle.
[0060] The installation according to the invention finds applications in a variety of public or private ceremonies, such as, for example, performances, religious or lay ceremonies, marriages, fairground fetes, receptions for personalities, conferences, artistic, cultural, commercial or advertising events or mass demonstrations (non-exhaustive list). It can also be used customarily in bars, restaurants, hotels, discotheques, etc.
[0061] The installation according to the invention finds a particular application in the case where the movable object is a drinks container, of which at least a part of the wall is translucent (for example, a glass or a cup) and where the energy source comprises a light source. In this particular application of the invention, the interface can, for example, comprise a tray used to support the drinks container or a cloth or a sheet fixed (for example glued) onto an appropriate support, this tray, this cloth or this sheet comprising electrical contacts or induction loops intended to cooperate with corresponding electrical components on the drinks container. As a variant, instead of the electrical contacts and induction loops (or in addition to the latter), the tray, the cloth or the sheet can comprise a generator of electromagnetic waves of limited and well-defined range, the drinks container then being provided with a receiver of said electromagnetic waves.
[0062] In this advantageous embodiment of the invention, the operating program selected by the programmer and transferred into the memory of the drinks containers modifies the light transmitted in the container when the latter leaves the interface, or when it is placed on said interface, or even when the container is moved in a room or over a space, for example in a crowd.
[0063] The design of the ceremonial installation according to the invention can be transposed to all non-ceremonial installations, for example public or industrial installations, comprising:
[0064] at least one object, provided with at least one energy source and one actuation device of said source, provided with a memory;
[0065] a programmer of the actuation device; and
[0066] an interface between the programmer and the memory of the actuation device,
[0067] the installation being characterized in that the object is movable and in that the abovementioned actuation device and its memory are controlled by:
[0068] a physical separation of the movable object from another object; and/or
[0069] a physical contact of the movable object with said other object, after said separation; and/or
[0070] a physical and/or chemical parameter of the environment of said movable object; and/or
[0071] a defined spatial position of the movable object.
[0072] In the installation according to the invention, it is important to give the expressions “movable object”, “fixed object”, “physical separation” and “physical contact” the definitions that were given to these expressions in the case of the ceremonial installation according to the invention.
[0073] In a preferred embodiment of the installation according to the invention, the movable object comprises a second memory, the function of which is to memorize and store parameters of the environment of said movable object, obtained by means of sensors or other equivalent means, and the spatial position of said object relative to one or more beacons, said second memory being designed to be read by the interface. This preferred embodiment of the installation makes traceability of the object possible. It makes it possible to monitor the movement of the object and therefore finds application in ensuring the traceability of the object or the security of the object and/or its environment. In some cases, the object can take the initiative in communicating to the interface the data contained in this second memory or transmitting to the interface, directly and in real time, the data that it collects.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0074] Particular features and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the appended figures, which represent a few particular embodiments of the invention.
[0075] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the installation according to the invention; and
[0076] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the installation according to the invention.
[0077] In these figures, the same reference numbers denote the same elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0078] The installation represented in FIG. 1 comprises
[0079] a series of glasses 1 used for intaking drinks;
[0080] an interface 2 , comprising a tray 18 supporting the glasses 1 ; and
[0081] a control module 3 , the function of which will be explained below.
[0082] The glasses 1 are equipped with a polychromatic light source 4 , a battery 5 and an actuation device 6 of the polychromatic source 4 . They also comprise a set of electronic circuits, not shown, including a circuit for monitoring the charge of the battery and a memory associated with the actuation device 6 and intended to contain an operating program for operating and controlling this actuation device.
[0083] The control module 3 comprises a battery charger 7 , a programmer 8 and a device 9 for marking the glasses 1 and the tray 18 . The programmer 8 comprises a list of pre-established and pre-stored programs. A switch 15 is used to select an operating program from this list of pre-stored programs according to choice. A removable electrical connection 10 links the module 3 to the tray 18 .
[0084] The tray 18 comprises a connector 11 for connecting it to the electrical power supply network, electrical induction loops 12 , an electrical battery 13 , a memory 19 and a function switch 14 . The number of induction loops 12 is normally equal to the number of glasses 1 , although this is not essential.
[0085] The use of the installation of FIG. 1 comprises the following steps.
[0086] In a first step, the glasses 1 are placed on the tray 18 , with their respective bases on top of the induction loops 12 , the switch 14 is set to the “charge” mode and the connector 11 is connected to the electricity network. The installation is maintained in this state for sufficient time to charge the batteries 15 and 13 from the electrical power supply 11 . When the batteries are sufficiently charged, the switch 14 is operated to connect the marking device 9 to the tray 18 and thus assign the glasses 1 and the tray 18 an identification code.
[0087] In an auxiliary step, which follows the marking operation of the first step, a switch 15 of the control module 3 is operated, to select an operating program from the abovementioned list of pre-stored programs and send it to the tray 18 which places it in memory.
[0088] In a second step, which follows the first step and the auxiliary step, the switch 14 of the tray 18 is operated to place it in a position for which the operating program selected in the abovementioned auxiliary step is transferred into the memory of the actuation device 6 of the glasses 1 . After this step, the light source 4 of the glasses 1 adopts a behaviour imposed by the actuation device 6 , which acts in response to an instruction from the operating program in its memory (the light source 4 emits, for example, a monochromatic light in a defined range of frequencies and with a defined intensity). The electrical connection 10 is removed. The tray 18 and the glasses 1 are then ready for use in a ceremony.
[0089] In a third step, the connector 11 is disconnected from the electrical network and the tray 18 is circulated among the people attending the ceremony (for example, guests in the case of a festive ceremony), so that they remove a glass from the tray, in turn. As soon as a glass leaves the tray, the frequency of the light that it emits changes, by action from the actuation device 6 , controlled by the operating program in its memory.
[0090] In a fourth step, the frequency or the intensity of the light source 4 of the glasses changes in response to the variation of one or more particular parameters, such as, for example: elapsed time, the position of the glass or the lighting of the premises (non-exhaustive list).
[0091] In a fifth step, corresponding to the return of the glass 1 to the tray 18 , the frequency of its light source will change once again, to adopt a value making it possible to distinguish between it (glass resting on the tray 18 after use) and the full glasses that are on the tray and that have not yet been used.
[0092] A sixth step corresponds to the washing of the glasses, after the reception. In this step, when a glass having been subjected to the fifth step leaves the tray, the actuation device 6 cuts the electrical connection from its battery to its light source.
[0093] The programming (the operating program in the memory of the actuation device 6 ) also includes an accessory step, between the third and the fourth steps, which corresponds to the case where a glass is returned to the tray, immediately after having been removed from it, without having been emptied. During this accessory step, the light source adopts a distinctive behaviour, for which, for example, the light emitted by its source blinks. This accessory step makes it possible to distinguish two categories of full glasses on the tray 18 (the original glasses and those that have already passed through the hands of the guests) and makes it possible to immediately remove the second category of glasses from the tray.
[0094] In the installation of FIG. 2 , the glasses 1 are equipped with a radiofrequency wave transceiver 16 and the interface 2 comprises, in addition to the tray 18 , beacons 17 , each equipped with a radiofrequency wave transceiver.
[0095] The beacons 17 of the interface 2 are scattered in the environment where the ceremony is being held (its environment can be, for example, a room or a space in the open air). They are designed and programmed to dialogue with the transceivers 16 of the glasses 1 and with the programmer 8 of the control module 3 . To this end, they are linked to the control module 3 by an electrical wiring or by radiofrequency waves. In the case of a link by radiofrequency waves, the control module 3 is equipped with a radiofrequency wave transceiver (not shown) and the beacons 17 comprise an electrical battery or are linked to the mains electricity network.
[0096] When using the installation of FIG. 2 , the tray 18 is used to mark the glasses 1 , the tray 18 and the beacon 17 , and to charge the batteries 5 and 13 and, where appropriate, those of the beacons 17 . The transfer of the operating program into the memory of the actuation device 6 of the glasses 1 from the pre-stored programs of the programmer 8 is performed via the induction loops of the tray 18 or via radiofrequency waves between the transceivers of the beacons 17 and the transceivers 16 of the glasses 1 . To this end, the or each beacon 17 sends its instructions to the transceivers 16 of the glasses 1 , in a predetermined logical order. The information received is interpreted by the operating program of the glasses 1 which will control the actuation device 6 of each glass according to instructions in the pre-stored program that has been selected in the programmer 8 . For example, the operating program of one of the glasses 1 will calculate the position of said glass relative to the beacons 17 and control the actuation device of its light source according to instructions in the pre-stored program selected and memorized in its memory.
[0097] In the installation of FIG. 2 , the transceiver 16 of each glass 1 is normally scanned by a succession of radiofrequency signals which are sent successively by the transceivers of the beacons 17 , in a predetermined logical order. The most appropriate scanning mode will depend on the local circumstances and the means for implementing it can be determined in each particular case by a person skilled in the art.
[0098] In a particular embodiment of the installation of FIG. 2 , the pre-stored programs of the programmer 8 (or some of them) comprise a spatialization table and a topography table. The spatialization table comprises a series of parameters that are activated selectively to control the actuation device 6 of the glasses 1 , in response to radiofrequency signals sent by the transceivers of the beacons 17 and received by the transceivers 16 of the glasses 1 and analyzed to determine, among other things, the spatial coordinates of the latter. Under the effect of this control, the frequency and/or the intensity of the light from the glasses will be modified according to the relative spatial coordinates of the glasses. The topography table comprises a series of parameters that are activated selectively to control the actuation device 6 of the glasses 1 , in response to radiofrequency signals transmitted by the transceivers 17 and received by the transceivers 16 of the glasses 1 and relative to information relating to the topography of the premises, such as obstacles to the normal circulation of the participants in the environment where the ceremony is being held. These obstacles can, for example, include walls, staircases, gradients, lowered ceilings, statues or other decorations, plant pots, water bowls, fountains, etc.
[0099] In the installation of FIG. 2 , the beacons 17 of the interface 2 can be fixed. This embodiment of the installation makes it possible in particular for the users of the glasses to identify their position in a space, by viewing the colour or information appearing on their glass. As a variant, the beacons 17 of the interface 2 , or some of them, can be mobile. It is possible, for example, to imagine certain people attending a ceremony carrying a beacon 17 , enabling them to be followed for trace purposes, by viewing the colour of the light from the glasses of other participants located in their immediate vicinity. | Ceremonial installation, comprising a movable object ( 1 ), provided with an energy source ( 4 ) and a device ( 6 ) for actuating the energy source, linked to a computer memory, a programmer ( 8 ) of the actuation device and an interface ( 2 ) between the programmer and the memory, the actuation device being controlled by a physical separation of the object ( 1 ) from a support ( 2 ) and/or a physical contact of the object with said support, after said separation and/or a physical and/or chemical parameter of the object or of the environment of the object and/or a defined spatial position of the object. | 0 |
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/553,867 filed Nov. 6, 1995 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,736.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a printer and an ink cartridge to be widely used in POS, factory automation (FA), physical distribution (PD) and so forth, for example, and an ink cartridge to be employed in such printer. More specifically, the invention relates to a printer employing an ink-jet printing system and an ink cartridge to be used with such printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Up to now, a label printer utilizing an ink-jet printing system has not been put into practical use. In general sense, advantages of an ink-jet printing are quietness in operation for not contacting with a printing medium, high printing speed, capability of high density printing, easiness of color printing, compactness in overall apparatus and so forth.
A paper, such as label, to be used in the label printer is smaller in size in comparison with normal paper, such as A4 paper and so forth, typically used in the office. Therefore, a full-line type printing head can be easily employed as a printing head for the label printer.
When the full-line type ink-jet head is employed, special construction different from the case where a normal serial type ink-jet head is employed, in ink recirculation for recovery of ejection, ink supply and so forth. Also, in such ink supply system, when a tube pump is employed as a driving source, derivative problem may be encountered in simplification of drive control.
On the other hard, in the ink-jet type label printer, it becomes necessary to appropriately manage ink to be used, including management of ink leakage in the apparatus and so forth. As a system which provides various advantages in ink management or ink supply management, an ink cartridge has been known. Namely, by making an individual cartridge storing the ink detachable with respect to the apparatus by inserting and removing an ink supply needle, the ink cartridge can be replaced with new one when the ink therein is spent out.
However, associating with the above-mentioned ink cartridge, problems may encountered in the label printer in management of waste ink and ink leakage upon detaching of the ink cartridge. Also, due to interference between the ink cartridge and the label printer body upon loading of the ink cartridge, a seal formed by an electrically resistant member provided on the ink cartridge for identification and so forth can be damaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer which can solve various problem derived in an ink supply system as set forth above, and particularly to provide a label printer which can solve the problems in the case where a tube pump is employed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge which is employed in the label printer set forth above and permits appropriate management of waste ink.
According to one aspect of the invention, a printer having an ink-jet head ejecting an ink for performing printing on a printing medium, comprises an ink cartridge storing the ink to be supplied to the ink-jet head, ink storage means for temporarily storing the ink to be supplied from the ink cartridge to the ink-jet head, having an atmosphere communication opening and having an ink path for returning an excess amount of ink to the ink cartridge, buffer means connected to the ink cartridge via an ink path having an one-way valve permitting only flow of the ink from the ink cartridge, connected to the ink storage means via an ink path having a tube pump and connected to the ink-jet head via an ink passage having an one-way valve permitting only flow of the ink toward head ink-jet head, for maintaining the ink amount at a predetermined amount, and opening and closing means for opening and closing the atmosphere communication opening of the ink storage means.
Here, the printer may further comprise second buffer means connected to the ink-jet head via an ink path and connected to the ink storage chamber via an ink path having a second tube pump, for maintaining the ink amount at the predetermined amount.
On the other hand, the tube pump may guide a tube at portions other than a portion where a depression roller of the tube pump acts on the tube.
Also, the ink path for returning the excess amount of ink in the ink storage means to the ink cartridge may include a needle unit having a needle communicated with the inside of the ink cartridge associating with loading operation of the ink cartridge, the needle unit having a valve for establishing communication between the inside of the ink cartridge and the needle by loading operation of the ink cartridge.
Furthermore, a positional relationship between the ink cartridge and the needle unit upon loading of the ink cartridge may be that a communication opening of the needle penetrates within the ink cartridge and subsequently the valve is opened.
Also, the ink path connecting the ink cartridge and the buffer means may include a needle unit having a needle to be communicated with the inside of the ink cartridge associating with loading of the ink cartridge, the needle unit having a valve establishing communication between the ink cartridge and the needle by a suction pressure transmitted via the buffer means by driving of the tube pump.
The printer may further comprise means for manually opening and closing the atmosphere communication opening of the ink storage means.
Furthermore, the ink cartridge may include an ink storage chamber for storing the ink to be supplied to the ink-jet head and a waste ink storage chamber having an absorbing member for holding and storing the ink discharged from the printer, and the ink storage chamber and the waste ink storage chamber are formed integrally, and the waste ink storage chamber has two stage construction.
Also, the printer may further comprise a cartridge receptacle chamber, to which the ink cartridge is detachably loaded, and having a shutter member pivotably provided at an insertion opening for the ink cartridge and engaging with the outer surface of the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is inserted for loading, the ink cartridge being provided with a resistant member depending upon information relating the ink cartridge, on the outer surface thereof, and the shutter member is formed into a configuration having a cut-out portion so as not to interfere with the resistant member upon engagement with the outer surface of the ink cartridge,
It should be noted that the ink-jet head may eject the ink by generating a bubble of the ink utilizing a thermal energy and ejecting the ink by generation of the bubble.
According to the second aspect of the invention, an ink cartridge to be employed in a printer performing printing on a printing medium, comprises an ink storage chamber for storing an ink to be supplied to the printer, a waste ink storage chamber storing the ink discharged from the printer and having an absorbing member holding the ink, the ink storage chamber and the waste ink storage chamber being formed integrally and the waste ink storage chamber has two stage structure.
The waste ink storage chamber may be provided with a detection sensor for detecting presence of the ink.
Also, the detection sensor may be located at an upper stage of the two stage structure and defines by a given height of wall, in which the absorbing member is not present.
Furthermore, an ink inlet portion of the waste ink storage chamber may be provided at the lower stage of the two stage structure.
Also, ink supply for the printer and introduction of discharge of ink from the printer may be performed a supply needle inserted within the ink cartridge, and an absorbing member is provided at least at the portion where the supply needle is inserted.
According to the third aspect of the invention, an ink cartridge for storing an ink to be used by a printer for performing printing on a printing medium, characterized in that ink supply for the printer and introduction of discharge of ink from the printer is performed a supply needle inserted within the ink cartridge, and an absorbing member is provided at least at the portion where the supply needle is inserted.
With the present invention, when the ink is forcedly fed from the ink storage chamber to the ink-jet head by means of the tube pump, influence of the pulsation of the pressure induced by the tube pump can be successfully avoided. Also, since interference between the depression roller and the tube in the tube pump can be successfully avoided, the problem of cutting of the tube by the depression roller can be prevented. Also, associating with the detachable ink cartridge, connection of the ink cartridge and the ink supply system can be performed without causing leakage. Furthermore, since the atmosphere communication opening of the ink storage chamber can be opened and closed by manual operation, leakage of the ink through the atmosphere communication opening during transportation can be successfully avoided. As a result, the printer having the ink supply system which can perform satisfactory ink supply can be provided.
In addition, the waste ink flowing into the ink cartridge can be maintained therein. Also, since the presence of the ink is detected only when the waster ink chamber is filled with the waster ink, error in detecting the waste ink with accumulation of small amount of the waste ink to cause erroneous exchange of the ink cartridge may not be caused. Furthermore, upon piercing and removing of the supply needle associating with loading and unloading of the ink cartridge, since the ink adhering on the supply needle can be removed by the absorbing member, leakage of the ink will not be caused. In addition, upon loading of the ink cartridge, interference between the shutter member and the resistant member on the ink cartridge can be avoided. As a result, it becomes possible to provide the ink cartridge in which management of the waste ink can be appropriately performed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given herebelow and from the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the invention, which, however, should not be taken to be limitative to the present invention, but are for explanation and understanding only.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing external appearance of one embodiment of a label printer according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the label printer shown in FIG. 1 in a condition where a case cover is removed;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the label printer shown in FIG. 1 in a condition where a front cover is opened;
FIG. 4 is a section showing a mechanism of a print head station of the label printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration showing an ink supply system in the label printer;
FIG. 6 is a front elevation showing a general construction of the shown embodiment of a tube pump to be employed in the ink supply system;
FIG. 7 is a front elevation showing a general constriction of the conventional tube pump to be employed in the ink supply system;
FIG. 8 is a front elevation showing a ink storage chamber and an opening and closing mechanism of an atmosphere communication opening of the ink storage chamber;
FIG. 9 is a front elevation showing the ink storage chamber shown in FIG. 8 in a condition where the atmosphere communication opening is opened;
FIG. 10 is a section showing an internal structure of an ink cartridge;
FIG. 11 is a plan view of the ink cartridge shown in FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the ink cartridge of FIG. 10;
FIG. 13 is a conceptual illustration showing a relationship between the ink cartridge shown in FIG. 10 and an ink supply needle unit;
FIG. 14 is an enlarged section showing a structure of the ink supply needle unit;
FIG. 15 is a section showing an operating condition of the ink supply needle unit of FIG. 14 in an ink supply mode;
FIG. 16 is a section in a condition where the ink cartridge is removed;
FIG. 17 is a section showing an intermediate position in detaching of the ink cartridge;
FIG. 18 is a section showing a condition where the ink cartridge is loaded;
FIG. 19 is a section showing a structure of an under case frame in an ink cartridge receptacle chamber;
FIG. 20 is an exploded section, in which the ink cartridge and the ink supply needle unit are shown in disassembled position;
FIG. 21 is a section showing an intermediate condition in loading or unloading of the ink cartridge and the ink supply needle unit;
FIG. 22 is a section showing the ink cartridge and the ink supply needle unit in the loaded condition;
FIG. 23 is a front elevation of a head connector before assembling of the printer;
FIG. 24 is a front elevation of the head connector corresponding to respective inks after assembling of printer;
FIG. 25 is a front elevation of a transfer station;
FIG. 26 is a right side elevation of the transfer station shown in FIG. 25;
FIG. 27 is a section showing a positional relationship between a head cooling fin and fan; and
FIG. 28 is a partial section showing a fin and an ink jet head.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be discussed hereinafter in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instance, well-known structures are not shown in detail in order to unnecessary obscure the present invention.
It should be noted that while the preferred embodiment will be discussed in terms of a printer employing a paper in a form of roll paper, in which a large number of labels are sequentially arranged on a released paper, as a printing medium, any type of printing medium in a form, a king and a material may be selected adapting the printer. For example, a cut paper may be employed as the printing medium. Also, as a material for the printing medium, film, cloth or any other material may be selected.
Also, while the discussion given hereinafter is concentrated for application of the present invention to a label printer, the printer according to the present invention may be applicable for printing mediums, such as perforated continuous paper, name card, card and so forth. In the alternative, the printer according to the present invention can be in a form of a ticket printer and so forth. In short, the present invention is applicable for wide variety of forms of printers.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of one embodiment of a label printer according to the present invention.
The shown embodiment of the label printer employs a roll paper form paper, in which a plurality of labels are sequentially arranged on a released paper. The label printer generally comprises three pars, i.e. a roll paper supply unit 101 , a printing head portion 102 and an ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 . A cover 111 of the roll paper supply unit 101 is provided in detachable fashion. By this, new roll paper 124 can be set (see FIG. 2 ). The roll paper 124 to be stored in the roll paper supply unit 101 is, as discussed later with reference to FIG. 2, fed by a paper feeding mechanism formed between the printing head portion 102 and the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 . During feeding, printing is performed by a printing head in the printing head portion 102 and ejected out of the apparatus through an ejection opening 114 . It should be appreciated that it is possible to connect a device for peeling off the label from the released paper ejected through the ejection opening 114 . Also, it is possible to connect a device for taking up the label together with the released paper, on which the labels are adhered.
The printing head portion 102 is provided for pivoting about the rear end (in the drawing) serving as a pivot shaft with respect to the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 for opening and closing. By this, it becomes possible to perform maintenance of the printing head of the printing head portion, the paper feeding mechanism and so forth and setting of the roll paper 124 . At the front end portion of the printing head portion 102 , an operating portion 112 including a lamp or liquid crystal indicator for indication of various condition of the label printer, and operating keys, is provided.
A front cover 103 of the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 can be opened and closed about a pivot axis which is established at the left side end in the shown case. By this, upon exchanging of the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge can be unloaded and loaded by opening the front cover 113 .
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the label printer of FIG. 1, showing a condition where the cover 111 of the roll paper supply unit 101 is removed and the printing head portion 102 is pivoted upwardly to be situated in the open position. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the label printer of FIG. 1, in which the front cover 113 of the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 is held open.
As shown in FIG. 2, a roll 126 on which the roll paper 124 is wound and which is stored in the roll paper supply unit 101 , is mounted on a pair of drive roller 301 (only one is shown). At this condition, the outer periphery of the roll 126 and the drive roller 301 are kept in contact under a pressure due to own weight of the roll paper 124 . At this condition, by rotation of the drive roller 301 and so forth by a driving force of a not shown motor, the outermost roll paper 124 is separated from the remaining inner side roll paper 124 and fed into the label printer. Supply of the roll paper 124 performed in substantially irrespective of feeding by a roll paper feeding mechanism 104 (detail is not shown) located between the printing head portion 102 and the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 . Accordingly, for adjusting feeding between these two parts, in the supply of the roll paper 124 , supply of the roll paper 124 is controlled to form a loop (not shown in FIG. 2) serving as a buffer. Namely, when a loop is not detected by a loop sensor (not shown) by feeding in the roll paper feeding mechanism 104 , the drive roller 301 is driven to feed the roll paper 124 with forming the loop.
A paper guide 131 is provided for sliding in a width direction of the stored roll 126 . Namely, upon storing the roll paper 124 , the paper guide 131 is slide in a magnitude greater than the width of the roll paper 124 to place the roll 126 on the drive roller 301 . Thereafter, the paper guide 131 is slide to the width of the roll 126 to contact a part thereof onto a core member 125 of the roll 126 . By this, upon supplying of the roll paper 124 , vibration of the roll paper 124 in the width direction at the upstream of the drive roller in the supply direction can be restricting by permitting constant fine vibration. It should be noted that, on the paper guide 131 , a stopper 316 for fixing the slide position is provided.
In the feeding path of the roll paper 124 , in the vicinity of the feeding path in the roll paper feeding mechanism 104 , an obliquely feeding unit 128 is provided. The obliquely feeding unit 128 includes two obliquely feeding rollers (not shown) contacting with the lower surface of the roll paper 124 and obliquely feeding rolls 129 and 130 contacting with the upper surface of the roll paper 124 . Two obliquely feeding rollers comprises drive roller opposing to the obliquely feeding roll 130 and driven by a driving force from the roll paper feeding mechanism 104 , and driven roller opposing to the obliquely feeding roll 129 and not driven by the driving force. Respective of the driving roller and the driven roller rotate in oblique direction relative to the feeding direction of the roll paper 124 (a rotation axis also lies in oblique with respect to a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction). Also, the obliquely feeding rolls 129 and 130 are mounted in oblique to the feeding direction similarly to the obliquely feeding rollers. By these obliquely feeding rollers and the obliquely feeding rolls 129 and 130 , a transporting force in an oblique direction is applied to the roll paper 124 to be fed to abut the roll paper 124 onto a predetermined guide in the distal side in the drawing. As a result, the roll paper 124 is applied a restricting force in a given direction in the feeding direction and thus can be fed stably without causing vibration in the feeding direction.
While it is neglected from illustration in FIG. 2, the roll paper feeding mechanism 104 disposed between the printing head portion 102 and the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 is constructed with a plurality of belts arranged at the lower side of the roll paper 124 (thereafter arranged on the upper surface of the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 ), rollers provided at upstream side and downstream side of the belt with respect to the feeding direction for driving the belts, and a wheel 141 (see FIG. 4) arranged at the lower surface of the printing head portion 102 and transmitted the driving force via the predetermined belt among the belts.
In FIG. 3, the ink cartridge receptacle portion 103 has four cartridge receptacle chambers 140 Y, 140 M, 140 C and 140 Bk corresponding to four kinds of inks, i.e. yellow (Y), Magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (Bk) inks. In the vicinity of the inlets of respective cartridge receptacle chambers 140 Y, 140 M, 140 C and 140 Bk, shutters 142 Y, 142 M, 142 C and 142 Bk substantially shielding inside of the cartridge receptacle chambers 140 Y, 140 M, 140 C and 140 Bk. The shutters 142 Y, 142 M, 142 C and 142 Bk are pivotably supported at the upper portion so as to avoid erroneous insertion of the user's hand into the inside of the cartridge receptacle chambers 140 Y, 140 M, 140 C and 140 Bk and erroneous contact to the ink supply needles. Upon insertion of the ink cartridge, insertion of the ink cartridge is performed by orienting the ink cartridge per se toward the distal side to open the shutter.
FIG. 4 is a front elevation showing a construction of a printing head station 151 (hereinafter referred to as “PHS”), as primary mechanism of the printing head portion 102 .
The PHS 151 has ink-jet heads 155 Y, 155 M, 155 C and 155 Bk having ejection openings arranged beyond overall width of the label in the width direction of the roll paper 124 for performing printing with respect to the label arranged on the roll paper 124 . As these heads 155 Y, 155 M, 155 C and 155 Bk, the ink-jet heads employing so-called bubble-jet system having elements generating thermal energy by generating film boiling of ink as energy utilized for ejection of the ink, are employed. Also, the PHS 151 has an ink collection means for collecting ink ejected through ink ejection openings arranged in respective of the heads 155 Y, 155 M, 155 C and 155 Bk, a blade for sweeping and removing residual ink on an ejection opening forming surface in the vicinity of the ink ejection openings of the heads 155 Y, 155 M, 155 C and 155 Bk, and a recovery system unit 153 having a cap preventing drying in the vicinity of the ink ejection openings.
In the PHS 151 , a drive system unit for shifting the head holder unit 152 supporting the heads 155 Y, 155 M, 155 C and 155 Bk in the perpendicular direction from the printing position with respect to the roll paper 124 and shifting the recovery type unit 153 for a given magnitude in horizontal direction along the feeding direction of the roll paper 124 , and a cooling unit for cooling the heads 155 Y, 155 M, 155 C and 155 Bk are provided.
On the lower portion of the PHS 151 , wheels 141 are provided at both sides of respective heads 155 Y, 155 M, 155 C and 155 Bk are provided, as set forth above.
It should be noted that, while the discussion is given with generally dividing the label printer into three portions as set forth above, it is manner of course that not only the disclosed elements or mechanisms but also other elements and mechanisms are provided in respective portions. Discussion for other elements associated with the disclosed elements, control board, drive, motor, ink supply system and so forth may be arranged appropriately. For the elements and mechanisms other than those disclosed in the foregoing discussion will be constructed with known elements and mechanisms.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration showing an ink supply system provided in the label printer set forth above.
The shown embodiment of the ink supply system has ink storage chambers 203 having ink cartridges 201 and an ink-jet heads 155 for respective colors, a plurality of buffer means 205 and 207 . The ink supply in this system is performed by a pressure difference between tube pumps 209 and 211 and meniscus difference between respective elements. It should be noted that the ink storage chamber 203 , the plurality of buffer means 205 and 207 , tube pumps 209 and 211 and so forth shown in FIG. 5 are provided for each ink similarly to the ink-jet head 155 , the ink cartridge 201 , an ink receptacle 215 . Namely, the ink supply system shown in FIG. 5 is provided for each color of ink.
Discussion will be given hereinafter with respect to major ink supply modes in the shown embodiment of the ink supply system.
At first, discussion will be given for a mode for maintaining the liquid level of the ink storage chamber 203 at reference liquid level S. L. by supplying ink from the ink cartridge 201 to the ink storage chamber 203 . In this mode, a solenoid 227 is driven to close the atmosphere communication opening 203 A of the ink storage chamber 203 by a plug 225 . On the other hand, by the roller of the tube pump 211 , a tube 241 is crushed for closing. At this condition, the tube pump 209 is driven in counterclockwise direction (C.C.W.) to introduce a vacuum into the buffer tank 205 . At this time, by an one-way valve 219 , ink does not flow into a supply path 237 from the head 155 . On the other hand, ink flows into the buffer tank only from the ink cartridge through the supply path 231 , in which an one-way valve 217 is in forward direction. When an ink level reaches a tube 205 A in the buffer tank 205 by introduction of the ink, the ink flows into the ink storage chamber 203 via the supply passage 233 . By introduction of the ink, when the ink level in the ink storage chamber 203 reaches the reference liquid level S.L., the excessive ink by further flow of the ink flows into the ink cartridge 201 via the supply path 235 to maintain the reference liquid level S.L.
Namely, this ink supply mode is performed by driving the tube pump 209 for a given period at an appropriate timing other than the period of printing operation, in which ink is ejected from the head 155 . Thus, a printer control portion can maintain the reference liquid level S.L. in the ink storage chamber 203 only by controlling the drive timing and driving period. The reference liquid level S.L. is held in a range of appropriate meniscus level with respect to the head to appropriately perform ink supply upon ejection of ink.
It should be noted that a sensor 223 provided in the ink storage chamber 203 is for detecting presence and absence of the ink and is used for detecting spent out of the ink in the cartridge tank 201 when sensor 223 does not detect presence of the ink even after driving of the tube pump 209 for a given period.
Next, discussion will be given for a supply mode upon ejection of ink in the ink-jet head.
In this mode, the atmosphere communication opening 203 A of the ink storage chamber 203 is held in open condition, and the tube pump 209 and 211 are held uncrushed, i.e. in through condition. When ejection is performed buy the ink-jet head at this condition, the ink of the ink storage chamber 203 is supplied to the ink-jet head 155 via two systems of supply paths 233 , 237 and 241 , 239 due to meniscus difference between the ink storage chamber 203 and the head 155 .
The third to be discussed is a supply mode in recirculation of ink to be performed as one of ejection recovery process of the ink-jet head 155 . In this mode, the atmosphere communication opening 203 A of the ink storage chamber 203 is held open and two tube pumps 209 and 211 are driven to rotate in the clockwise direction (C.W. direction). By this, the ink flows into the head 155 via the supply paths 233 and 237 from the ink storage chamber 203 , and in conjunction therewith, the ink flows into the ink storage chamber 203 from the head 155 via the supply paths 239 and 241 . By such recirculation if the ink, the bubble residing within the head 155 can be collected within the ink storage chamber 203 together with the ink and finally discharge to the atmosphere via the atmosphere communication opening 203 A.
On the other hand, upon recirculation of the ink as set forth above, the pressure in the head 155 is desired to be maintained at a level slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure. By this, leakage of the ink via the ink ejection opening during recirculation can be minimized. However, in the ink supply system of the shown embodiment, pulsation of the pressure is large since the tube pump 209 is employed as a supply power source and synchronization control between two tube pumps 209 and 211 is not performed, pulsation in the head 155 during recirculation becomes further greater in magnitude.
Therefore, in the shown embodiment, by providing the plurality of buffer means 205 and 207 between the head 155 and the tube pumps 209 and 211 , pulsation of the tube pumps 209 and 211 is absorbed by these a plurality of buffer means 205 and 207 . Therefore, during recirculation of the ink, the pressure within the head 155 can be maintained at constant value in the appropriate level.
Further ink supply mode is a supply mode during pressurizing recovery to be performed as one of ejection recovery process similarly to the foregoing mode. In this mode, the atmosphere communication opening 203 A is held open and the tube pump 211 is held in the condition where the tube 241 is crushed by the roller. When the tube pump 209 is driven in the clockwise direction (C.W direction) at this condition, the ink is supplied to the head from the ink storage chamber 203 via the supply paths 233 and 237 . The supply pressure at this time is higher than that in recirculation if ink since the tube pump 211 is held inoperative. Therefore, the ink in the head 155 is ejected to the ink receptacle 215 via the ejection opening. Associating with ejection of the ink, high viscous ink within the head 155 can be ejected.
The ink within the ink receptacle portion 215 receiving the ejected ink by preparatory ejection performed as one of ejection recovery processes, is introduced into the waste ink storage portion of the ink cartridge 201 via the supply path 243 by a tube pump 213 .
FIG. 6 is a front elevation showing a detail of the tube pump 209 ( 211 ) to be employed in the ink supply system of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a similar illustration showing the tube pump in the prior art.
As shown in FIG. 6, the shown embodiment of the tube pump 209 is formed with a semicircular recess is a tube holder 212 which forms a support member. Along the semicircular portion, the tube 233 is arranged. At a position offset from the center of the semicircular, a roller rotating portion having a rotary axis is arranged. In the roller rotating portion, depression rollers 209 A, 209 B, 209 C and 209 D are provided (other elements are not necessary to be illustrated). By rotation of the roller rotating portion, respective depression rollers 209 A, 209 B, 209 C and 209 D pushes the tube 233 to place the tube 233 in crushed position in a range of 65 in back and force direction at the lowermost position in the drawing.
On the other hand, the tube holder 212 is pushed by means of a spring 216 to be held in the condition illustrated in FIG. 6 . However, while the tube 233 is not depressed and thus in the through condition, it drives the cam 218 to rotate to pivot the tube holder 212 toward left in the drawing about an axis 220 .
Here, the difference between the shown embodiment of the tube pump 209 (see FIG. 6) and the conventional tube pump (see FIG. 7) is that, in the conventional tube pump, a tube guide 214 is provided in the overall length for the portion of the tube 233 extending along the semicircular portion. In contrast to this, in the shown embodiment, the guide 210 is provided. only portion except for the semicircular portion. (The guide 210 is also provided symmetrically on the back side relative to the tube, in the drawing.)
With the construction of the guide in the shown embodiment, the guide restricts the tube 233 at the portions in the vicinity of the depressing portion other than the portion where the tube is crushed by the depression rollers 209 A to 209 D. In contrast to this, in the prior art shown in FIG. 7, the overall tube 233 including the portion to be depressed is guided. Therefore, when the tube 233 rides over the guide in certain cause, it becomes possible that the tube 233 is cut off by the depression roller.
Thus, according to the shown embodiment, since the guide is not present at the portion where the depression rollers 209 A to 209 D act, the possibility of cutting of the tube 233 can be successfully avoided even when large magnitude of offset is caused in the tube 233 .
FIGS. 8 and 9 are front elevations showing the detailed configuration of the ink storage chamber 203 shown in FIG. 5 and the opening mechanism of the atmosphere communication opening 203 A. FIG. 8 shows the closed condition of the atmosphere communication opening 203 A and FIG. 9 shows the open condition thereof.
The opening mechanism for the atmosphere communication opening 20 A is constructed as follow. A seal lever 247 is pivotably supported by a support shaft 249 . The plug 225 for contacting with the opening end of the atmosphere communication opening 203 A is carried at one end of the seal lever 247 . The other end of the seal lever 247 is connected to a plunger of a solenoid 227 for pivotal movement therewith. Here, the solenoid 227 is so-called latch solenoid which can maintain the plunger in place when no power is supplied and is placed at a given position. On the other hand, the seal lever 247 is connected to a tension spring 255 in the vicinity of the portion where the plug 225 is provided. The other end of the spring 255 is connected to a casing member holding the solenoid 227 . Also, the seal lever 247 is integrally formed with an operation lever 251 .
In the opening and closing mechanism as set forth above, as shown in FIG. 5, power supply for the solenoid 227 is controlled depending upon respective ink supply modes to operate the actuating member. In conjunction therewith, by the action of the spring 255 , the seal lever 247 is pivoted. By this, the plug 225 contacts and released from the opening end of the atmosphere communication opening 203 A to open and close the atmosphere communication opening 203 A.
In addition to the opening and closing mechanism as set forth above, upon transportation for shipping of the label printer or moving of the installation position of the printer, the operation lever 251 is operated as shown by arrow in FIG. 9 to establish closed position shown in FIG. 8 . By this, even when the label printer subjects vibration during transportation, moving or so forth, ink will never leak through the atmosphere communication opening 203 A.
FIG. 10 is a section of the side showing the internal structure of the ink cartridge illustrated in FIG. 5, FIG. 11 is a plan view and FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the ink cartridge.
As shown in these drawings, the ink cartridge 201 includes an ink storage chamber 257 and a waste ink storage chamber 260 . At the end of the ink storage chamber, rubber plugs 265 are provided at two portions for passing ink supply needles 275 which will be discussed later. These rubber plugs 265 have a construction sandwiches by the case member of the ink cartridge, an ink absorbing member 263 and a rubber plug holder 267 except for the portions where needles 275 C and 279 C pass through. With this construction, when the ink cartridge is removed from the label printer, the ink adhering on the supply needles 275 C and 279 C drawn out of the ink cartridge can be removed by the ink absorbing member 263 . Therefore, it can prevent contamination of the inside of the label printer by the ink adhering on the supply needles 275 C and 279 C and plugging of the supply nozzles 275 C and 279 C per se.
The waste ink storage chamber 260 is formed with a two stages of storage portions communicated at one ends. A portion, in which the ink supply needle 279 C passes through is provided corresponding to the lower stage storage portion. Namely, in the waste storage chamber 260 , the ink supply needle 279 C connected to the supply path 243 as illustrated in FIG. 5 passes through. By this, the waste ink discharged in the ejection recovery process and so forth flows into the lower stage portion of the ink storage chamber 260 . Generally, in the whole body of the ink storage chamber 260 is filled with an ink absorbing member 259 . Thus, the waste ink flowing into the lower stage storage portion of the water storage chamber 260 is absorbed by the ink absorbing member 259 . According to introduction of the waste ink, the region of holding the waste ink among the waste ink gradually extends to the ink absorbing member 259 to partly exude out of the ink absorbing member. On the other hand, adjacent to the end of the waste ink absorbing member 259 , a partitioning wall 261 A is provided. By this, before the waster ink amount exceeds the holding capacity of the ink absorbing member 259 , the exuded ink as set forth above is prevented from moving to the portion at the right side where the ink absorbing member 259 is not filled. Accumulatively, the waste ink among introduced tends to be increased to exceed the holding capacity of the ink absorbing member 259 , Then, the exuded waste ink is then transferred to cause overflow to elevate the liquid lever, When the increased level fills up the wasted in the waste ink storage chamber 260 can be detected. Thus, it becomes possible to promote exchanging of the ink cartridge 201 .
The inside of the waste ink storage chamber 260 is adapted to communicate with the outside via a Microtext (tradename: Nitto Denko K.K.) disposed therebetween. By this, leakage of the waste ink can be prevented, and in conjunction therewith, evaporation of the moisture content in the waste ink becomes possible.
On the upper surface of the ink cartridge 201 , an identification seal 273 is adhered for identifying the kind of the ink stored therein. Also, at the front end of the ink cartridge 201 , a resistant seal 271 for electrical detection of loading of the ink cartridge 201 and the kind of ink, is adhered.
FIG. 13 is an illustration showing a loading condition of the ink cartridge 201 to the label printer. Namely, FIG. 13 shows the condition where respective ink supply needles 275 C pierce the rubber plug 265 of the ink cartridge 201 .
The supply needle unit 275 shown in FIG. 13 is connected to the supply path 235 (see FIG. 5) for recirculating the ink from the ink storage chamber 203 . When the ink cartridge 201 is not loaded, the valve 275 A is biased by means of a spring (not shown) toward left in the drawing to block communication between a connection tube 275 D and the needle 275 C. When the ink cartridge 201 is loaded, by an action of a not shown lever upon loading operation of the ink cartridge which will be discussed with reference to FIG. 20 and so forth, the valve 275 A is opened against the spring force to establish communication between the connection tube 275 D and the needle 275 C.
A supply needle unit 277 is adapted to be connected to the supply path 231 (see FIG. 5) for supplying ink to the buffer tank 206 (see FIG. 5 ). Irrespective of loading or unloading condition of the ink cartridge 201 , a valve 277 A is normally biased toward left by a spring 277 B to block communication between a connection tube 277 D and the needle 277 C, as shown in FIG. 14 .
The supply needle unit 277 establishes the communication between the connection tube 277 D and the needle 277 C in the following condition. As discussed with respect to FIG. 5, when the tube pump 209 is driven in counterclockwise direction in the ink supply mode to the ink storage chamber 203 , vacuum is introduced into the connection tube 277 D via the buffer tank 205 . By this, as shown in FIG. 15, the valve 277 A is shifted toward right against the biasing force of the spring 277 B to establish communication between the connection tube 277 D and the needle 277 C. Then, the ink in the ink cartridge 201 is supplied to the buffer tank 205 . Thus, the supply needle unit 277 serves to perform function of the check valve 217 shown in FIG. 5 .
A supply needle unit 279 is connected to the supply path 243 (see FIG. 5) for the waste ink, in which a connection tube 279 D and a needle 279 C are constantly communicated with each other.
FIGS. 16 to 18 are illustration showing detailed construction of the shutter 142 of the cartridge receptacle chamber 140 discussed with respect to FIG. 3 and loading operation of the ink cartridge 201 to the cartridge receptacle chamber 140 .
As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 , the shutter 142 is pivoted at a predetermined position on an upper frame 140 U of the cartridge receptacle chamber 140 and slidably engaged with a stopper lever 142 A for sliding movement within a given range. On the other hand, the stopper lever 142 A is similarly pivoted at a point frontwardly shifted from the pivot point of the shutter 142 . The stopper lever 142 A is restricted frontward pivoting range by a stopper 142 C. With the construction set forth above, the shutter 142 is prevented from opening by pulling it frontwardly.
Upon insertion of the ink cartridge 201 , as shown in FIG. 17, the ink cartridge 201 is pushed into the ink cartridge receptacle chamber with abutting the front end shoulder thereof with the stopper lever 142 A, By this, the ink cartridge 201 finally abut to a stopper 140 S provided on a lower frame 140 L of the cartridge receptacle chamber 140 and thus is placed at the loading position shown in FIG. 18 . At the loading position, the resistant seal 271 provided on the upper surface of the ink cartridge 201 comes into contact with an electrode 281 at the side of the main body and an electrode 269 for detection of the waste ink also contacts with an electrode 282 at the side of the main body. At this time, since the most part of the tip end portion of the shutter 142 is cut out as shown in FIG. 3, the shutter 142 is prevented from contacting with the resistant seal 271 .
FIG. 19 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section showing the entire construction of the lower frame 140 L of the cartridge receptacle chamber 140 set forth above.
The lower frame 140 L is formed into tub-shaped configuration to accommodate therein the cartridge receptacle chamber 140 and other ink supply systems shown in FIG. 5 . With such construction, even when leakage of ink is cased in the ink supply system, the ink will not flow out of the lower frame 140 L. Furthermore, the lower frame 140 L is inclined toward the rear side (right side in FIG. 19) and a sensor 283 for detecting the ink accumulated in the lower frame 140 L is provided in the vicinity of the lowermost position of the lower frame. By this, presence of a given amount of leaked ink can be detected.
FIGS. 20 to 22 are illustration for explaining positional relationship between the needle 275 C of the supply needle unit 275 and the ink cartridge 201 , in the loading position.
At first, immediately before contacting the needle 275 C with the rubber plug 265 of the ink cartridge 201 associating with loading of the ink cartridge 201 , no force is exerted on the lever 275 F. Therefore, the valve 275 A is biased by the spring 275 B to be held in the position blocking communication between the connection tube 275 D and the needle 275 C.
Next, as the ink cartridge 201 is further advanced for loading, as shown in FIG. 21, the lever 275 F of the supply needle unit 275 comes into contact with a part of the ink cartridge 201 . At this timing, a portion having the communication opening of the tip end of the needle 275 C already passes through the rubber plug 265 and placed within the ink cartridge 201 . On the other hand, at this time, the lever 275 F has just come into contact with the part of the ink cartridge 201 , the depression force of the ink cartridge 201 is not yet acted on lever 275 F. Accordingly, the communication between the connection tube 275 D and the needle 275 C is still blocked.
Next, by further advancement of the ink cartridge 201 in the loading direction, as shown in FIG. 22, the depression force of the ink cartridge 201 acts on the lever 275 F to depress the latter. By this, a connection lever 275 E is shifted toward right in FIG. 22 about one end serving as pivot point. As a result, the connection lever 275 E and the valve 275 A are shifted rightwardly against the biasing force of the spring 275 B to establish communication between the connection tube 275 D and the needle 275 C.
As can be clear from the discussion with respect to FIGS. 20 to 22 , the supply needle unit 275 for ink recirculation from the ink storage chamber 203 to the cartridge 201 initially penetrate the tip portion of the needle carrying the communication opening into the ink cartridge 201 and subsequently open the valve 275 A, associating with insertion of the ink cartridge 201 into the cartridge receptacle chamber 140 upon loading. In other words, the relationship of the length of the lever 275 F and the length of the needle 275 C is determined to certainly cause the sequence of actions set forth above.
With the construction set forth above, a problem that the valve 275 A is opened before the needle 275 C is inserted into the ink cartridge 201 to cause the ink from the ink storage chamber 203 to leak into the apparatus through the communication opening of the needle 275 C, can be successfully prevented.
FIGS. 23 to 26 are illustration showing a head connector 289 and a transfer station 285 provided at a part of the ink supply path and establish connection of the supply tubes.
In the shown embodiment, since four kinds of inks, i.e. yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (Bk), are employed, four ink supply paths are present. Accordingly, it becomes necessary that respective head connectors and the kinds of the inks are corresponded and the head connectors corresponded to the kinds of inks are set corresponding to the transfer station 285 .
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 23, the head connector 289 in assembling of printer has respectively four bosses 287 A at both sides. During assembling, the bosses 287 A located at the positions corresponding to respective kinds of inks are cut away to form the head connector 289 after completion of assembling.
On the other hand, as shown in the front elevation of FIG. 25 and right side elevation of FIG. 26, the transfer station 285 pairs of bosses 285 A are diagonally arranged. Respective positions of the bosses 285 A corresponds to the positions of the bosses of the head connectors 287 which are cut away for identifying the corresponding kind of the ink. With the construction set forth above, the head connector 289 will never set at erroneous position. Thus, a problem of color mixing can be successfully prevented.
FIG. 27 is a section showing a part of the printing head 102 shown in FIG. 1 and so forth.
On each ink-jet head 155 , as shown in FIG. 28, a plurality of fins 291 extending in overall length of the head in the longitudinal direction are provided. For generating an air flow along the longitudinal direction of the fines, a fan 293 is provided. The fan 293 is adapted to be driven by a not shown motor. At the front side and rear side of the fan 293 , ducts 295 A and 295 B are provided. The duct 295 A is communicated with the atmosphere via a louver 297 formed in a par of the cover member 114 . By this, relatively low temperature air can be taken from the outside of the printer. | A printer having an ink container, an ink jet head, and an ink storage container for temporarily storing ink to be supplied from the ink container to the ink-jet head, the ink storage container having a closable air communicating portion communicating with ambient air. A first ink path connects the ink container to the ink storage container, defines a flow of ink from the ink container to the ink storage container, and is provided with a one-way flow restricting member for permitting only a flow of ink in a direction of discharge from the ink container. A second ink path connects the ink storage container to the ink container and defines a flow of ink for returning an excess amount of ink over a predetermined liquid amount in the ink storage container to the ink container. An opening/closing member opens and closes the air communicating portion to ambient air. A buffer container is provided at a portion of the first ink path between the one-way flow restricting member and the ink storage container and is capable of maintaining a predetermined liquid amount. A transfer member transfers ink from the buffer container and is provided at a portion of the first ink path between the buffer container and the ink storage container. | 1 |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/205,362 filed on May 18, 2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to accessories for compact disc players. More specifically, the present invention relates to a compact disc removal tool that removes compact discs from compact disc players and/or recorders when they will not eject by normal means.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Modern hi-fidelity audio systems have made their way to the realm of automobile audio. In fact, it is not uncommon to find people that spend thousands of dollars to install the latest AM/FM receivers, compact disc (CD) players and changers, mini-disc systems, cassette players, power amplifiers, speakers and a variety of other components in their vehicles.
While the electronic portion of these devices are usually trouble free, the mechanical portion often suffers from glitches due to the somewhat more harsh atmosphere and temperature extremes encountered in a motor vehicle. One particularly affected device is the dash mounted compact disc player. Often, discs may become lodged or jammed inside the unit. The most common way to remove the disc in such an instance is to remove the entire dashboard, the unit and the faceplate. Such repairs may run into the hundreds of dollars.
Accordingly, a need exists for a means by which compact discs and/or digital video discs (DVDs) that have become jammed inside players can be removed with minimal effort and cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, the in-dash compact disc retriever, is an apparatus that is used to remove compact discs or digital video discs from compact disc or digital video disc players when they are stuck and cannot be ejected by normal means. The in-dash compact disc retriever is thin and flat and has a soft hook attached to one end for hooking onto the center aperture of a CD or DVD and causing the removal thereof from a CD or DVD player. It is preferred that the apparatus have increments on the body thereof as well as a small flashlight or pen light that will aid the user in finding the center aperture of a CD or DVD.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a device for removing a CD or DVD that is jammed and/or stuck in a CD or DVD player without damaging the CD or DVD or the CD or DVD player.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for removing a CD or DVD that is jammed and/or stuck in a CD or DVD player without causing great expense and inconvenience.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of the In-Dash Compact Disc Retriever;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the In-Dash Compact Disc Retriever; and
FIG. 3 is a top view of the In-Dash Compact Disc Retriever in use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the preferred embodiment, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the In-Dash Compact Disc Retriever 10 has a thin flat body 20 . In the preferred embodiment, the body 20 is not wider than the width of an opening 32 for a compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD) 40 in a CD or DVD player 30 ; such a width is commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Further, in the preferred embodiment, the body 20 is flat, not thicker than the height of an opening 32 for a CD or DVD 40 in a CD or DVD player 30 less the thickness of a CD or DVD; such a thickness is commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
It is preferred that the body 20 is made out of a hard smooth plastic. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that other materials, including, but not limited to, wood, can be used to construct the body 20 . It is also preferred that the body 20 be rectangular in shape, although it can be other shapes, including, but not limited to, oval.
In a preferred embodiment, the body 20 has ruler type incremental markings 22 on both sides thereof The incremental markings aid the user in finding the center aperture 42 of a compact disc or digital video disc 40 since the average distance between the edge of the CD or DVD 40 to the center aperture 42 is approximately two and one-eighth inches. Consequently, it is preferred that the ruler type incremental markings 22 each be one-eighth of an inch apart. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize, however, that the body 20 need not have ruler type incremental markings 22 or could have incremental markings 22 on only one side thereof and would further recognize that when the body 20 does have ruler type incremental markings 22 , said markings 22 can be in any number of increments. It is preferred, however, that said markings 22 not be further than one inch apart. In an alternative embodiment, the body 20 has only one predetermined mark thereupon that marks the average distance to the center aperture 42 of a CD or DVD 40 when said CD or DVD 40 is jammed in a CD or DVD player 30 .
The length of the body 20 is such that it can be inserted into an opening 32 for a CD or DVD 40 in a CD or DVD player 30 and reach the center aperture 42 of the CD or DVD 40 and still be held by the hand of the user with no risk of losing the In-Dash Compact Disc Retriever 10 inside of the CD or DVD player 30 ; such a length is commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In the preferred embodiment, as seen in FIG. 1, at one end of the body 20 , preferably centered width-wise on the body 20 , is a hook 50 . It is preferred that the hook 50 is made out of felt. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize, however, that a number of different materials, including, but not limited to foam can be used instead of felt to make the hook. It is preferred, however, that the material be such that it will not injure the inside of the CD or DVD player 30 and will not scratch or otherwise injure the CD or DVD 40 , but will be strong enough to pull the CD or DVD 40 free from the CD or DVD player 30 . As seen in FIG. 3, in a preferred embodiment, the hook 50 is formed such that when the in-dash compact disc retriever 10 is manually inserted in the opening 32 for a CD or DVD 40 in a CD or DVD player 30 , it will smoothly glide over the CD or DVD 40 without scratching said CD or DVD 40 . The ruler type incremental markings 22 , preferably begin at the hook 50 . This allows the user to evaluate how far the hook 50 is in the CD or DVD player 30 . When the increments state two and one-eighth inches plus the estimated distance from the CD or DVD 40 to the outside of the CD or DVD player 30 , the user will slightly twist the in-dash compact disc retriever 10 such that the hook 50 catches the center aperture 42 of the CD or DVD 40 . Once the user is sure that he/she has caught the center aperture 42 , he/she pulls the in-dash compact disc retriever 10 out of the CD or DVD player 30 and the CD or DVD 40 that was stuck therein is easily removed from the CD or DVD player 30 .
One embodiment of the in-dash compact disc retriever 10 also has a small flashlight or pen light 60 attached to the body 20 . The pen light 60 is of the type commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be attached to the body 20 in any number of ways, including but not limited to, via an adhesive or formed to the body 20 in manufacture as one piece. The pen light 60 allows the user to see inside the CD or DVD player 30 to aid the user in finding the center aperture 42 of the CD or DVD 40 . The pen light 60 can be of a size too large to enter the opening for insertion of a CD or DVD 32 and therefore is most preferably located on the body 20 behind the ruler type incremental markings 22 or is attached to the body 20 so that it is moveable, or the pen light 60 can be of a size small enough to enter the opening 32 and therefore is most preferably located on the body 20 close to the hook 50 .
Although this invention has certain preferred embodiments, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and all such changes and modifications are intended to fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. | An in-dash compact disc retriever that is used to remove compact discs or digital video discs from compact disc or digital video disc players when they are stuck and cannot be ejected by normal means. | 1 |
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
[0001] The invention relates to a reaction vessel suitable for carrying out an exothermic reaction of a liquid reactant with a gaseous reactant to form a gaseous reaction product at elevated temperature and elevated pressure, wherein the residence time of the gaseous reactant in the reaction vessel is increased by non-pressure-bearing internals.
[0002] Such a reaction vessel is preferably used for preparing hydrogen sulphide from sulphur and hydrogen. The reaction vessel contains internals which increase the residence time of the hydrogen in the liquid sulphur, with the gas being collected in parts of these internals and subsequently being dispersed again in the liquid sulphur.
[0003] Hydrogen sulphide in particular is an industrially important intermediate, for example for the synthesis of methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl disulphide, sulphonic acids, dimethyl sulphoxide, dimethyl sulphone and for numerous sulphiding reactions. It is nowadays obtained predominantly from the refining of petroleum and natural gas and also by reaction of sulphur and hydrogen.
[0004] The synthesis of hydrogen sulphide from the elements hydrogen and sulphur is usually carried out by introduction of hydrogen into the liquid sulphur and subsequent reaction in the gas phase in a downstream reaction space. Both catalysed and uncatalysed processes are known here. The synthesis of hydrogen sulphide is usually carried out in the gas phase at temperatures of from 300 to 600° C. and pressures of from 1 to 30 bar. The industrial production of hydrogen sulphide from the elements proceeds, according to Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, 2002, at temperatures of 450° C. and a pressure of 7 bar.
[0005] GB 1193040 describes the uncatalysed synthesis of hydrogen sulphide at relatively high temperatures of from 400 to 600° C. and pressures of from 4 to 15 bar. It is stated that the temperature required is determined by the pressure at which the synthesis is to be carried out. According to that text, about 500° C. is required at a pressure of 9 bar.
[0006] An important factor in the preparation of hydrogen sulphide from sulphur and hydrogen is, in particular, the temperature conditions. High temperatures are necessary to achieve an equilibrium state in which a molar ratio of hydrogen:sulphur of about 1:1 is established in the gas phase. Only this makes the synthesis of pure hydrogen sulphide possible. As the pressure increases, the temperature has to be increased greatly corresponding to the vapour pressure curve of sulphur in order to achieve the desired molar ratio of 1:1 in the gas phase. Even small differences in pressure of, for example, 1 bar or less are of great importance.
[0007] CSSR 190792 describes a process variant for the preparation of hydrogen sulphide, in which high reaction temperatures are avoided by means of a comparatively complicated arrangement of a plurality of reactors in series. High temperatures are specifically avoided there because of corrosion problems. CSSR 190793 reports severe corrosion of the plant at temperatures of 400° C. upwards.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,961, too, reports severe corrosion at temperatures of from 440 to 540° C. in the synthesis of hydrogen sulphide. The synthesis is therefore carried out there at temperatures below 440° C.
[0009] The article by B. Glaser, M. Schütze, F. Vollhardt on “Auswertung von Daten zum H 2 S-Angriff auf Stähle bei verschiedenen Temperaturen und Konzentrationen”, Werkstoffe und Korrosion 42, 374-376, 1991, states that in the case of plants in which corrosive attack by H 2 S is to be feared at elevated temperatures, this is significantly hindering the further development of such plants. In particular, a move to higher temperatures and thus an improvement in the economics of the corresponding processes has hitherto been ruled out since in this case tremendous corrosion damage and thus downtime of the plants occurs even after short times. The temperature and the H 2 S concentration are named as main factors influencing the corrosion.
[0010] Depending on the further use of hydrogen sulphide, it can be highly advantageous to provide the hydrogen sulphide at relatively high pressure and not have to compress it separately.
[0011] The economics of the process requires very low capital and operating costs. Here, major cost factors are, in particular, the outlay for apparatuses and machinery and also the energy consumption for the synthesis and treatment of the starting gas mixture. For example, operation of compressors and of heating and cooling circuits consumes a large amount of electric power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] It is an object of the invention to provide a reaction vessel and a process for the preparation of hydrogen sulphide from sulphur and hydrogen at pressures of >5 bar without severe corrosion of pressure-bearing parts occurring as a result of high temperatures.
[0013] The invention provides a reaction vessel suitable for carrying out an exothermic reaction of a liquid reactant with one or more gaseous reactants, in particular one gaseous reactant, to form a gaseous reaction product at elevated temperature and elevated pressure, wherein the residence time of the gaseous reactant or reactants in the reaction vessel is increased by non-pressure-bearing internals.
[0014] It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the liquid reactant generally goes over into the gaseous state before the reaction. The non-pressure-bearing internals are surrounded by the liquid reactants.
[0015] In the context of the preparation of hydrogen sulphide, the internals increase the residence time, in particular of the hydrogen in the liquid sulphur. The gaseous reactant or reactants is/are at least partly collected in these internals and subsequently become dispersed again in the liquid sulphur, if they have not been converted into hydrogen sulphide.
[0016] During the bubbling of hydrogen into liquid sulphur, the hydrogen becomes saturated with gaseous sulphur and is converted into hydrogen sulphide in a strongly exothermic reaction in the gas phase. This can be accelerated by means of a catalyst or can also be carried out without catalyst at significantly higher temperatures. To transfer sufficient sulphur into the gas phase even at high pressure and achieve complete conversion of hydrogen, high temperatures, preferably above 400° C., are necessary. However, the exothermic nature of the reaction produces so much heat that, according to the prior art, at a temperature of the liquid sulphur of about 400° C., temperatures significantly above 450° C. occur locally in reactor regions above the liquid sulphur. These lead to great stresses on the materials and corrosion and make technically complicated cooling necessary.
[0017] Reactor concepts which help avoid high overtemperatures on pressure-bearing parts have now been found for such exothermic syntheses at elevated pressure. At the same time, local overtemperatures in the region of the internals are utilized in a targeted manner to make rapid and complete reaction of the hydrogen with a high space-time yield possible. In addition, this reactor concept allows the heat of reaction to be utilized for heating and vaporization of the starting materials, here sulphur. In this way, the starting materials themselves can be utilized for heat integration.
[0018] As a result of the inventive arrangement of non-pressure-bearing internals, the sulphur-saturated hydrogen which is finely dispersed in the liquid sulphur phase is collected again there as contiguous gas phase. The residence time of the gaseous reactants in these gas collection regions or gas capture structures is significantly increased, i.e. by a factor of from about 3 to 20, in particular 5 to 15, compared to the residence time of ascending gas bubbles in reactors without internals. If the residence time of the hydrogen in the liquid sulphur is too short, hydrogen enriched with gaseous sulphur collects in the region above the liquid sulphur in the reactor and reacts to form hydrogen sulphide. It follows from this that reaction vessels without the internals according to the invention become heated strongly above the liquid sulphur by the heat liberated since the energy cannot be removed satisfactorily. According to the invention, no reaction mixture enters the space above the liquid sulphur because of the increased residence time in the region of the reactor which is filled with liquid sulphur. According to the invention, the heat liberated therefore leads to an increase in temperature to above 450° C. only within the gas collection regions or gas capture structure where the increased temperature promotes the reaction and the vaporization of sulphur. Due to the local limitation of the reaction and thus the overtemperatures which arise in the region of the internals, the entire pressure-bearing reaction vessel and in particular the region above the liquid sulphur is not heated to temperatures of >450° C. and damage to the material caused by these elevated temperatures is thus avoided. According to the invention, the collection and dispersion of the gas phase within a reaction vessel can occur once or preferably more than once as a result of the arrangement of the internals. In particular, from 3 to 100, preferably from 3 to 50, gas collection regions are arranged above one another. Gas distributors can be installed in between.
[0019] The residence time of the gaseous reactants hydrogen and sulphur, in particular of hydrogen, in an internal acting as gas collection region or gas capture region is preferably from >0.5 s to 60 s, particularly preferably from 2 to 60 s, in particular from 3 to 30 s. The temperatures prevailing in the gas collection regions or the internals can be more than 550° C. These temperatures would not be tolerable for the pressure-bearing outer wall for corrosion and safety reasons. If a plurality of gas capture structures are arranged in a reaction vessel, they are preferably arranged in the flow direction of the ascending hydrogen. The size of the gas collection or gas capture volumes of the individual internals can increase, decrease or remain constant. Preference is given to an increase in the collection volumes in the flow direction in order to compensate for the reaction time which slows with the reduction in, for example, the hydrogen concentration in the hydrogen/sulphur gas mixture by an increased residence time.
[0020] To avoid temperatures above 450° C. on the pressure-bearing walls of the vessel due to the exothermic nature of the reaction, the internals are surrounded by liquid sulphur. The gas collection regions and associated internals are cooled by the surrounding liquid sulphur.
[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a flow distribution of the liquid reactant, in particular of the sulphur, which makes circulation of the sulphur and thus good heat distribution possible is realized. In particular, attention is paid to a circulation of sulphur in the liquid-filled space between the internals and the pressure-bearing outer wall. The circulation and heat balance in the reactor can also be controlled in a targeted manner by the place at which the fresh sulphur is introduced and/or by recirculation of unreacted sulphur. The sulphur feed and recycle streams are preferably used for cooling the inside of the pressure-bearing outer wall and for cooling the product gas.
[0022] The gas collection regions or gas capture regions and associated internals are preferably fixed on one or more internal tubes and are static in the pressure vessel. Manufacture and assembly of the reaction vessel are carried out using methods known to those skilled in the art, for example welding.
[0023] In this context, it is likewise possible to use suitable additional materials for surface treatment or the joining of components, for example additional welding materials. The use of special materials or ceramics is also advantageous here because of the high temperatures. If conventional stainless steel is used for the gas capture structures, this is preferably employed there with a corrosion supplement of more than 1 mm.
[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the internals are installed so that they can be pulled out of the reactor from the top, for example with the aid of a crane.
[0025] The invention provides a process for the exothermic reaction of a liquid reactant with one or more gaseous reactants to form a gaseous reaction product at elevated temperature and elevated pressure in a reaction vessel, wherein the residence time of the gaseous reactant(s) in the reaction vessel is increased by non-pressure-bearing internals and the non-pressure-bearing internals are surrounded by the liquid reactant.
[0026] The invention likewise provides the preparation of hydrogen sulphide from hydrogen and sulphur at elevated pressure and high temperatures using the reaction vessel of the invention.
[0027] The temperatures in the synthesis of hydrogen sulphide are in the range from 300 to 600° C., in particular from about 400 to 600° C. At the pressure-bearing parts of the reaction vessel, the temperature is below the temperature which is established at the internals, preferably not greater than 450° C., particularly preferably less than 450° C. Temperatures above 450° C., in particular up to 600° C., preferably prevail in the gas collection regions or gas capture regions or the internals.
[0028] The surfaces of the reactor which are not covered with liquid sulphur are preferably located above the liquid sulphur and are not heated to temperatures above 450° C.
[0029] The shape of the reaction vessel and the internals is not subject to any particular restrictions. The vessel preferably has a cylindrical shape. The non-pressure-bearing internals acting as gas collection regions or gas capture regions can, for example, be present in the form of upturned cups or caverns, plate constructions with gas collectors and gas distributors, beds of packing elements or hollow bodies, packings, monoliths, knitteds or combinations thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0030] FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] A person skilled in the art can make a free choice of the process steps to be combined for the preparation of hydrogen sulphide, with a plurality of reaction vessels according to the invention and various apparatuses for separating off by-products or unconsumed starting materials also being able to be combined.
[0032] In general, the process is carried out at a pressure of from 5 to 20 bar and hydrogen is passed at this pressure into liquid sulphur in the reaction vessel of the invention.
[0033] Furthermore, the reaction according to the invention, in particular to form hydrogen sulphide, can, according to the invention, also proceed in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst known per se. This is preferably a sulphur-resistant hydrogenation catalyst which preferably comprises a support such as silicon oxide, aluminium oxide, zirconium oxide or titanium oxide and contains one or more of the active elements molybdenum, nickel, tungsten, iron, vanadium, cobalt, sulphur, selenium, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth. The catalyst can be used either in the liquid phase or in the gas phase. The catalyst can be present in the form of beds of pellets, as powder suspended in the liquid sulphur, as coating on packing elements, monoliths or knitteds. The catalyst can be located at one or more places in the reaction vessel. The catalyst is preferably located in the internals acting as gas collection regions. To ensure complete conversion of hydrogen, a catalyst bed is, in a further embodiment of the invention, installed above the liquid sulphur and all gas capture structures. A catalyst bed enclosed by the liquid sulphur is also possible.
[0034] Instead of pure hydrogen, it is also possible to pass impure hydrogen through the liquid sulphur. The impurities can be, for example, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, water, methanol, methane, ethane, propane or other volatile hydrocarbons. Preference is given to using hydrogen having a purity of from >65% by volume to 100% by volume, and from >98% to 100% by volume of the hydrogen used being converted into hydrogen sulphide. The impurities in the hydrogen or their reaction products are preferably not separated off before the synthesis of methyl mercaptan but left in the starting mixture. The sulphur used can also contain various impurities.
[0035] Overall, the invention can firstly make more economical operation of production plants for hydrogen sulphide possible, especially at pressures of >5 bar, since the reaction vessel requires little maintenance and repairs and does not have to be partly or completely replaced even after prolonged operation over a number of years or decades. As a result of the reaction vessel according to the invention, the occurrence of overtemperatures on pressure-bearing parts is avoided and the plant safety is increased thereby because reduced corrosion in this region minimizes the risk of material failure and the probability of accidents due to loss of containment of hazardous materials. This is of particular importance in the case of very toxic materials such as hydrogen sulphide.
Comparative Example 1
[0036] 1000 standard l/h of hydrogen were fed continuously via a frit at the bottom into a tube which had an internal diameter of 5 cm and was filled with liquid sulphur to a height of 1 m. The consumption of sulphur was compensated for by introduction of further liquid sulphur so as to keep the fill level constant. Sulphur separated off from the product gas stream by condensation was recirculated in liquid form to the upper region of the tube. Wall thermocouples for measuring the temperature were installed at intervals of 10 cm above the liquid sulphur. While the reactor was being heated electrically to 400° C. via the outer wall, a uniform temperature of about 397° C. prevailed within the sulphur. However, the thermocouples above the sulphur indicated a maximum temperature of 520° C. Furthermore, new samples of conventional stainless steel (1.4571) were placed at the position of maximum temperature above the liquid sulphur. After an operating time of about 400 h, the steel samples were taken out and displayed severe corrosion phenomena in the form of flaking and weight loss.
Comparative Example 2
[0037] Comparative example 1 was repeated but the height of the liquid sulphur was increased to 4 m. The value of the maximum temperature above the liquid sulphur remained the same. Severe corrosion phenomena likewise occurred on the steel samples.
Comparative Example 3
[0038] Comparative example 2 was repeated with 15% by weight of a pulverulent Co 3 O 4 MoO 3 /Al 2 O 3 catalyst being suspended in the liquid sulphur. The value of the maximum temperature above the liquid sulphur remained the same. Severe corrosion phenomena likewise occurred on the steel samples.
Example 1
[0039] Comparative example 2 was repeated with three gas collection regions in the form of upturned cups being installed in the region of the liquid sulphur. There, the ascending gas was collected with a residence time in the range of 10-50 s. The temperature measured above the liquid sulphur was the same as that in the liquid sulphur. No overheating was observed. Furthermore, no corrosion phenomena could be discerned on the steel samples above the liquid sulphur. The conversion of hydrogen in the product gas was determined by means of GC analysis and found to be >60% (at a sulphur temperature of 400° C., analogous to the comparative example), >90% at 420° C. and >96% at 440° C.
Example 2
[0040] Comparative example 2 was repeated with a bed of ceramic packing elements having an external diameter of 5 mm and a gap volume of the pellets of 70% being installed in the region of the liquid sulphur. The value of the maximum temperature above the liquid sulphur was only 5° C. above the set sulphur temperature of 397° C. Furthermore, no corrosion phenomena could be discerned on the steel samples above the sulphur. The conversion of hydrogen in the product gas was determined by means of GC analysis and found to be >99%.
[0041] The examples show that, as a result of the invention, the strongly exothermic reaction is complete within the region of the internals or gas collection regions filled with liquid sulphur and does not occur in the gas region above the liquid sulphur. As a result, no corrosion due to high overtemperatures occurs there. The hydrogen sulphide formed is of high purity. | The invention relates to a reaction vessel in which hydrogen sulphide is prepared from sulphur and hydrogen, wherein the reaction vessel consists partly or entirely of a material which is resistant to the reaction mixture, its compounds or elements and retains its resistance even at high temperatures. | 1 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/708,128, filed on Aug. 10, 2005, entitled Accessory Ready Assembly, the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a mounted splined fitting system that permits mounting of a variety of accessories to a supporting framework or structure of a marine vessel. More specifically, to an accessory ready assembly that is mounted to a structure of a marine vessel for holding fishing rods or other accessories.
2. Description of the Related Art
Marine vessels typically have multiple accessories such as fishing rod holders, antennas, cup holders, spotlights, speakers, wakeboard racks, cutting boards & barbeques pre-installed to the vessel during construction or are later attached by the user for the purpose of improving the vessel as desired by the owner.
These accessories are typically either welded permanently in place or attached by a clamping and bolting method to a supporting framework or the side paneling bodywork of the vessel so as to position the accessories in an ideal or suitable position as required by the particular accessory.
A fishing rod holder is typically positioned on a tubular section of the vessels framework for the purpose of supporting a removable fishing rod while fishing. The original mounted position on the tubular section of the rod holder typically dictates the positioning angle of the fishing rod relative to the vessel and surrounding water of the vessel. The position cannot readily be changed without hand tools being used to adjust them or cut off and re-welded elsewhere on the framework.
A rod holder typically serves as a rigid support for the fishing rod so as to be able to store the fishing rod in a safe position when not in use in order to prevent injury to occupants of the vessel. The rod holder also positions the fishing rod and its tip end at a suitable angle relative to the water for enabling fishing line and bait to be deployed from the fishing rod for the intended purpose of catching fish by what in one particular practice is termed “trolling”.
Often times a fishing rod needs to be repositioned relative to the vessel's structure while in use to allow the fishing rod line to be deployed at a different angle relative to the water and boat in order to space the multiple lines of the fishing rods in the water to prevent tangling during fishing.
Other accessories such as speakers, antennas, flag poles and spot lamps all sometimes are also mounted onto a vessel's structure, which sometimes need to be adjusted around at least one axial fixed plane.
Pre-installed rod holders and other multiple accessories are quite often not positioned on the supporting structure according to an end user's particular preference. Often the choice and color of the rod holders or accessories offered by the manufacturer on and included with the vessel or framework structure is not acceptable to the end user. Furthermore, sometimes damage occurs during freight to pre-installed mounted accessories the item has had to be replaced, which quite often is not practical as they are usually welded to a support structure.
Existing welded-on rod holders or accessories prevent any adjustment at all as these rod holders have to be cut off and repositioned and welded back on to suit the mounting position preference of the end user of the vessel. This practice is time consuming and not practical.
Also, welded-on rod holders, accessories and support structures often have a weld bead visible to the naked eye and often times has visible surface weld flaws and joints that are not cosmetically appealing. This is because the welded joint is poorly welded or spray-painted after welding for corrosion protection, which does not always match the structures original color.
Existing rod holders and accessories are usually axially adjustable along and around a supporting tubular framework section of the vessel, which permits a change of angle. However, this requires hand tools to perform the adjusting task by unbolting, repositioning and retightening. This is not a practical and easy task to undertake if the vessel is in use out on the ocean at the time.
Other existing bolt-on rod holders do permit adjustment in two axial planes either by utilizing a serrated tooth mid-section coupling method of connecting two halves of a rod holder to one another. This requires a user's hand to either unscrew a mid-section barrel that unlocks the serrated end teeth to permit change of the rod holder angle for one axial plane. Hand tools are required to change the other axial plane position on the structures tubular mounting surface. The mid-section adjustable type rod holder is difficult to adjust as the hand can slip while unscrewing the mid-section locking component due to the often wet and greasy boating and fishing environment which can cause the rod holder to not be totally secure.
Other various existing bolt-on rod holders and accessories require that hand tools be used for changing both axial plane mounting positions of the rod holder or accessory on the mounting structure of the vessel which is more impractical than the existing bolt-on type holders.
The disadvantages of the rod holders as described above are that the rod holder are permanently affixed to a support structure and do not allow for a practical adjustment of the rod holder. Moreover, any changes to the positioning of the rod-holders is time consuming, labor intensive, and cannot be easily made while fishing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an accessory ready assembly, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and which provides an accessory ready assembly that is more versatile and easier to use.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, an accessory ready assembly that mounts to a support structure on a marine vessel. The assembly includes a male spline fitting having an end face that is configured to mount onto the support structure. A female spline connector is removably disposed on the male spline fitting. An accessory is disposed on an end of the female spline connector. A clamp is disposed on the female spline connector. The clamp securely fastens the female spline connector and the accessory to the male spline fitting.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the female spline connector has a longitudinal slot and a cutout formed therein. The clamp has a longitudinal gap formed therein defining two sides, each of the sides having a respective borehole formed therein. The cutout and the boreholes receive a fastener for fastening the female spline connector to the male spline fitting.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the clamp is affixed to the female spline connector by a fastener.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the fastener has a shaft. The male spline fitting has a radial groove having sidewalls. The shaft engages at least one of the sidewalls for securely fastening the female spline connector to the male spline fastener.
In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the fastener includes a nut and a knob for allowing a hand tightening of the fastener.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the male spline fitting has a longitudinal through hole formed therein for allowing electrical wires to pass through to the accessory.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the male spline fitting has a longitudinal threaded hole formed therein for fastening the male spline fitting to the support structure.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied as an accessory ready assembly for holding an accessory, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of two accessory ready assemblies according to the invention mounted on a T-top assembly;
FIG. 1 a is a perspective view of an accessory ready assembly according to the invention mounted on a T-top assembly having a welded configuration;
FIG. 1 b is another perspective view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention mounted on a T-top assembly positioned at a different position having the welded configuration;
FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention mounted on a T-top assembly in yet a different position having the welded configuration;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention in a bolt-on configuration; and
FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention mounted on a T-top assembly having the bolt-on configuration;
FIG. 5 is another partial exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention mounted on a showing a rod holder;
FIG. 6 is a partial assembly view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention showing a rod holder;
FIG. 7 is another partial exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention showing the spline connection;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention showing the different male spline connections;
FIG. 9 is a partial assembly view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention showing the bolt on connection;
FIG. 10 is a partially exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention shown in FIG. 9 ;
FIG. 11 is another partially exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention shown in FIG. 9 ;
FIG. 12 is a partial assembly view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention showing the bolt on connection corresponding to FIG. 11 ;
FIG. 13 is a perspective sectional view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention;
FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention;
FIG. 15 is a perspective sectional view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention without the securing fastener in place;
FIG. 16 is another perspective view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention with the securing fastener in place;
FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention;
FIG. 18 is an exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention with a bolt-on male spline configuration;
FIG. 19 is an exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention with a weld-on male spline configuration;
FIG. 20 is another exploded view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention with a bolt-on male spline configuration;
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention according to FIG. 20 ;
FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention according to FIG. 19 with a rod holder tube; and
FIG. 23 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the accessory ready assembly according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIGS. 1-2 , which illustrate the accessory ready assembly 1 shown with a rod holder tube 50 . The assembly 1 is attached to a tube 101 of a structure 100 (such as a T-top frame). FIGS. 1 a - 2 show the assembly 1 with the tube 50 set to various positions with respect to the tube 101 .
FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the assembly 1 configured to be bolted onto the tube 101 . The assembly 1 includes a male spline fitting 11 and a female spline connector 4 . The female spline connector 4 is affixed to the tube 50 or another accessory holder by a weld bead 51 or any other suitable connection. The weld bead 51 must be provided so as to allow the female spline connector 4 to properly clamp the male spline fitting 11 and to securely fasten the tube 50 to the female spline connector 4 . The female spline connector 4 has teeth 25 provided on its inner diameter. The female spline connector 4 includes a longitudinal slot 22 ( FIG. 7 ), which allows the female spline connector 4 to be tightened onto the male spline fitting 11 . The female spline connector 4 has a cutout or bore 26 and has a threaded hole 12 for a screw 8 . A cover sleeve 6 slides over the female spline connector 4 to cover the weld 51 .
The male spline fitting 11 has teeth 25 provided on its outer diameter. The male spline fitting 11 includes a radial groove 20 and is either bolted to the tube 101 with first clamp half 15 and the second clamp half 16 held together by screws 17 . The male spline fitting 11 is welded to first clamp half 15 or is connected thereto by any suitable connection. A second cover sleeve 2 is used to cover a weld or any other joint between the male spline connector 11 and the clamp half 15 or the tube 101 .
FIGS. 13 and 14 show the female spline connector 4 is mounted to the male spline fitting 11 . A ring shaped clamp 5 has an inside diameter face 37 which is disposed on the outside diameter 38 of the female spline connector 4 . The clamp 5 is held in place on the female spline connector 4 by the screw 8 , which is disposed in the hole 27 . When attached with the screw 8 , the clamp 5 holds the cover sleeve 6 in place against the tube 50 .
The clamp 5 has a longitudinal split or gap 21 , which has a bore 23 on both sides of the gap 21 . A fastener 3 having a shaft portion 30 and is disposed through the bores 23 , the bore 26 , and the radial groove 20 . The fastener 3 engages a retaining face or sidewall 42 of the radial groove 20 ( FIGS. 16 and 17 ). The fastener 3 has a nut 18 disposed thereon for tightening the clamp 5 by narrowing the gap 21 .
The reduction of the longitudinal slot 22 causes the teeth 25 of the female spline connector 4 to firmly engage the teeth 24 of the male spline fitting 11 . The fastener 3 is provided with a knob 60 . A further fastener 3 a does not include the knob 60 . A thrust washer 19 can be disposed on the shaft 30 of the fastener 3 to prevent galling. The clamp 5 has a housing bore 31 for the nut 18 , which prevents the nut 18 from rotating during a tightening of the fastener 3 . The above-discussed construction of the female spline connector 4 , the male spline fitting 11 and the clamp 5 allows an easy adjustment of the tube 50 for allowing the desired positioning of the tube 50 .
FIG. 8 shows various types of male spline fittings 11 a - 11 e . Male spline fitting 11 a has a concave end face 71 and a threaded hole 32 formed therein. The threaded hole 32 is provided to bolt the male spline fitting 11 a is used to bolt the connector 11 a to the tube 101 . Male spline fitting 11 b has a concave face 71 , which matches the diameter of the tube 101 so as to allow the male spline fitting 11 b to be welded to the tube 101 . Male spline fitting 11 c has a flat face 72 so as to allow the male spline fitting 11 c to be welded to a flat support surface. Male spline fittings 11 d and 11 e show that a through hole 65 is formed therein. The through hole 65 allows for electrical wiring to pass through the male spline fitting when an electrical accessory is mounted on the female spline connector 4 instead of the rod holder tube 50 .
FIGS. 18 and 20 show the male spline fitting 11 a as it is to be mounted onto the tube 101 . The tube 101 has a through hole 102 formed therein, which aligns with the threaded hole 32 . A threaded fastener 47 is provided with a liner spacer 45 and affixes the male spline fitting 11 a to the tube 101 . A cap 49 is provided to cover the end of the fastener 47 . FIGS. 18 and 20 show a heavy-duty strengthening spacer 44 may be used to add support to the male spline fitting. The strengthening spacer 44 has a profile that matches the support tube 101 . The strengthening spacer 44 can be welded onto the male spline fitting 11 a with the weld bead 46 .
FIG. 19 shows the male spline fitting 11 b as it is mounted on the tube 101 by a weld 43 .
FIG. 22 shows the female spline connector 4 with the clamp 5 ready to be mounted onto the male spline connector 11 . As seen in the figure the rod holder 50 can be orientated at any desired position with respect to the tube 101 .
FIG. 23 shows another embodiment of the accessory ready assembly 1 . In this embodiment the clamp 5 and the longitudinal slot 22 are eliminated and the female spline connector 4 is held in place on the male spline by a screw 82 . While this embodiment does reduce the number of components required for the accessory ready assembly 1 , it is not as easy to facilitate a change a position of the rod holder tube 50 . | The present invention is an accessory ready assembly that mounts to a support structure on a marine vessel. The assembly includes a male spline fitting having an end face that is configured to mount onto the support structure. A female spline connector is removably disposed on the male spline fitting. An accessory is disposed on an end of the female spline connector. A clamp is disposed on the female spline connector. The clamp securely fastens the female spline connector and the accessory to the male spline fitting. | 0 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to supports for cantilever toilet bowls. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for selectively supporting cantilever mounted toilet bowls during high mass load usage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recent years have seen increasing numbers of bariatric patients who suffer from obesity or weight significantly in excess of typical weights for individuals. For example, persons having a body mass index of 40 or greater (or often more than one hundred pounds over conventionally recommended body weight), may be considered morbidly obese. Special surgeries are available for such individuals, and hospitals handling this medical condition typically have facilities equipped for providing physical support and assistance to such individuals for accomplishing typical and ordinary physical functions. Additional supports are needed because the increased mass imposes higher than normal loadings on commonly used devices such as toilet bowls, chairs, beds, and the like.
Additional supports are particularly needed to assist the bariatric patient with using bathroom devices such as toilet bowls. Many facilities use cantilever mounted toilet bowls, whereby one end of the toilet bowl connects to a support in the wall. Cantilever toilets facilitate cleaning and mopping of the floor. The other support devices include rails mounted above the toilet bowl to facilitate grasping by the bariatric patient in order to assist use of the toilet bowl. However, such entrance and egress supports do not provide support to the cantilever toilet bowl, and the full weight of the bariatric patient on the toilet bowl can lead to failure and collapse of the toilet bowl.
While facilities especially designed for treating bariatric patients include floor-supported toilets, medical facilities are finding an increasing number of bariatric patients admitted for other reasons. Typical hospital rooms are configured for bathroom devices supporting patients of average weights, and particularly cantilever toilet bowls. Yet these fail to adequately provide reliable support to a heavily loaded toilet bowl, such as may be necessary for a bariatric patient.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a device for selectively and conveniently providing support to cantilever toilet bowls that are subject periodically to high mass loading. It is to such that the present invention is directed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention meets the need in the industry by providing a support for being disposed between a floor surface and a lower surface of a distal end of a cantilever toilet attached at one end to a wall and extending therefrom, in which a base defines a surface oriented at an oblique angle relative to a horizontal plane and with a guide rail attached to an upper portion of the base member substantially parallel to the upper surface. A traveler operatively engaged to the guide member is movable on the upper surface for selective positioning to bear against a lower surface of a cantilever toilet for support thereof during use of the toilet.
Features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the claims and the appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded pictorial view of a toilet support device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating features of a bottom of a traveler used with the toilet support device illustrated in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a perspective broken-away view of the toilet support device illustrated in FIG. 1 in use for supporting a cantilever toilet bowl.
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the toilet bowl support installed under a distal edge of a cantilever toilet bowl in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates in exploded perspective view a toilet support device 10 according to the present invention. The support device 10 includes a base 12 having a bottom surface 14 that seats on a floor. An opposing traveler surface 16 is oriented at an oblique angle relative to a horizontal plane such as the floor on which the base rests. A pin 18 extends upwardly from the traveler surface 16 generally medial the opposing lateral sides and opposing distal ends, for a purpose discussed below. A pair of elongate slots 20 are defined in opposing sides of the base 12 . The slots 20 are parallel to the traveler surface 16 and spaced therefrom. A handle 22 attaches to a front face of the base 12 for convenience in carrying and positioning the support device 10 for use. The base 12 defines spaced-apart transverse through openings 23 between the slot 20 and the traveler surface 16 .
A traveler 24 seats on the traveler surface 16 for longitudinal movement of the traveler relative to the traveler surface 16 of the base 12 . The traveler 24 includes a traveler surface 26 oriented at an oblique angle to horizontal for conforming contact with the traveler surface 16 of the base 12 . The traveler surface 26 in an alternate embodiment can also have a slight oblique angle laterally. The traveler 24 defines opposing slots 27 spaced apart from the traveler surface 26 and parallel to the longitudinal angled orientation of the traveler surface 26 . A positioning hole 30 extends transverse through the traveler 24 between the slots 27 and the traveler surface 26 . In the illustrated embodiment, four positioning holes 30 are provided in spaced apart relation. While the positioning holes 30 may be equally spaced, in the illustrated embodiment, the spacing is non-uniform. Positioning holes 30 and 30 a are spaced 1.5 inches apart, positioning holes 30 a and 30 b are spaced 1.25 inches apart; and positioning holes 30 b and 30 c are spaced 0.75 inches apart. The non-uniform spacing facilitates selective positioning of the traveler 24 relative to the base 12 as discussed below. A resilient pad 31 attaches such as with adhesive to an opposing surface of the traveler 24 . The pad 31 provides a bearing surface to contact a lower surface of a cantilever toilet bowl.
A pair of opposing guiderails 32 interconnect the base 12 and the traveler 24 . The guiderails 32 define a U-shaped channel in cross-sectional view having a pair of opposing legs 34 and a transverse bridge 36 between the legs. The bridge 36 defines openings 37 that align with the openings 23 in the base 12 . The legs 34 are received in the respective slots 20 , 27 on opposing sides of the support device 10 . Fasteners 38 extend through the openings 23 in the base 12 and the aligned openings 37 in the guiderails 32 to secure the guiderails to the base. The traveler 24 seats for longitudinal movement on the traveler surface 16 of the base 12 . The guiderails 32 hold the base 12 and the traveler 24 together.
The guiderail 32 further defines a plurality of spaced apart openings 40 . The openings 40 are positioned to align selectively with one of the openings 30 . In the illustrated embodiment, the openings 40 are 9/32 inches in diameter and are spaced apart on one inch centers. Other spacings for the openings 40 and 30 are readily used. The position holes 30 selectively align with one of the openings 40 in the guiderail 32 as the traveler 24 is selectively moved relative to the base 12 . A pin 42 connects to a handle 44 and extends through one of the openings 40 and one of the aligned openings 30 in order to secure the traveler 24 in a selected position. A connector 46 extends between the handle 44 and the handle 22 .
With reference to FIG. 2 , the traveler surface 26 of the traveler 24 defines an elongate slot 48 having opposing distal ends 50 . The pin 18 extends from the traveler surface 16 into the slot 48 when the traveler 24 seats on the base 12 . The distal ends 50 act as stops when the traveler 24 moves longitudinally relative to the base 12 .
FIG. 3 illustrates in perspective broken-away view a cantilever toilet bowl 54 attached conventionally to supports in a wall with a distal end 56 supported by the toilet bowl support 10 . FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the toilet bowl support 10 installed under an edge portion of the distal end 56 of the cantilever toilet bowl 54 in accordance with the present invention. The handle 22 facilitates carrying the support 10 to the room for installation as well as positioning the base 12 beneath the toilet bowl 54 .
The base 12 seats with the bottom surface 14 on the floor below an edge of the distal portion 56 of the toilet bowl 54 . The pin 42 is removed from the guiderail 32 releasing the traveler 24 for longitudinal movement relative to the base 12 . The traveler 24 is moved longitudinally to position the resilient pad 31 in contact with a lower surface of the toilet bowl 54 . The pin 18 (see FIG. 1 ) contacts the stop ends 50 (see FIG. 2 ) to prevent the traveler 24 from moving longitudinally off of the base 12 . With the upper surface of the pad 31 positioned in contact with the toilet bowl 54 , the pin 42 is then reinserted through one of the openings 40 and into one of the holes 30 aligned with the openings. The pin 42 secures the traveler 24 to the base 14 and restricts longitudinal movement of the traveler. The resilient pad 31 in bearing contact with the lower surface of the toilet bowl 54 communicates loading through the traveler 24 and the base 12 to the floor. In the embodiment in which the traveler 24 includes a transverse angled orientation, the pad 31 leans laterally towards the toilet bowl.
The spacings of the openings 30 , 30 a , 30 b , and 30 c facilitate positioning the traveler 24 such that one of the openings 40 aligns with one of the openings 30 , 30 a , 30 b , or 30 c , for selective receiving of the pin 42 to hold the traveler 24 fixed to the base 12 .
In an alternate embodiment, a jack screw attached to supports in the base and the traveler enable the traveler to move longitudinally relative to the base.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a support device 10 readily and conveniently used for providing additional loading support to toilet bowls, and particularly cantilever mounted toilet bowls, for use by bariatric patients. Thus, a hospital with toilets lacking suitable supports for a bariatric patient can readily and conveniently install the support 10 in a hospital room occupied by such patient on short notice and remove this support upon departure of the patient.
The present invention accordingly provides a device for supporting cantilever toilets conveniently and readily, without the need to remove and reinstall the cantilever toilet, to meet timely the need for supporting such device with significantly less labor, time, and coordination. The principles, preferred embodiments, and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. The invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular forms disclosed because these are regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Moreover, variations and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the spirit of the invention as described by the following claims. | A support device selectively disposed between a floor surface and a lower surface of distal end of a cantilever toilet in which a base defines a surface oriented at an oblique angle relative to a horizontal plane and with a guide rail attached to an upper portion of the base substantially parallel to the upper surface. A traveler operatively engaged to the guide member moves on the upper surface for selective positioning to bear against a lower surface of a cantilever toilet. A method of supporting a cantilever toilet is disclosed. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 777,599, filed Mar. 15, 1977, which is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Ser. No. 746,191, filed Nov. 30, 1976; and both are abandoned.
INTRODUCTION
This invention relates to amino-cycloaliphatic amides which have central nervous system pharmaceutical utility. More particularly this invention provides some new pharmaceutical preparations containing cis and trans N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)-N-alkanoylanilide compounds or their pharmacologically acceptable salts which have been found to have potent central nervous system (CNS) antidepressant properties which makes them useful as antidepressant drugs, when formulated into useful pharmaceutically useable composition forms, and administered in appropriate dosages.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
W. G. Stoll et al., in Helvetica Chemica Acta, Vol. 34, (1951), pp. 1937 to 1943 disclose N-[2-(dimethylamino)-cyclohexyl]aniline and procedures for making it from N-(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)aniline and suggest that the compounds therein have antihistamine pharmacological properties, but nothing is said about the compounds of this invention or their use as antidepressant drugs.
J. W. Lewis et al., in an article entitled "The Reactions of Aromatic Nitroso-compounds with Enamines. Part I. The Reaction of Nitrosobenzene with 1-Morpholin-1-cyclohexene" in J. Chem. Soc. (London) (1972), Perkins Transactions I, Part III, pp. 2521-2524 discloses inter alia N-(2-morpholin-1-ylcyclohexyl)phenylhydroxylamine and its hydrochloride salt, but it does not disclose or suggest the alkanoylanilides of this invention or their antidepressant properties.
J. W. Lewis et al., in an article entitled "Chemistry and Biological Activity of N-Substituted Hydroxylamines" in J. Pharmaceutical Sciences, December, 1974, Vol. 63, No. 12, pp. 1951-1953 discloses some N-Arylhydroxylamines such as N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclohexyl]-N-phenylhydroxyl-amine but these do not have useful CNS properties. Diuretic activity is alleged therein for the alcohols such as [2-(N-piperidinylcyclohexyl]-(4-methoxyphenyl)methanol and when the alcohol is acetylated CNS depressant activity is said to appear. It also discloses the reaction of propionyl chloride with N-[2-(N-piperidinyl)-1,1-dimethylethyl]-N-phenylhydroxylamine to form the N-chloro compound which is then converted to a mixture of chlorinated aniline derivatives. That publication does not teach the compounds disclosed herein, how to make them, nor does it suggest the antidepressant properties which have been found for the compounds disclosed and claimed herein.
Szmuszkovicz U.S. Pat. No. 3,510,492 discloses and claims some 2-anilino- and 2-anilinomethylcycloalkylamines which are useful as antidiabetic drugs in that they can be administered in low dosages for reducing blood sugar. However, that patent in column 2, structure IV generically suggests some of the formula I compounds of the pharmaceutical preparations and use process of this invention as chemical intermediates enroute to the 2-anilinocycloalkyl amines thereof, but it does not suggest any end product practical utility for those structure IV compounds.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide some new N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)alkanoylanilides which have been found to have promising antidepressant drug properties.
It is a more specific object of this invention to provide new N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)alkanoylanilides which are useful as antidepressant drugs the preferred compounds having a better therapeutic ratio than imipramine and longer lasting activity which allows longer durations between administrations.
It is another object of this invention to provide compositions, useful in pharmaceutical dosage unit form, for treating conditions of depression in mammals including humans comprising an N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)alkanoylanilide as described herein, or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof in a pharmaceutical carrier.
It is another object of this invention to provide a process for treating conditions of depression in mammals including humans with these compositions containing an N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)alkanoylanilide, or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof.
Other objects, aspects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from reading the specification and claims which follow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, this invention provides pharmaceutical preparations of some cis and trans-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)N-alkanoylanilides of the formula ##STR2## and their pharmacologically acceptable salts, wherein p, Q, R, R 1 , R 2 , Y and Z are as defined hereinbelow, which have been found to possess potent central nervous system (CNS) antidepressant properties. A preferred example for this use is trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide. This invention also includes these compounds (I) which are new, per se, and their acid addition salts, especially their pharmacologically acceptable salts. These compounds are useful, in appropriate pharmaceutical dosage unit form, for administration of humans in dosages of from 1-100 mg. per day as part of the therapy in treating conditions of depression. In standard laboratory animals used to determine these properties these compounds suggest fast onset of the antidepressant characteristics of the drug, the preferred compounds having in addition, a better therapeutic ratio (higher activity and/or lower toxicity) than a standard antidepressant drug, imipramine, in standard laboratory tests, and longer duration of activity of the test compound in the test animal. These characteristics of these compounds will make them useful for the administration of these compounds as antidepressant drugs in smaller amount and/or for longer durations between administration, e.g., once a day, for a given desired antidepressant response.
This invention also includes a process for treating depression with these compositions containing these above formula I compounds, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, and a pharmaceutical carrier, which compositions are useful in dosage unit form for treating conditions of depression in mammals including humans.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, one aspect of this invention provides new pharmaceutical preparations containing compounds of the formula ##STR3## wherein the wavy line ( ) on the 1-position of the cyclopentyl ring denotes cis- or trans-configuration relative to the amino group in the 2-position of the cyclopentyl ring
p is zero or 1;
Q is oxygen or sulfur;
R is C 1 to C 3 -alkyl, C 3 to C 6 -cycloalkyl, vinyl (--CH═CH 2 ), ethoxy or methoxymethyl;
R 1 , taken separately, is C 1 to C 3 -alkyl;
R 2 ; taken separately, is C 1 to C 3 -alkyl, and when R 1 is C 1 to C 3 -alkyl, R 2 can be
--CH 2 CH 2 N(CH 3 ) 2 ,
--ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 n(ch 3 ) 2 ,
--ch 2 c 6 h 5 (benzyl),
--CH 2 CH 2 --C 6 H 5 , or
C 3 --c 6 (allylic)alkenyl
and when R 1 and R 2 are taken together with the nitrogen to which they are bonded they complete an N-pyrrolidinyl or an N-piperidinyl ring;
each of Y and Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a halogen having an atomic number of from 9 to 35, trifluoromethyl, C 1 to C 2 -alkyl, azido(--N 3 ), and C 1 to C 2 -alkyloxy, and when Y is trifluoromethyl or azido Z is hydrogen, when Y is C 1 to C 2 -alkyloxy and Z is hydrogen the C 1 to C 2 -alkyloxy is in the 3-position, when Y and Z are both halogens or C 1 to C 2 -alkyloxy, they are present in 3- and 4- or 3- and 5-positions, and the acid addition salts thereof, preferably the pharmacologically acceptable acid addition salts thereof. On occasion the compounds or their acid addition salts in their crystalline state are isolated as solvates, i.e., with a discreet quantity of solvent, e.g., water, methanol, and the like, associated physically, and thus the solvent is removable without effective alteration of the chemical entity per se and are included with the compounds per se herein.
In the above formula I compounds the term "C 1 to C 3 -alkyl" means methyl, ethyl, n-propyl and isopropyl; the term "C 3 to C 6 -cycloalkyl" means cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl groups; the term "C 3 to C 6 -(allylic)alkenyl" includes the non-adjacent double bond groups, e.g., allyl, 2-butenyl and 2-methyl-2-butenyl, 2-pentenyl, 3-methyl-2-pentenyl, and 2-hexenyl groups; and the halogens having atomic numbers of from 9 to 35 are fluorine, chlorine and bromine.
The preferred compounds of this invention are those of the trans configuration.
A preferred subgroup of the above compounds are the pharmaceutical preparation forms thereof are those wherein R is ethyl; R 1 and R 2 are each C 1 to C 3 alkyl; and at least one of Y and Z are halogen having an atomic number of from 9 to 35 preferably in the 3- and 4-positions, trifluoromethyl in the 3-position, or methyl in the 3- or 4-position in combination with one of the above halogens at the adjacent 3- or 4-position, and the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof. Examples of such compounds include the following:
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide;
3-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(diethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-chloro-4-methyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-propionanilide,
4-chloro-4-methyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-propionanilide,
3-chloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
4-chloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-bromo-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, and
3-fluoro-N-[2-dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
especially these compounds in the trans configurations, and the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof.
Another preferred sub-group of the above compounds are those wherein R is C 1 to C 3 -alkyl, preferably ethyl, R 1 and R 2 are taken together with the nitrogen to which they are bonded to complete an N-pyrrolidinyl or N-piperidinyl ring, and at least one of Y and Z is a halogen having an atomic number of from 9 to 35 in the 3- and/or 4-positions. Examples of such compounds include:
3-fluoro-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-piperidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide;
3-bromo-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
4-chloro-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-difluoro-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, and
3,4-dibromo-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
especially these compounds in their trans configuration and the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof.
Another preferred sub-group of the above compounds are those wherein R is C 3 to C 6 -cycloalkyl, R 1 and R 2 are C 1 to C 3 -alkyl, and at least one of Y and Z are halogen having an atomic number of from 9 to 35 in the 3- or 4-position, trifluoromethyl in the 3-position, or methyl in the 3- or 4-position in combination with one of the above halogens in the adjacent 3- or 4-positions, and the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof. Examples of such compounds include:
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclobutanecarboxanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclohexanecarboxanilide,
3-bromo-4-methyl-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclobutanecarboxanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide,
3-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-diethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide,
3,4-dibromo-N-[2-diethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide,
3-chloro-4-methyl-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide,
3-bromo-4-methyl-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclohexanecarboxanilide,
3-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclohexanecarboxanilide, and
the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof.
Examples of acid addition salts, including pharmacologically acceptable salts of the above formula I compounds include those of hydrochloric, methanesulfonic, hydrobromic, sulfuric, acetic, cyclohexanesulfamic, p-toluenesulfonic, succinic, β-naphthalenesulfonic, maleic, fumaric, citric, lactic and oxalic acids.
To use these new compounds in pharmaceutical antidepressant drug product form they are compounded or formulated into usual pharmaceutical compositions, e.g., oral dosage forms such as tablets, powders, capsules and solutions or suspensions in a suitable solvent or suspending vehicle, and parenteral dosage forms such as dry powder in a sterile sealed container to be mixed with a sterile solvent just prior to administration, sterile solutions or suspensions in water or other suitable solvents or suspending agents, to provide a convenient means for administering daily doses of from about 1 mg. to about 100 mg., preferably 10 to 90 mg., of the formula I compound or its pharmacologically acceptable salt, depending upon the potency of the formula I compound, the condition being treated, the weight of the patient and other factors of concern to the patient's physician.
The formula I compounds where Q is oxygen (═O) and p is zero can be prepared by (a) heating a mixture of a compound of the formula ##STR4## wherein R 1 , R 2 , Y and Z are as defined above, and an anhydride of the appropriate organic carboxylic acid of the formula R--COOH on a steam bath, or at an equivalent temperature, for a time sufficient to form the N-acylated product of formula I where R is as defined above, Q is oxygen and p is zero, (b) adding an aqueous medium to the step (a) reaction mixture in an amount sufficient to decompose excess anhydride therein, (c) adding an alkali metal hydroxide or its equivalent to the step (b) reaction mixture in an amount sufficient to neutralize excess acid present therein and to make the mixture pH basic, (d) extracting the N-acylated product (I) into a water immiscible organic liquid solvent, e.g. ether solvents such as diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran or dioxane, or chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, methylene chloride, ethylene dichloride, or the like, (e) separating the organic liquid phase containing the N-acylated product (I) from the aqueous phase, and (f) recovering the corresponding N-acylated compound (I) from the organic liquid phase, usually after washing the organic liquid phase one or more times with aqueous media such as sodium chloride solution, sodium bicarbonate solution or water to extract components soluble in those aqueous media, separating the aqueous phases, drying the washed organic phase with drying agents such as magnesium sulfate or sodium or calcium sulfate, and then evaporating off the organic solvent. Further purification can be done by forming an acid addition salt of the N-acylated amide product (I) and then recrystallizing the amide salt from an appropriate solvent or mixture of solvents.
These formula I compounds, immediately above, can also be prepared by (a) adding a solution of the appropriate carboxylic acid halide R--C(O)--X where R is as defined above and X is chloride or bromide to a cooled (-5° to +10° C.) mixture of the diamine (II), and a tertiary amine which will form a tertiary amine chloride or bromide salt in the mixture, e.g., a C 1 to C 4 -trialkylamine, e.g., trimethylamine, triethylamine, tributylamine, or pyridine, lutidine, N,N-dimethylaniline or the like, in an organic liquid solvent for the mixture such as an ether solvent such as diethyl ether, THF, dioxane or the like, while agitating the mixture until the corresponding N-acylated compound (I) is formed, (b) adding an aqueous alkali metal bicarbonate solution to the reaction mixture of step (a), (c) separating the aqueous from the organic liquid phases, (d) washing the organic liquid phases with aqueous wash liquids as described above, (e) drying the organic phase, and (f) recovering the N-acylated compound (I) from the resulting organic liquid mixture. The N-acylated amide compound (I) can be further purified by formation of an acid addition salt thereof, e.g., the hydrochloric acid, or maleic acid addition salt thereof, and re-crystallization of the amide salt from an appropriate solvent or solvent mixture.
The formula I compounds which do not contain a reactive alliphatic carbon-to-carbon double bond in the molecule, that is, those wherein Q is oxygen (═O) and p is zero, can be converted to their N-oxides by reaction of such formula I aminoamide or its salt with a percarboxylic acid by known procedures to obtain the corresponding formula I compound where p is 1.
The corresponding N-thioacyl amino anilide compounds can be prepared by heating to reflux the corresponding N-acyl(C═O) amino anilide (formula I compound) with a thiolating agent such as phosphorus pentasulfide or diethyldithiophosphate (P(S)SH(OC 2 H 5 ) 2 ) in an appropriate solvent such as pyridine for a time sufficient to effect replacement of the acyl oxygen atom with sulfur, and then recovering and purifying the N-thioacyl aminoanilide compound by known procedures. If the N-oxides of the Q is S compounds are to be made, the N-oxide is prepared first and the resulting N-oxide is thiolated as described above to form the formula I compound where Q is ═S and p is 1.
Further exemplification of these process procedures appear in the detailed examples.
The trans-diamine starting materials (II) of the formula ##STR5## wherein R 1 , R 2 , Y and Z are as defined above can be prepared by reacting 1,2-cyclopentene oxide (IIIa) ##STR6## with the selected HNR 1 R 2 amine in water to form the trans-2-aminocyclopentanol of the formula IIIb ##STR7## which amino-alcohol (IIIb) is treated with sodium hydride and then with methanesulfonyl chloride to form unrecovered mesylate of the formula IV ##STR8## wherein Ms denotes CH 3 SO 2 -group and that reaction mixture is treated with the selected substituted aniline of formula ##STR9## to form the diamine (II). Examples of this procedure are given hereinbelow in the detailed descriptions.
Examples of the carboxylic acid anhydrides which can be used to prepare the compounds of this invention include acetic anhydride, propionic anhydride, isobutanoic anhydride, n-butanoic anhydride, cyclopropanecarboxylic acid anhydride, acrylic acid anhydride, and the like. The preferred anhydride is propionic acid anhydride. The carboxylic acid halides are exemplified by acetyl chloride or bromide, propionyl chloride or bromide, acryloyl chloride or bromide, cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride or bromide, n- and isobutanoylchloride or bromide, cyclopropanecarbonyl chloride or bromide, ethyl formate, methoxyacetyl chloride or bromide, and the like. We have found that, in general, the most potent antidepressant compounds are made from those compounds having an N-propionyl moiety, so that in the formula I compounds R is preferably ethyl.
When it is desired that the formula I have an allyl group in the R 2 position an alternate method can also be used: the amino-amide is prepared as described above using an alkyl benzylamine to form the amino-alcohol (IIIb), and that amino-alcohol is carried through the intermediate (IV), and (V) reactions to form the diamine. The resulting diamine is then hydrogenated catalytically, preferably in the presence of palladium on carbon catalyst, to remove the benzyl group in the R 2 position and form the transdiamine of the formula VI. ##STR10## The trans-diamine (VI) is then reacted with the allylic alkenyl chloride or bromide to form the diamine of the formula VII ##STR11## which diamine (VII) is used as an intermediate in a reaction with the selected carboxylic acid anhydride or acid chloride or bromide as described above, to form the N-acylated product of the formula ##STR12## in which formulas Ia, IIIb, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII, R, R 1 , Y and Z are as defined above.
Preparation of cis amino amide compound of invention:
The method of J. W. Lewis et al., J. Pharm. Sci., 63, 1951 (1974) using 1-dialkylaminocyclopentene (enamine) and nitrosoaryl as starting materials can be used to obtain cis-1,2-diaminocyclopentane which is subsequently reacted with carboxylic acid anhydride or carboxylic acid halide as described above to give the product amino-amide.
A preferred method, which is that used for this invention involves reaction of cyclopentene oxide with an aniline in the presence of strong acid to give the compound of formula ##STR13## which is subsequently reacted with carboxylic acid anhydride followed by reaction with base to isolate the compound of formula ##STR14## oxidation of the alcohol leads to the compound of formula ##STR15## which when reacted with primary or secondary amine and a reducing agent such as sodium cyanoborohydride, and the like, gives a compound of the formula ##STR16## wherein R 2 is not C 3 -C 6 (allylic)alkenyl. Cis compounds wherein R 2 is C 3 to C 6 -(allylic)alkenyl can be prepared analogously to the corresponding trans compounds; in that case a primary amine is used with the reducing agent followed by the allylic alkenyl chloride or bromide.
The thio analogs of such cis amino-amides can be prepared as described earlier in this specification.
Examples of additional useful compounds of formula I of this invention include the following compound, preferably in their trans-configuration.
N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-methyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-methoxy-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-{2-[N-methyl-N-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-amino]cyclopentyl}propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-{2-[N-methyl-N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-amino]cyclopentyl}propionanilide,
N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]acetanilide,
N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]butyranilide,
3-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-(N-methyl-N-benzylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dibromo-N-{2-[N-ethyl-N-(2-phenylethyl)amino]-cyclopentyl}propionanilide,
3-chloro-4-methyl-N-[2-(N-methyl-N-allylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
4-bromo-3-methyl-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]-propionanilide,
3,4-difluoro-N-{2-[N-methyl-N-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-amino]cyclopentyl}propionanilide,
3-chloro-4-fluoro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-propionanilide,
3,4-dibromo-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dimethyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]butyranilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-N-cyclopropanecarboxanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]thiopropionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-N-acrylanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]isobutyranilide,
3-bromo-N-[2-(N-methyl-N-benzylamino)cyclopentyl]butyranilide,
3-chloro-4-fluoro-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide,
3,5-dibromo-N-[2-(N-methyl-N-2-phenylethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]methoxyacetanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]carbethoxyanilide,
3-methyl-4-chloro-N-[2-diethylaminocyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-trifluoromethyl-N-{2-[N-methyl-N-2-butenyl]aminocyclopentyl}cyclohexanecarboxanilide,
3-ethoxy-4-bromo-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]propionanilide,
4-azido-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, and the like, the 2-N-oxides of the above compounds which do not contain aliphatic unsaturation, and their acid addition salts.
If desired the formula I compounds of this invention can be resolved into their respective d- and l-optical isomers by methods known in the art. In this case the optical resolution can be done by at least two different routes. The resolving agents by either route are any of the known resolving agents such as optically active camphorsulfonic acid, bis-p-toluoyltartaric acid, tartaric acid, and diacetyl tartaric acid which are commercially available and which are commonly used for resolution of amines (bases) as for example in Organic Syntheses, Coll. Vol. V., p. 932 (1973), resolution of R-(+) and S-(-)-α-phenylethylamine with (+)-tartaric acid.
By the first method for resolving the compounds of this invention, for example, one of the amino amide compounds can be converted into its optically active diastereomeric salts by reaction with an optically active acid examples of which are mentioned above in a manner standard in the isomer resolution art. These diastereomeric salts can then be separated by conventional means such as differential crystallization. Diastereomeric salts have different crystallization properties, which are taken advantage of in this separation. On neutralization each diastereomeric salt with aqueous base the corresponding optically active of the free amino-amide can be obtained, each of which can subsequently and separately be converted as previously described in the examples to the desired acid addition salt.
By the second method, which in the case of some of these compounds is preferred, the formula I compound can be made into their respective d- and l-isomers, by first resolving cis- or trans-1,2-cycloaliphatic unsymmetrically substituted diamine into its respective d- and l-isomers by treatment with the resolving agent, crystallization, separation, and regeneration of the respective trans-d-diamine, trans-l-diamine, or the cis-d-diamine and cis-l-diamine, and then reacting the respective resolved diamine starting material with the desired carboxylic acid anhydride or halide to form the respective cis- or trans-d- or l-compound of formula I, which can then be converted to any desired pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt by procedures exemplified above.
If the acid addition salt used to extract the formula I compound from its reaction mixture is not itself pharmacologically acceptable, the free amino-amide base (I) can be prepared from the acid salt, and thereafter converted to a pharmacologically acceptable salt, by known procedures.
In the use of these compounds of formula I as antidepressant drugs the selected compound of formula I which is to be the antidepressant active ingredient is mixed with suitable pharmaceutical diluents to obtain pharmaceutical compositions suited for oral, parenteral and rectal use in dosage unit form, e.g., tablets, powder packets, cashets, dragees, capsules, solutions, suspensions, sterile injectable forms, suppositories, bougies, and the like. Suitable diluents or carriers such as carbohydrates (lactose), proteins, lipids, calcium phosphate, corn starch, stearic acid, methylcellulose and the like may be used as carriers or for coating purposes. Water and oils, e.g., coconut oil, sesame oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil may be used for preparing solutions or suspensions of the active drug. Sweetening, coloring and flavoring agents may be added. The specifications for the dosage unit forms of these formula I compounds will vary somewhat from compound to compound and dependent upon the physical characteristics of the formula I compound or its pharmacologically acceptable salt, the particular patient's weight and age, and the particular effect sought to be achieved. The pharmaceutical dosage unit forms of these compounds are prepared in accordance with the preceding general description to provide from about 1 to about 100 mg. of the formula I compound or its pharmacologically acceptable salt per dosage unit form. The amount of the formula I compound prescribed in pharmaceutical dosage unit form is that amount sufficient to obtain in the patient a relief from the condition of depression effect at a non-toxic dosage level.
The following detailed procedures and examples further describe and illustrate how to make and use the starting amines and the compounds of this invention. All temperatures are in degrees Centigrade unless otherwise indicated. For brevity, the term THF means tetrahydrofuran, NMR means nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum, IR means infrared spectrum, UV means ultraviolet spectrum, ether means diethyl ether, NaOH means sodium hydroxide, MgSO 4 means anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and MeOH means methanol.
I. General procedure for the preparation of trans-2-aminocycloalkanols
The procedure is exemplified by the preparation of trans-2-dimethylaminocyclopentanol. Analogs are listed in Table I. All compounds listed have NMR, IR, UV and mass spectra consistent with the respective structures. ##STR17## A mixture of cyclopentene oxide (188 g., 2.24 moles) and aqueous dimethylamine (40%, 750 ml., 6.67 moles) is stirred overnight (temperature rises to 45° after 1 hr. then subsides). The solution (750 ml.) and extracted several times with ether. The extract is dried (anhydrous MgSO 4 ) and concentrated by distillation. The residual oil is vacuum distilled to give 276 g. (90%) of trans-2-dimethylaminocyclopentanol, b.p. 98°-100°/14 mm; uv (EtOH): end absorption; IR: OH 3370, 3200, N-alkyl 2780, C-O 1045 cm -1 ; mass spectrum: M + 129; nmr (CDCl 3 ): δvar (br, 1H exchanges with D 2 O, OH), 3.9-4.3 (m, 1H, CH), 2.3-2.6 (m, 1H, CH), 2.28 (s, 6H, N(CH 3 ) 2 ), 1.2-2.0 (m, 6H, ring hydrogens). The analysis (fumaric acid salt), is given in Table I.
Table I which follows summarizes the physical analytical data for some 2-aminocyclopentanols which were prepared. The particular 2-amino moiety for each such compound is indicated by the indicated group in the --NR 1 R 2 column.
The process utilized to prepare the trans cyclopentane diamine intermediates of this invention is unique and believed to be new or at least an unobvious improvement in that attempts to prepare cyclopentane diamines based on analogy to the cyclohexane diamine chemistry work very inefficiently. More specifically, and for example, the reaction of thionyl chloride with cyclohexane 2-aminoalcohols proceeds smoothly to give the cyclohexane 2-amino halides which proceeds further on reaction with the selected amine to give the cyclohexane 1,2-diamine. In the case of cyclopentane compounds, reaction of thionyl chloride with the amino-alcohol followed by reaction with the selected amine results in only a small yield of the desired cyclopentane diamine; the major product of such reaction is IX, e.g., ##STR18## whereas, use of methanesulfonyl chloride, as indicated in the above description forms the good leaving group (mesylate) and gives respectable yields of the desired 1,2-cyclopentanediamine precursor to the compounds of this invention. This process is not self-evident on the basis of corresponding cyclohexane ring chemistry.
TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________trans-2-aminocyclopentanols ##STR19##StartingMaterials AnalysisNumberNR.sub.1 R.sub.2 b.p.(°C.) m.p.(°C.) Formula Calcd. Found__________________________________________________________________________A N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 102°-4°/13 mm 94°-96°.sup.5,a C.sub.8 H.sub.17 NO . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 55.58; C, 55.92; H, 8.16; H, 8.17; N, 5.40 N, 5.54B N(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3).sub.2 107°-8°/14 mm 134°-5°.sup.5,a C.sub.9 H.sub.13 NO . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 57.12; C, 57.20; H, 8.48; H, 8.54; N, 5.13 N, 5.10 ##STR20## 130°-1°/14 mm 115°-6°.sup.8,a C.sub.9 H.sub.17 NO . C.sub.7 H.sub.7 SO.sub.3 H C, 58.67; H, 7.70 N, 4.29; , 9.79 C, 58.99; H, 8.05; N, 4.19; S, 10.07D N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 C.sub.6 H.sub.5 134°-40°/0.3 mm 95°-7°.sup.5,a C.sub.13 H.sub.19 NO . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 63.53; C, 63.45; H, 7.21; H, 7.31; N, 4.36 N, 4.32E N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 C.sub.6 H.sub.5 134°-40°/0.3 mm 139°-41°.sup.5,a C.sub.14 H.sub.21 NO . 1/2C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 69.28; C, 69.25; H, 8.36; H, 7.31; N, 5.05 N, 5.12F N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 CHCH.sub.2 108°-9°/13 mm -- C.sub.9 H.sub.17 NO -- --G N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 98°/12 mm 149°-51°.sup.5,a C.sub.7 H.sub.15 NO . 1/2C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 57.73; C, 57.35; H, 9.15; H, 9.03; N, 7.48 N, 7.11H N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 N 98°/0.2 mm 135°-6°.sup.4,a C.sub.10 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 O . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 51.55; C, 51.63;(CH.sub.3).sub.2 H, 7.23 H, 7.39; N, 6.70 N, 6.71J N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 N 115°-8°/0.2 mm 137°-8°.sup.4,a C.sub.11 H.sub.24 N.sub.2 O . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 52.76; C, 53.00;(CH.sub.3).sub.2 H, 7.46; H, 7.82; N, 6.48 N, 6.43__________________________________________________________________________ Recrystallization solvent? .sup.a methanol-ether .sup.b ethanol-ether .sup.c petroleum ether .sup.d ether .sup.e petroleum ether-ether .sup.f benzene- - Derivative .sup.1 free base .sup.2 hydrochloride .sup.3 hydrobromide .sup.4 maleate .sup.5 fumarate .sup.6 oxalate .sup.7 2-naphthalenesulfonate .sup.8 p-toluenesulfonate .sup.9 methanesulfonate
II. General procedure for the preparation of trans-1,2-diaminocycloalkanes
The procedure is exemplified by the preparation of trans-N,N-dimethyl-N'-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,2-cyclopentanediamine. Analogs are listed in Table II. All compounds listed have NMR, IR, UV, and mass spectra consistent with the respective structures. ##STR21## A solution of trans-2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentanol (32.3 g., 0.25 mole) in THF (50 ml.) is added in one portion to a stirred suspension of sodium hydride (10.5 g., 57% dispersion in mineral oil, 0.25 mole) in THF (50 ml.), and the mixture refluxed for 1 hr. The mixture is cooled in ice while methanesulfonyl chloride (28.6 g., 0.25 mole) is added dropwise over 30 min. 3,4-Dichloroaniline (81.0 g., 0.50 mole) is added in one portion when the methanesulfonyl chloride addition is complete. The solvent is removed by distillation, and the residue heated on a steam bath overnight. Sodium hydroxide (200 ml., 20%) is added and heating continued for 1 hr. The mixture is extracted with ether. The organic phase is washed with water and extracted with 10% hydrochloric acid. The aqueous phase is washed with ether, made basic with 40% sodium hydroxide, and extracted with ether. The ether layer is washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried (anhydrous MgSO 4 ) and evaporated. The residual oil is distilled at reduced pressure to give, after a forerun consisting mainly of 3,4-dichloroaniline (65.7 g.), 36.2 g. (53%), 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline, bp 160°-70°/0.3 mm. The distillate is further purified by formation of the maleic acid salt and recrystallization from methanol-ether; mp 128°-29°; uv (EtOH): λmax (ε) 210 (45,450), 257 (19,400), 310 (2300) nm; IR:NH 3380, NH/acid OH 2600, 2520, 2400, CO 2 /C═C/NH def 1600, 1580, 1480, C--H/C--N/CO 2 - 1430, 1350, 1330, other 985, 870, 865 cm -1 ; mass spectrum: M + 272, 274 (free base); nmr (D 2 O): δ 7.1 (m, 1H, aromatic), 6.7 (m, 1H, aromatic), 6.5 (m, 1H, aromatic), 6.1 (s, 2H, vinyl, maleic acid) 3.8 (m, 1H, CH), 3.35 (m, 1H, CH), 2.75 (s, 6H, N(CH 3 ) 2 ), 1.2-2.3 (m, 6H, ring hydrogens).
Anal. Calcd. for C 13 H 18 Cl 2 N 2 .C 4 H 4 O 4 : Calcd.: C, 52.45; H, 5.70; Cl, 18.22; N, 7.20. Found: C, 52.48; H, 5.80; Cl, 18.41; N, 7.07.
TABLE II__________________________________________________________________________trans-1,2-diaminocyclopentanes ##STR22## AnalysisNo. Y/Z NR.sub.1 R.sub.2 b.p.(°C.) m.p.(°C.) Formula Calcd. Found__________________________________________________________________________A H N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 97°-103°/0.05 mm 31°-2° .sup.1 C.sub.13 H.sub.20 N.sub.2 C, 76.42; C, 76.42; H, 9.87; H, 9.89; N, 13.71 N, 13.61B 2-CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 120°-5°/0.1 mm 180°-1° .sup.2,a C.sub.14 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 . C,Cl 57.73; C, 58.51; H, 8.31; H, 8.48; Cl, 24.35; Cl, 23.19; N, 9.62 N, 10.11C 3-CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 120°-5°/0.1 mm 188° .sup.2,a C.sub.14 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 . C,Cl 57.73; C, 57.96; H, 8.31; H, 8.26; Cl, 24.35; Cl, 24.14; N, 9.62 N, 9.88D 4-CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 125°-35°/0.1 mm 198°- C.sub.14 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 . C,Cl 57.73; C, 58.04; 200° .sup.2,a H, 8.31; H, 8.40; Cl, 24.35; Cl, 24.06; N, 9.62 N, 9.80E 2-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 125°-35°/0.1 mm 93-5° .sup.4,a C.sub.13 H.sub.19 CiN.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 57.74; C, 57.41; H, 6.53; H, 6.51; Cl, 9.99; Cl, 9.84; N, 7.90 N, 7.56;F 3-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 140°-4°/0.2 mm 125°-7° .sup.4,a C.sub.13 H.sub.19 ClN.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 57.74; C, 57.40; H, 6.53; H, 6.60; Cl, 9.11; Cl, 9.80; N, 7.90 N, 8.00G 4-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 140°-5°/0.2 mm 41°-2° .sup.1,c C.sub.13 H.sub.19 ClN.sub.2 C, 65.39; C, 65.63; H, 8.02; H, 7.99; Cl, 14.85; Cl, 14.81; N, 11.74 N, 11.88H 3-OCH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 125°-32°/0.01 mm 77°-8° .sup.4,a C.sub.14 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 O . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 61.69; C, 61.69; H, 7.48; H, 7.40; N, 8.00 N, 7.93J 4-OCH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 140°-50°/0.3 mm 85°-7° .sup.4,a C.sub.14 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 O . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 61.69; C, 61.71; H, 7.48; H, 7.47; N, 8.00 N, 7.98K 3-F N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 115°-18°/0.3 mm 137°-8° .sup.4,a C.sub.13 H.sub.19 N.sub.2 F . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 60.34; C, 60.38; H, 6.85; H, 7.00; F, 5.62; F, 5.37; N, 8.28 N, 8.14L 4-F N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 125°-8°/0.1 mm 156°-7° .sup.4,a C.sub.13 H.sub.19 FN.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 58.77; C, 58.80; 1/2 H.sub.2 O H, 6.96; H, 6.70; F, 5.47; F, 5.37; N, 8.07 N, 7.85M 3-Br N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 140°-4°/0.3 mm 114°-15° .sup.4,a C.sub.13 H.sub.19 BrN.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 51.13; C, 51.54; H, 5.81; H, 5.97; N, 7.02; N, 19.74; Br, 20.02 Br, 7.02N 4-Br N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 130°-7°/0.1 mm 44°-5° .sup.1,c C.sub.13 H.sub.19 BrN.sub.2 C, 55.13; C, 55.08; H, 6.76; H, 6.84; Br, 28.22; Br, 28.43; N, 9.89 N, 9.54P 4-CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 125°-30°/0.2 mm 125°-7° .sup.7,a C.sub.15 H.sub.24 N.sub.2 . C.sub.10 H.sub.8 SO.sub.3 C, 65.47; C, 65.87; . 1/2H.sub.2 O H, 7.47; H, 7.52; N, 6.11; N, 6.06; S, 6.99 S, 7.14R 3,4-diCl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 155°-60°/0.3 mm 128°-9° .sup.4,a C.sub.13 H.sub.18 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 52.45; C, 52.48; H, 5.70; H, 5.80; Cl, 18.22; Cl, 18.41; N, 7.20 N, 7.07S 3,5-diCl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 --* 147°-9° .sup.2,a C.sub.13 H.sub.18 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 . C,Cl 45.11; C, 45.13; H, 5.82; H, 5.72; Cl, 40.97; Cl, 40.46; N, 8.09 N, 7.97T 3,4-diCH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 170°-80°/0.2 mm 158°-9° .sup.5,a C.sub.15 H.sub.24 N.sub.2 O.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 59.98; C, 60.21; H, 7.42; H, 7.56; N, 7.37 N, 7.18U 3-CF.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 115°-17°/0.2 mm 107°-8° .sup.4,a C.sub.14 H.sub.19 F.sub.3 N.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 55.66; C, 55.76; H, 5.97; H, 6.06; F, 14.68; F, 14.50; N, 7.21 N, 7.01V 4-CF.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 116°-20°/0.2 mm 95°-6° .sup.9,a C.sub.14 H.sub.19 F.sub.3 N.sub.2 C, 58.88; C, 58.47; . C.sub.10 H.sub.6 SO.sub.3 . 1/2H.sub.2 O H, 5.76; H, 6.07; F, 11.64; F, 11.47; N, 5.72; N, 5.35; S, 6.55 S, 6.56W 3-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 140°-5°/0.3 mm 207°-8° .sup.2,a C.sub.14 H.sub.21 ClN.sub.2 . C,Cl 51.62; C, 51.62; 4-CH.sub.3 H, 7.12; H, 7.12; Cl, 32.65; Cl, 32.26; N, 8.59 N, 8.60AA 4-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 140°-50°/0.3 mm 201°-2° .sup.2,a C.sub.14 H.sub.21 ClN.sub.2 . C,Cl 51.62; C, 51.55; 3-CH.sub.3 H, 7.12; H, 7.07; Cl, 32.65; Cl, 32.51; N, 8.59 N, 8.53BB H N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 - 116°-30°/0.2 mm 195°-200°.sup.3,a C.sub.14 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 . C,Br 44.23; C, 44.14; CH.sub.3 H, 6.36; H, 6.46; Br, 42.02; Br, 42.29; N, 7.37 N, 7.04CC 3,4-diCl N(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3).sub.2 155°-60°/0.3 mm 186°-8° .sup.2,a C.sub.15 H.sub.22 ClN.sub.2 . C,Cl 48.14; C, 48.40; H, 6.46; H, 6.37; Cl, 73.90; Cl, 37.49; N, 7.49 N, 7.70DD 3,4-diCl ##STR23## 160°-70°/0.3 mm 185°-7° .sup.2,a C.sub.15 H.sub.20 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 . C, H, Cl, N, 48.40; 5.96; 38.11; C, H, Cl, N, 48.53; 6.00; 38.35; 7.44EE H N(CH.sub.3)- 160°-75°/0.25 mm 109°-10° .sup.2,a C.sub.19 H.sub.24 N.sub.2 . C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 C, 69.67; C, 69.60; CH.sub.2 C.sub.6 H.sub.5 H, 7.12; H, 7.43; N, 7.08 N, 6.90;FF 3,4-diCl N(CH.sub.3)- 170°-80°/0.3 mm 170°-2° .sup.2,a C.sub.15 H.sub.20 N.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 . C,Cl 48.40; C, 48.36; CH.sub.2 CH=CH.sub.2 H, 5.96; H, 6.15; N, 7.53; N, 7.54; Cl, 38.11 Cl, 38.36GG 3,4-diCl N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 - --* 161°-2° C.sub.16 H.sub.25 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.3 C, 51.25; C, 51.33; CH.sub.2 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 . 2C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 H, 5.91; H, 6.13; Cl, 12.61; Cl, 12.46; N, 7.47 N, 7.27HH 3, 4-diCl N(CH.sub.3)- --* 155°-7° .sup.4,a C.sub.17 H.sub.27 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.3 C, 52.09; C, 51.91; CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 - . 2C.sub.4 H.sub.4 O.sub.4 H, 6.12; H, 6.26; N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 Cl, 12.30; Cl, 12.53; N, 7.28 N, 7.23__________________________________________________________________________ Derivative? .sup.1 free base .sup.2 hydrochloride .sup.3 hydrobromide .sup.4 maleate .sup.5 fumarate .sup.6 oxalate .sup.7 2-naphthalene sulfonate .sup.8 p-toluenesulfonate .sup.9 methanesulfonate - Recrystallization Solvent .sup.a methanol-ether .sup.b ethanol-ether .sup.c petroleum ether .sup.d ether .sup.e petroleum ether-ether .sup.f benzene *isolated by silica gel chromatography
EXAMPLE 1
III. General procedure A for the preparation of trans-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)anilides, using alkanoic acid anhydride
The procedure is exemplified by the preparation of trans-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-3',4'-dichloropropionanilide. Analogs are listed in Tables III and IV. All compounds listed have NMR, IR, UV, and mass spectra consistent with the respective structures assigned. ##STR24## A solution of 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline (2.73 g., 10.0 mmole) in propionic anhydride (10 ml.) is heated on a steam bath overnight. Water (100 ml.) is added and heating continued for 1 hr. to decompose excess anhydride. The solution is made basic with sodium hydroxide (25 ml., 20% aqueous) and extracted with ether. The extract is washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated to yellow oil. The crude amide product, 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide is purified by formation of the maleic acid salt and recrystallization from methanol-ether; 3.3 g. (74%) mp 154°-5°; uv (EtOH): λmax (ε) end absorption, 203 (61,350), 264 (sh, 828), 272 (744), 281 (592) nm; IR:NH/acid OH 2720, 2530, 2490, C═O/CO 2 - /C=C 1665, 1620, 1560 C═O/C--N/other 1355, 1265 1030, 865 cm -1 ; mass spectrum: M + 328, 330, 332, (free base); nmr (D 2 O): δ 7.6 (m, 1H, aromatic), 7.5 (m, 1H, aromatic), 7.3 (m, 1H, aromatic), 6.3 (s, 2H, maleic acid), 5.1 (m, 1H, CH), 3.8 (m, 1H, CH), 2.95 (s, 6H, N + (CH 3 ) 2 ), 2.0 (q, 2H, CH 3 CH 2 CO), 1.1-1.9 (m, 6H, ring hydrogens), 0.9 (t, 3H, CH 3 CH 2 CO).
Anal. Calcd. for C 16 H 22 Cl 2 N 2 O.C 4 H 4 O 4 : Calcd.: C, 53.94; H, 5.89; Cl, 15.95; N, 6.29. Found: C, 53.91; H, 5.82, Cl, 15.82; N, 6.33.
EXAMPLE 2
IV. General procedure B for the preparation of trans-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)anilides, using alkanoyl halides
The procedure is exemplified by the preparation of trans-N-[(2-dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-4'-(α,α,α-trifluoromethyl)-propionanilide. Analogs are listed in Tables III and IV. All compounds listed have NMR, IR, UV and mass spectra consistent with the respective structures assigned. ##STR25## A solution of propionyl chloride (2.11 g., 22.0 mmole) in ether (50 ml.) is added dropwise, with ice-cooling, in 30 min. to a solution of the 4-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline (3.10 g., 11.0 mmole) and triethylamine (2.30 g., 22.0 mmole) in ether (100 ml.). After stirring at room temperature overnight, saturated sodium bicarbonate solution (100 ml.) is added. The organic layer is washed with water and saturated sodium chloride solution, dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated to a yellow oil. The crude amide product, 4-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide is purified by formation of the hydrochloride salt and recrystallization from methanol-ether; 3.20 g. (80%), mp 184°-5°; uv (EtOH): λmax (ε) end absorption, 231 (sh, 2950), 255 (sh, 1100), 262 (881), 268 (627) nm; IR:N + H 2560, 2460, C═C 1660, C=C 1615, 1585, 1520, CF 3 /other 1325, 1320, 1175, 1140, 1115, 1075 cm -1 ; mass spectrum: M + 328 (free base); nmr (D 2 O): δ 7.9 (m, 4H, aromatic), 2.9 (s, 6H, N + (CH 3 ) 2 ), 1.4-2.3 (m, 8H, ring hydrogens and CH 3 CH 2 CO), 0.9 (t, 3H, CH 3 CH 2 CO), other protons not observed due to broadening.
Anal. Calcd. for C 17 H 23 F 3 N 2 O.HCl: Calcd.: C, 55.96; H, 6.63; Cl, 9.72, F, 15.62; N, 7.68. Found: C, 55.97; H, 6.85; Cl, 9.72; F, 15.48; N, 7.60.
The following Table III summarizes the physical and analytical data for some additional compounds of this invention, and indicates the procedure (A-via alkanoic acid anhydride, or B-via alkanoyl halide) by which the compound is made.
TABLE III__________________________________________________________________________trans-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)-propionanilides ##STR26##Starting ProcedureExamplematerial from used mp(°C.) AnalysisNo. Table II A or B Y/Z NR.sub.1 R.sub.2 (see footnotes) Calcd. Found__________________________________________________________________________3 A A-1 H N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 115°-116°.sup.8,a C, 62.55; C, 62.31; H, 7.53; H, 7.43; N, 6.34; N, 6.32; S, 7.24 S, 7.174 B B-1 2-CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 129°-30°.sup.6,a C, 62.62; C, 62.82; H, 7.74; H, 7.86; N, 7.69 N, 7.525 C A-1 3-CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 139°-40°.sup.6,a C, 62.62; C, 62.32; H, 7.74; H, 7.78; N, 7.69 N, 7.666 D A-1 4-CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 167°-8°.sup.7,a C, 65.96; C, 66.25; H, 7.18; H, 7.03; N, 5.70; N, 5.69; S, 6.52 S, 6.567 E B-1 2-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 156°-7°.sup.6,a C, 56.17; C, 56.09; H, 6.55; H, 6.59; Cl, 9.21; Cl, 9.27; N, 7.28 N, 7.248 F A-1 3-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 152°-3°.sup.6,a C, 56.17; C, 55.96; H, 6.55; H, 6.60; Cl, 9.21; Cl, 9.12; N, 7.28 N, 7.149 G A-1 4-Cl N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 75°-76°.sup.1,c C, 65.18; C, 12.09; H, 7.86; H, 7.86; Cl, 12.03; Cl, 12.09; N, 9.50 N, 9.4210 H A-1 3-OCH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 135°-6°.sup.6,a C, 59.07; C, 58.98; H, 7.63; H, 7.60; N, 7.07 N, 7.1711 J A-1 4-OCH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 146°-8°.sup.7,a C, 65.03; C, 64.68; H, 6.87; H, 7.06; N, 5.62; N, 5.70; S, 6.43 S, 6.3612 K A-1 3-F N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 85°-8°.sup.6,b C, 58.02; C, 57.97; H, 6.96; H, 6.89; F, 5.10; F, 5.10; N, 7.29 N, 7.5113 L A-1 4-F N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 154°-5°.sup.7,a C, 64.17; C, 63.98; H, 6.42; H, 6.65; F, 3.90; F, 3.76; N, 5.76; N, 5.69; S, 6.59 S, 6.8314 M A-1 3-Br N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 167°-8°.sup.6,a C, 50.35; C, 50.37; H, 5.87; H, 6.01; Br, 18.62; Br, 18.37; N, 6.53 N, 6.5415 N A-1 4-Br N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 78°-9°.sup.1,c C, 56.64; C, 56.85; H, 6.83; H, 7.01; Br, 23.56; Br, 23.39; N, 8.26 N, 8.1016 P A-1 4-CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 154°-6°.sup.1,a C, 67.71; C, 67.40; H, 7.31; H, 7.53; N, 5.64; N, 5.55; S, 6.46 S, 6.6417 R A-1 3,4-Di- N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 154°-5°.sup.4,a C, 53.94; C, 53.91; Cl H, 5.89 H, 5.82; Cl, 15.92; Cl, 15.82; N, 6.29 N, 6.3318 S B-1 3,5- N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 129°-30°.sup.4,a C, 53.94; C, 53.46; DiCl H, 5.89; H, 6.04; Cl, 15.92; Cl, 15.78; N, 6.29 N, 6.5219 T A-1 3,4-di- N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 155°-6°.sup.3,a C, 60.53; C, 60.47; OCH.sub.3 H, 7.39; H, 7.38; N, 6.42 N, 6.6720 U B-1 3-CF.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 135°-6°.sup.6,a C, 54.54; C, 54.50; H, 6.02; H, 6.21; F, 13.62; F, 14.09; N, 6.70 N, 6.4521 V B-1 4-CF.sub.3 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 184°-5°.sup.2,a C, 55.96; C, 55.97; H, 6.63; H, 6.85; Cl, 9.72; Cl, 9.72; F, 15.62; F, 15.48; N, 7.68 N, 7.6022 W B-1 3-Cl, N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 122°-3°.sup.6,a C, 57.21; C, 57.20; 4-Me H, 6.82; H, 6.84; Cl, 8,89; Cl, 8.84; N, 7.02 N, 6.7823 AA B-1 4-Cl, N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 131°-2°.sup.6,a C, 57.21; C, 57.09; 3-Me H, 6.82; H, 6.93; Cl, 8.89; Cl, 9.02; N, 7.02 N, 6.9924 CC A-1 3,4- N(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3).sub.2 148° -9°.sup.9,a C, 50.33; C, 50.15; diCl H, 6.67; H, 6.80; Cl, 15.64; Cl, 15.82; N, 6.18; N, 6.06; S, 7.07 S, 6.9625 DD A-1 3,4- diCl ##STR27## 107°-9°.sup.6,a C, H, Cl, N, 52.86; 5.99; 15.61; .16 C, 53.08 6.01; 15.73; 6.0026 GG B-1 3,4- diCl ##STR28## 165°-6°.sup.2,a C, H, Cl, N, 47.81; 6.97; 29.72; 8.80 C, H, Cl, N, 47.52; 6.64; 29.98; 8.8627 HH B-1 3,4- diCl ##STR29## 259°-60°.sup.2,a C, H, Cl, N, 50.27; 7.07; 29.68; 8.79 C, H, Cl, N, 50.30; 6.99; 29.57; 8.5228 R A-1 3-Cl, N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 152°-3°.sup.6,a C, 53.66; C, 53.52; 4-F H, 6.00; H, 6.13; N, 6.96; N, 6.88; Cl, 8.80; Cl; 8.65; F, 4.72 F, 4.9629 R A-1 3,4- N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 146°-7°.sup.6,a C, 42.54; C, 42.66; diBr H, 4.76; H, 4.90; N, 5.51; N, 5.71; Br, 31.45 Br, 31.5130 R A-1 3,4- N(CH.sub.3).sub.2 114°-5°.sup.6,a C, 62.72; C, 62.60; diCH.sub.3 H, 8.03; H, 8.14; N, 7.32 N, 7.3131 FF A-1 3,4- N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 104°-6°.sup.6,a C, 53.94; C, 54.14; diCl CHCH.sub.2 H, 5.87; H, 5.88; N, 6.29; N, 6.47; Cl, 15.92 Cl, 15.9132 EE A-1 3,4- N(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 120°-1°.sup.6,a C, 56.14; C, 56.10; diCl C.sub.6 H.sub.5 H, 5.89; H, 5.49; N, 5.46; N, 5.24; Cl, 13.81 Cl, 13.2633 ##STR30## A-1 3,4- diCl ##STR31## 90°-1°.sup.1,c C, H, N, Cl, 57.67; 6.32; 5.17; 13.09 C, H, N, Cl, 57.52; 6.23; 4.98; 12.6234 ##STR32## A-1 3,4- diCl N(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3).sub.2 58°-9°.sup.1,c C, H, N, Cl, 62.33; 7.85; 7.27; 18.40 C, H, N, Cl, 62.64 8.02; 7.41; 18.2735 R A-1 3,4- diCl ##STR33## 131° (decomp) g C, H, N, Cl, 55.65; 6.42; 8.12; 20.54 C, H, N, Cl, 51.19; 6.32; 7.22; 22.7636 --*** A-1 H ##STR34## 169°-70°.sup.2,a C, H, N, Cl, 63.45; 8.54; 9.25; 11.70 C, H, N, Cl, 63.51; 8.61; 9.33; 11.9037 see text A-1 3-Cl 4-Cl ##STR35## 171°-3°.sup.6,a C, H, N, Cl, 51.56; 5.77; 6.68; 16.91 C, H, N, Cl, 51.84; 5.85; 6.66; 17.11__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE IV__________________________________________________________________________trans-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)anilides: Miscellaneous ##STR36##Startingmaterial from mp(°C.)/ AnalysisExampleTable II Y/Z Procedure Q R see footnote Formula Calcd. Found__________________________________________________________________________38 A H A-2 O CH.sub.3 104° .sup.1,e C.sub.15 H.sub.22 N.sub.2 O C, 73.13; C, 73.21; H, 9.00 H, 8.96; N, 11.37 N, 11.2339 A H A-3 O ##STR37## 115-16° .sup.7,a C.sub.17 H.sub.26 N.sub.2 O . C.sub.10 H.sub.9 SO.sub.3 . 1/4H.sub.2 O C, 66.57; H, 7.14; N, 5.75; , 6.58 C, 66.42; H, 7.13; N, 5.70; S, 6.4840 R 3,4- A-2 O CH.sub.3 164-5° .sup.6,e C.sub.15 H.sub.20 Cl.sub.2 - C, 50.38; C, 50.28; diCl N.sub.2 O . C.sub.2 H.sub.2 O.sub.4 H,5.47; H,5.54; N,6.91; N,6.79; Cl, 17.50 Cl, 17.2941 R 3,4- diCl A-3 O ##STR38## 120-1° .sup.6,a C.sub.17 H.sub.24 Cl.sub.2 - N.sub.2 O . C.sub.2 H.sub.2 - O.sub.9 C,52.66; H,6.05; N,6.47; Cl, 16.36 C,52.84; H,6.16; N,6.69; Cl, 16.4742 R 3,4- diCl B-2 O ##STR39## 145-6° .sup.6,a C.sub.17 H.sub.22 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 O . .sub.2 H.sub.2 O.sub.4 . 1/2H.sub.2 C,51.82; H,5.72; N,6.36; Cl, 16.10 C,51.38; H,5.62; N,6.36; Cl, 16.1143 R 3,4- diCl B-4 O ##STR40## 101-3° .sup.6,a C.sub.18 H.sub.24 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 O . /4Et.sub.2 O C,54.77; H,6.48; N,5.81; Cl, 14.70 C,54.28; H,6.38; N,5.70; Cl, 14.9844 R 3,4- diCl B-5 O ##STR41## 118-9° .sup.1,c C.sub.20 H.sub.28 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 C,62.66; H,7.36; N,7.31; Cl, 18.50 C,62.94; H,7.50; N,7.31; Cl, 18.5945 R 3,4- B-3 O CH 196-7° .sup.6,a C.sub.16 H.sub.20 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 O C,51.25; C,51.31; diCl CH.sub.2 C.sub.2 H.sub.2 O.sub.4 . 1/2H.sub.2 H,5.37; H,5.39; N,6.64; N,6.61; Cl, 16.81 Cl, 16.7046 R 3,4- B-6 O CH 171-4° .sup.6,a C.sub.17 H.sub.24 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 O C,52.66; C,52.65; diCl (CH.sub.3).sub.2 C.sub.2 H.sub.2 O.sub.4 H,6.05; H,6.15; N,6.47; N,6.50; Cl, 16.36 Cl, 16.2647 R 3,4- A-1 S CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 192-4° .sup.6,a C.sub.16 H.sub.22 Cl.sub.2 N.sub.2 S C,49.65; C,49.74; diCl C.sub.2 H.sub.2 O.sub.4 H,5.56; H,5.71; N,6.44; N,6.40; Cl, 16.29; Cl, 16.46; S,7.37 S,7.3148 R 3,4- B-7 O OCH.sub.2 121-2° .sup.6,a C.sub.16 H.sub.22 Cl.sub.2- C,49.66; C,49.69; diCl CH.sub.3 N.sub.2 O.sub.2 . C.sub.2 H.sub.2 O.sub.4 H,5.56; H,5.74; N, 6.44; N,6.77; Cl, 16.29 Cl, 16.3049 R 3,4- diCl B-8 O ##STR42## 132-3° .sup.6,a C.sub.16 H.sub.22 Cl.sub.2 - N.sub.2 O.sub.2 . C.sub.2 H.sub.2 O.sub.4 C,49.66; H,5.56; N,6.44; Cl, 16.29 C,49.94; H,5.53; N,6.44; Cl,__________________________________________________________________________ 16.40Footnotes to Tables III and IVDerivative Recrystallization solvent Procedure A1. free base a. methanol-ether 1. propionic anhydride2. hydrochloride b. ethanol-ether 2. acetic anhydride3. hydrobromide c. petroleum ether 3. butyric anhydride4. maleate d. ether5. fumarate e. petroleum ether-ether Procedure B6. oxalate f. benzene 1. propionyl chloride7. 2-naphthalenesulfonate g. dioxane 2. cyclopropanecarbonyl chloride8. p-toluenesulfonate 3. acryloyl chloride9. methanesulfonate 4. cyclobutanecarbonyl chloride 5. cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride 6. isobutynyl chloride 7. ethylchloroformate 8. methoxyacetyl chloride*Prepared in manner similar to other diamines of Table II.**cis configuration***Follow procedures of Example 37 (text) but substitute equivalentamount ofaniline for 3,4-dichloroaniline.__________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLE 35
Preparation of trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide-2-N-oxid
Three and five-hundredths grams (0.015 mol) of 85% m-chloroperbenzoic acid in 50 ml. of CHCl 3 is added dropwise over 30 min. to 3.29 g. (0.01 mol) of trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, (prepared in Ex. 1), with ice cooling; the mixture is stirred overnight at room temperature, and is then evaporated to dryness. A viscous oil is obtained; this oil is treated with 50 ml. of ether, and a two-phase system results. This mixture is filtered through 100 g. of silica gel (sintered glass funnel), and eluted with 1500 ml. of ether followed by 500 ml. of MeOH. The MeOH is evaporated to give a residue which is dissolved in warm dioxane, filtered to remove foreign matter, and diluted with ether to the point of cloudiness. Crystals form, and these are recrystallized from dioxane/ether at room temperature. The yield is 0.25 g. (7% yield). NMR (CDCl 3 ) an IR are consistent with title compound. Analysis and m.p. are in Table IV.
EXAMPLE 37
Preparation of cis-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide
Part (A) A solution of 3,4-dichloroaniline (200 g., 1.23 mol), cyclopentene oxide (400 ml.), and conc. HCl (2 ml.) is heated at reflux temperature for 7 days. The unreacted epoxide is evaporated at 60°, and the residue is treated with excess ethereal HCl, and a syrup results. This is washed with 1000 ml. of ether. The residue is crystallized and recrystallized from methanol/ether, (1/5.5, v/v) to give 170.0 g. (49% v yield) of 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-hydroxycyclopentyl]aniline, hydrochloride salt.
Part (B) Propionic anhydride (208 g., 1.6 mol), and the free base from part (A) (113.2 g., 0.40 mol base) are mixed and heated on a steambath overnight. Water (350 ml.) is added, and heating is continued for 1 hr. After ice cooling, the reaction mixture is neutralized with 240 ml. of 40% NaOH (2.4 mol), and extracted with ether. The ether extract is washed in succession with saturated NaHCO 3 , water, 10% HCl, water and saturated NaCl, the organic layer dried over MgSO 4 , and then evaporated to a brown oil. Subsequently, this oil is dissolved in 500 ml. 95% EtOH, and 26.4 g. (0.4 mol) of 85% KOH is added. The solution is stirred at room temperature (slight warming) for 3 hr. Evaporation removes the EtOH. The residue is treated with 800 ml. of ether and 250 ml. of water. The organic layer is washed sucessively with water, 10% HCl, and saturated NaCl, and dried (MgSO 4 ). The solution is concentrated by distillation and subsequent treatment with petroleum ether results in 87.7 g. (72% yield) of 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-hydroxycyclopentyl]propionanilide.
Part (C) To an ice-cooled solution of 60.4 g. (0.20 mol) of Part (B) product in 1000 ml. of acetone there is added, dropwise, 75 ml. of Jones Reagent (oxidizing). The reaction mixture is stirred at room temperature for 30 min., then is filtered, and the filtrate concentrated at reduced pressure. The residue is dissolved in 500 ml. of ether and this solution is washed three times with water followed by saturated NaCl solution, is dried over MgSO 4 and evaporated to a yellow oil which solidifies on standing. A tacky solid results (44.4 g, 74% yield) which is 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-oxocyclopentyl]propionanilide.
Part (D) A solution of dimethylamine (0.24 mol) and dimethylamine hydrochloride (9.8 g., 0.12 mol) in 250 ml. MeOH is prepared, and 18.0 g. (0.06 mol) of the ketone (from Part (C)) is added all at once. To this mixture is added all at once, 2.65 g. (0.042 mol) of sodium cyanoborohydride and 3A molecular sieves (25 g.). The entire mixture is stirred at room temperature for 8 days, after which time the solution is treated with 10% HCl until gas evolution ceases. Filtration through a filter aid (Celite®) removes the sieves and a small amount of insoluble matter. The MeOH is evaporated and the remaining aqueous layer, after washing with ether, is made basic with 50 ml. of 40% NaOH, and is filtered to remove amorphous solid. The residue is washed with ether, and the filtrate is extracted with ether. The ether extracts are washed with saturated NaCl solution, dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated to a yellow-brown oil (6.1 g.). Chromatography on 150 g. silica gel (2% MeOH in CHCl 3 ) gives several 20-ml. fractions; fractions 11-33 (homogeneous by TLC) are combined and evaporated to give 4.2 g. of yellow oil which is converted to the oxalic acid salt in MeOH/ether (1/5, v/v). A solid results (11% yld.), which has a m.p. 171°-3°. This solid is the cis-3,4-dichloro-N[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide oxalic acid salt. The nmr differs from that of the trans compound (Example 1) in the coupling constant of the 1,2-cyclopentane H's. Also, on TLC on silica gel (EtOAc developing solvent), the free base from this reaction (cis) has a different Rf value than the corresponding trans aminoamide.
Anal. Calcd. for C 16 H 22 N 2 Cl 2 O.C 2 H 2 O 4 : Calcd.: C, 51.56; H, 5.77; N, 6.68; Cl, 16.91; Found: C, 51.84; H, 5.85; N, 6.66; Cl, 17.11.
EXAMPLE 50
Preparation of d- and l- trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]aniline
(l-isomer) The di-p-toluoyl-d-tartaric acid salt of the title trans-dl-diamine is prepared by mixing 103.9 g. (0.267 mol) of this tartaric acid with 103.2 g. (0.267 mol) the diamine in a solvent consisting of 500 ml. isopropanol and about 500 ml. of ether. This mixture is seeded with a crystal of the trans-l-diamine, obtained from a small test tube scale resolution preparation, and left to stand. Crystals form; these are collected (75.0 g.) by filtration and recrystallized twice from a mixture of methanol:acetone:ether: 2:8:7.5 v/v/v to give 17.5 g. of salt which is converted to the free base with aqueous 20% NaOH, and subsequently to the maleate salt (as in Example 1). Mother liquor saved. Nmr, ir, and mass spectra conform to the assigned structure. m.p. 135°-6°; [α] D 25 (MeOH, c.=15.47 mg/2 ml)=-105° to give the l-form of the compound.
Analysis Calcd. for C 13 H 18 N 2 Cl 2 .C 4 H 4 O 4 : Calcd.: C, 52.45; H, 5.70; N, 7.20; Cl, 18.22; Found: C, 52.71; H, 5.76; N, 7.19; Cl, 18.23.
d-isomer The mother liquor from the initial filtration (above) is concentrated under reduced pressure to give a yellow oil which crystallizes in a solvent mixture of MeOH-acetone-ether to give 76.0 g. of crystals; these are then recrystallized twice from methanol-acetone-ether to give 55.0 g. of crystalline material which is converted to the free base and subsequently to the maleic acid addition salt. Spectral data are correct for the assigned structure. m.p. 135°-6°; [α] D 25 (MeOH, c.=15.63 mg./2 ml.)=+101° (i.e. the d-isomer).
Anal. Calcd. for C 13 H 18 N 2 Cl 2 .C 4 H 4 O 4 : Calcd.: C, 52.45; H, 5.70; N, 7.20; Cl, 18.22. Found: C, 52.73; H, 5.80; N, 7.28; Cl, 18.47.
EXAMPLE 51
Preparation of d-trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentane]propionanilide
Following the procedure of Example 1, but substituting d-trans-aminoaniline (prepared in Example 50), for the trans-aminoaniline of Example 1 as starting diamine there is obtained the titled compound as the maleic acid addition salt, m.p. 152°-4°. Circular Dichroism [θ] 249 mμ 25 ° +2800±300 (2.5% in 95% EtOH).
Anal. Calcd. for C 16 H 22 N 2 Cl 2 .C 4 H 4 O 4 : Calcd.: C, 53.94; H, 5.89; N, 6.29; Cl, 15.92; Found: C, 54.19; H, 5.91; N, 6.19; Cl, 16.22. [θ]=molecular ellipticity
Preparation of l-trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide
Following the procedure of Example 1 but substituting l-trans-aminoaniline (prepared in Example 50), for the trans-aminoaniline in Example 1, as starting diamine there is obtained the titled compound as the maleic acid addition salt, m.p. 152°-4°. Circular Dichroism [θ] 249 mμhu 25° -2900±300 (2.5% in 95% EtOH).
Anal. Calcd. for C 16 H 22 N 2 Cl 2 O.C 4 H 4 O 4 : Calcd.: C, 53.94; H, 5.89; N, 6.29; Cl, 15.92. Found: C, 54.09; H, 5.90; N, 6.54; Cl, 15.82.
EXAMPLE 47
Preparation of trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]thiopropionanilide
A solution of 8.23 g. (0.025 mol) of 3',4'-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, (prepared in Example 1) and phosphorus pentasulfide (6.1 g., 0.028 mol) in 250 ml. of pyridine is heated at the reflux temperature overnight. The pyridine is then removed by distillation at ca 100°, in vacuo. The residue is treated with 250 ml. CHCl 3 and 200 ml. saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate and stirred for 1 hr. The organic layer is diluted with 250 ml. of ether and washed successively with 200 ml. of water and 250 ml. of saturated NaCl solution, dried (anhy. MgSO 4 ), and evaporated to a red-brown oil. This oil is triturated twice with hot petroleum ether; a yellow solution and a red solid result. The yellow solution is washed with water, dried (MgSO 4 ), and evaporated to a pale orange oil (3.7 g., 43% yield). The oxalic acid salt is prepared with the oil and 1.0 g. (0.011 mol) of acid in 25 ml. MeOH and 200 ml. ether. On recrystallization, 3.6 g. (33% yield) of the oxalic acid addition salt of the title compound is prepared (see Table IV, Example 47, for analysis and m.p.) Nmr correct for assigned structure.
For oral administration either solid or fluid unit dosage forms can be prepared. For preparing solid compositions such as tablets, the compound of Formula I is mixed with conventional ingredients such as talc, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, magnesium aluminum silicate, calcium, sulfate, starch, lactose, acacia, methylcellulose, and functionally similar materials as pharmaceutical diluents or carriers. Wafers are prepared in the same manner as tablets, differing only in shape and the inclusion of sucrose or other sweetener and flavor. In their simplest embodiment, capsules, like tablets, are prepared by mixing the compound with an inert pharmaceutical diluent and filling the mixture into a hard gelatin capsule of appropriate size. Soft gelatin capsules are prepared by machine encapsulation of a slurry of the compound with an acceptable vegetable oil, light liquid petrolatum, or other inert oil.
Fluid unit dosage forms for oral administration such as syrups, elixirs, and suspensions can be prepared. The water-soluble forms can be dissolved in an aqueous vehicle together with sugar, aromatic flavoring agents and preservatives to form a syrup. An elixir is prepared by using a hydro-alcoholic (ethanol) vehicle with suitable sweeteners such as sugar and saccharin, together with an aromatic flavoring agent.
Suspensions can be prepared with an aqueous vehicle with the aid of a suspending agent such as acacia, tragacanth, methylcellulose and the like.
For parenteral administration, fluid unit dosage forms are prepared utilizing the compound and a sterile vehicle, water being preferred. The compound, depending on the vehicle and concentration used, can be either suspended or dissolved in the vehicle. In preparing solutions the compound can be dissolved in water for injection and filter sterilized before filling into a suitable vial or ampul and sealing. Advantageously, adjuvants such as a local anesthetic, preservative and buffering agents can be dissolved in the vehicle. To enhance the stability, the composition can be frozen after filling into the vial and the water removed under vacuum. The dry lyophilized powder is then sealed in the vial and an accompanying vial of water for injection is supplied to reconstitute the liquid prior to use. Parenteral suspensions are prepared in substantially the same manner except that the compound is suspended in the vehicle instead of being dissolved and sterilization cannot be accomplished by filtration. The compound can be sterilized by exposure to ethylene oxide before suspending in the sterile vehicle. Advantageously, a surfactant or wetting agent is included in the composition to facilitate uniform distribution of the compound.
Rectal suppositories as used herein mean solid bodies for insertion into the rectum which melt or soften at body temperature releasing one or more pharmacologically or therapeutically active ingredients.
Pharmaceutically acceptable substances utilized in rectal suppositories are bases or vehicles and agents to raise the melting point.
Examples of bases or vehicles include, for example, cocoa butter (theobroma oil), glycerin-gelatin, carbowax, (polyoxyethylene glycol) and appropriate mixtures of mono-, di-, and triglycerides of fatty acids. Combinations of the various bases may be used. Agents to raise the melting point of suppositories include, for example, spermaceti and wax. Rectal suppositories may be prepared either by the compressed method or by molding. The usual weight of a rectal suppository is about 2.0 gm.
Tablets and capsules for rectal administration are manufactured utilizing the same pharmaceutically acceptable substance and by the same methods as for formulations for oral administration.
Rectal suppositories, tablets or capsules are packaged either individually, in unit-dose, or in quantity, multiple dose, for example, 2, 6, or 12.
The term unit dosage form, as used in the specification and claims, refers to physically discrete units suitable as unitary dosages for mammals including human subjects each unit containing a predetermined quantity of active material calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the required pharmaceutical diluent, carrier, or vehicle. The specifications for the novel unit dosage forms of this invention are dictated by and directly dependent on (a) the unique characteristics of the active material and the particular effect to be achieved, and (b) the limitations inherent in the art of compounding such an active material for use in humans, as disclosed in detail in this specification, these being features of the present invention. Examples of suitable unit dosage forms in accord with this invention are tablets, capsules, pills, suppositories, powder packets, granules, wafers, cachets, teaspoonfuls, tablespoonfuls, dropperfuls, ampuls, vials, segregated multiples of any of of the foregoing, and other forms as herein described.
The dosage of the compound for treatment depends on route of administration, the age, weight and condition of the patient. A dosage schedule of from about 1 to about 100 mg., preferably 10 to 90 mg. per day, given in a single dose or in subdivided doses, embraces the effective range to alleviate depression for which the compositions are effective. The dosage to be administered is calculated on the basis of from about 0.02 to about 1.5 mg./kg. of weight of the subject. The compound is compounded with a suitable pharmaceutical carrier in unit dosage form for convenient and effective administration. In the preferred embodiments of this invention, the dosage units can contain the compound in 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100 mg. amounts for systemic treatment. A sterile preparation of the active material contains 0.1 percent to 25 percent w/v for parenteral treatment. The dosage of compositions containing a compound of formula I and one or more other active ingredients is to be determined with reference to the actual dosage of each such ingredient.
In addition to the administration of a compound of formula I as the principal active ingredient of compositions for treatment of the conditions desired herein, the said compound can be combined with other compounds such as analgesics, for example, aspirin, acetaminophen, PAC compound (phenacetin-aspirin-caffeine), antiinflammatory agents such as ibuprofen, and the like, anxiolytics such as perphenazine, amitriptylene hydrochloride, chlordiazepoxide, alprazolam, doxepin hydrochloride, and the like.
EXAMPLE 52
A lot of 10,000 tablets, each containing 20 mg. of trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide maleate salt, as the active ingredient compound is prepared from the following types and amounts of ingredients:
______________________________________Active ingredient compound 200 gm.Dicalcium phosphate 1,500 gm.Methylcellulose, U.S.P. (15 cps.) 60 gm.Talc 150 gm.Corn Starch 200 gm.Magnesium stearate 12 gm.______________________________________
The compound and dicalcium phosphate are mixed well, granulated with 7.5 percent solution of methylcellulose in water, passed through a No. 8 screen and dried carefully. The dried granules are passed through a No. 12 screen, mixed thoroughly with the talc, starch and magnesium stearate, and compressed into tablets.
These tablets are useful in reducing depression in adults at a dose of 1 to 2 tablets per day, depending on the age and weight of the patient.
EXAMPLE 53
One thousand two-piece hard gelatin capsules each containing 10 mg. of 3-bromo-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, hydrochloride salt as the active ingredient compound are prepared from the following types and amounts of ingredients:
______________________________________Active ingredient compound 10 gm.Lactose 75 gm.Talc 25 gm.Magnesium stearate 1.5 gm.______________________________________
The ingredients are mixed well and filled into capsules of the proper size.
Capsules so prepared are useful for treating depression in adults at a dose of one-two capsules per day.
EXAMPLE 54
One thousand tablets for sublingual use are prepared from the following ingredients:
______________________________________3-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]- proplonanilide, micronized 5 gm.Polyethylene glycol 4,000, powdered 150 gm.Polyethylene glycol 6,000, powdered 75 gm.______________________________________
The ingredients are mixed well and compressed into sublingual-type tablets.
These tablets (each containing 5 mg. of active ingredient) placed under the tongue are useful to reduce depression with a rapid reduction at a dose of 1 tablet per 6 hours.
EXAMPLE 55
Soft gelatin capsules for oral use, each containing 10 mg. of 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(diethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, methanesulfonate salt are prepared by first dispersing the micronized compound in corn oil to render the material capsulatable and then encapsulating in the usual manner. These capsules are useful in treatment of depression at a dose of 1-2 capsules a day.
EXAMPLE 56
One thousand tablets, each containing 30 mg. of 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, salt are made from the following types and amounts of ingredients:
______________________________________3,4-dichloro-[2-(N-pyrrolidinyl)cyclopentyl]- proplonanilide 30 gm.Lactose 355 gm.Microcrystalline cellulose NF 120 gm.Starch 16 gm.Magnesium stearate powder 4 gm.______________________________________
The ingredients are screened and blended together and pressed into tablets.
The tablets are useful to overcome depression.
EXAMPLE 57
A sterile preparation suitable for intramuscular injection and containing 50 mg. of 3-fluoro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, hydrochloride salt, in each milliliter is prepared from the following ingredients:
______________________________________3-fluoro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]- proplonanilide, hydrochloride 50 gm.Benzyl benzoate 200 ml.Methylparaben 1.5 gm.Propylparaben 0.5 gm.Cottonseed oil q.s. 1,000 ml.______________________________________
One milliliter of this sterile preparation is injected to reduce depression in adults.
EXAMPLE 58
Following the procedure of the preceding Examples 52 through 57, inclusive, unit dosage forms are similarly prepared substituting equivalent amounts of cis or trans variants of other Formula I compounds; for example
3-chloro-4-methyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[{2-(N-methyl-N-dimethylaminoethyl)amino}cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dimethoxy-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-chloro-4-fluoro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dibromo-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4 -dimethyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]thiopropionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methyl-N-β-phenylethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-methoxy-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3-chloro-4-methyl-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(diethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide,
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-dimethylaminocyclopentyl]cyclohexanecarboxanilide,
or their pharmacologically acceptable acid addition salts for the respective active ingredients in those examples.
Also, the compounds described hereinbelow (wherein R 1 and R 2 can be hydrogen, independently or simultaneously) can be substituted into the above-described pharmaceutical formulation examples as the essential active anti-depressant ingredient in chemically-equivalent amounts. For example, the compounds 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclohexanecarboxanilide, 3,4-dichloro-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)acrylanilide, 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide, 3,4-dimethyl-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]carbethoxyanilide, or 3,4-dichloro-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)methoxyacetanilide, or a pharmacologically acceptable acid addition salt thereof, can be used.
This invention comprises not only the process for treating depression, the pharmaceutical preparations, including the compounds of formula I described above, as the essential active anti-depressant ingredients, but also includes such process for treating depression using the new pharmaceutical preparations containing compounds of formula I above wherein P, Q, R, Y and Z are as defined above; and, R 1 and R 2 are each hydrogen or one of R 1 and R 2 is hydrogen and the other of R 1 and R 2 is C 1 to C 3 -alkyl as well as the pharmaceutical preparations per se, and some compounds per se. These latter compounds are described here because they are prepared by a synthesis procedure that is somewhat different from that described above where each of R 1 and R 2 is some group other than hydrogen.
The trans compounds wherein R 1 and R 2 are both hydrogen or when one of R 1 and R 2 is hydrogen, the other of R 1 and R 2 is alkyl as defined above, and P, Q, R, Y and Z are as defined above, are prepared in the manner described below: ##STR43##
Reaction of the cyclopentene oxide IIIa with an aniline under conditions well known in the art gives the N-(2-hydroxycyclopentyl)aniline IX which, when reacted with chlorosulfonic acid in a nonpolar organic solvent, e.g., methylene chloride, at 20°-30° C. followed by heating with a selected C 1 to C 3 -monoalkylamine (aqueous) or ammonium hydroxide (aqueous) at 100°-150° C. for 40-55 hours at elevated pressure (2-10 atm.), gives the diamine X. Reaction of diamine X with 2,2,2-trichloroethyl chloroformate, or equivalent N-blocking compound, at 20°-30° C. for 1-5 hours proceeds in the presence of an acid scavenger, e.g., triethylamine, to give the 2-(N-blocked amino) compound XI. Acylation of the N-blocked compound XI with the selected acid anhydride, ##STR44## by heating at 90°-120° C. for 12 to 30 hours gives the N-blocked anilide XII. Deprotection of the 2-amino function of the 2-N-blocked anilide XII is then accomplished by reaction with an N-deblocking agent such as metal dust in acid, e.g., zinc in acetic acid, in a polar organic solvent, e.g., methanol, at 20°-100° C. for 2 to 6 hours. Work-up, isolation and purification procedures are those standard in the art of organic chemistry.
Preparation of the cis isomeric compound XIV is carried out as described previously ##STR45## in this specification by oxidation of the 2-hydroxycyclopentylanilide XV with a known oxidizing agent, e.g., Jones Reagent, to the ketone XVI, which, when reacted with a C 1 to C 3 -monoalkyl amine or ammonium acetate in the presence of a reducing agent, e.g., sodium cyanoborohydride, gives mixed isomer amino anilide XVII. ##STR46## Chromatographic separation of the two isomers can be effected to give the cis amino anilide XIV, wherein R 1 is hydrogen or C 1 to C 3 -alkyl.
A preferred group of the above genus compounds which includes those compounds wherein one or both of R 1 and R 2 are hydrogen and the pharmaceutical preparation forms thereof are those wherein R is vinyl, C 3 to C 6 -cycloalkyl, ethoxy or methoxymethyl, R 1 and R 2 are each hydrogen or one of R 1 and R 2 is hydrogen and the other of R 1 and R 2 is C 1 to C 3 -alkyl, preferably methyl, and at least one of Y and Z is halogen having an atomic number of from 9 to 35, preferably in the 3- and 4-positions, trifluoromethyl in the 3-position, or methyl in the 3- or 4-position in combination with one of the above halogens at the adjacent 3- or 4-position, and the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof. Examples of such compounds include the following:
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide;
3-trifluoromethyl-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclohexanecarboxanilide;
3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-ethylamino)cyclopentyl]acrylanilide;
3-chloro-4-methyl-N-[2-aminocyclopentyl]carbethoxyanilide;
3,4-dichloro-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)acrylanilide
4-chloro-3-methyl-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]methoxyacetanilide;
3-chloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclobutanecarboxanilide;
4-chloro-N-[2-aminocyclopentyl]cyclopentanecarboxanilide;
3-bromo-N-[2-aminocyclopentyl]acrylanilide; and
3-fluoro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]carbethoxyanilide;
especially these compounds in the transconfigurations, and the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof.
This latter preferred group of compounds having an unsubstituted amino group in the 2-position of the cyclopentyl ring has potent anti-depressant properties in standard laboratory animal tests, such as the standard yohimbine toxicity potentiation and oxotremorine hypothermia antagonism tests, which indicate anti-depressant properties.
EXAMPLE 59
Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide and its p-toluenesulfonate salt. Method A.
A. trans-N-(2-hydroxycyclopentyl)-3,4-dichloroaniline and its hydrochloride salt
A solution of 3,4-dichloroaniline (200 g., 1.23 mole), cyclopentene oxide (400 ml.), and concentrated HCl (2 ml.) is heated at reflux temperature for seven (7) days. The unreacted epoxide is evaporated to 60° C. and the residue is treated with excess ethereal HCl, and a syrup results. This is washed with 1000 ml. of ether. The residue is crystallized and recrystallized from methanol/ether (1/5.5, v/v) to give 170.0 g. (49% yield) of trans-3,4-dichloro-N-(2-hydroxycyclopentyl)aniline, hydrochloride salt.
B. trans-3,4-dichloro-N-(2-sulfonyloxycyclopentyl)aniline
To a stirred solution/suspension of 283 g. (1.0 mole) of amino-alcohol salt from Part A, trans-3,4-dichloro-N-(2-hydroxycyclopentyl)aniline hydrochloride, in 2 liters of methylene chloride, there is added 129 g. (1.1 mol) of chlorosulfonic acid in 500 ml. of methylene chloride over a 4-hour period. Complete solution of the amino alcohol is effected when addition of the acid solution is about one-half completed. The mixture is stirred overnight. The precipitate which forms is collected, washed with methylene chloride and ethyl ether and dried in an oven at 45° C. The subtitled product is obtained in 81% yield (263 g.). A sample darkens at temperatures above 200° C. and melts with decomposition at 217°-218° C.
C. trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline and its dihydrochloride salt
A 228 g. (0.7 mole) portion of 3,4-dichloro-N-(2-sulfonyloxycyclopentyl)aniline is reacted with 700 ml. of 40% mono-methylamine in water at 125° C. for 48 hours to form trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline in solution.
The reaction product mixture (about 1500 ml.) is washed with a 1:1 v/v water/ethyl ether mixture. The organic layer is removed from the aqueous layer and the aqueous layer is extracted with 500 ml. of ethyl ether. The combined ether layers are washed with 500 ml. of saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate, and evaporated to a brown oil. This brown oil is chromatographed on 1500 g. of silica gel, eluting with 10 liters of ethyl acetate and 10 liters of methanol, with 2000 ml. fractions being collected. Fractions 6 to 10 contain the diamine product, trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline. The forerun (fractions 1 to 5) is a mixture. The forerun is rechromatographed on 500 g. of silica gel, eluting with 3000 ml of ethyl acetate and 2000 ml. of methanol, collecting the eluate in 500 ml. fractions. Fractions 2 to 4 of this second chromatography are a forerun; fractions 5 to 10 contain more of the amine product. After evaporation of solvent, the diamine fractions give 159 g. of an orange oil. This diamine product oil is converted to its hydrochloride salt with excess ethyl ether/hydrochloric acid solution. The diamine hydrochloride salt is recrystallized from 1000 ml. of methanol and about 1200 ml. of ethyl ether. The subtitled diamine hydrochloride salt weighs 164.6 g. for a 71% yield (m.p. 185°-187° C., with effervescence).
A further run of this reaction starting from the amino alcohol and without recovering the intermediate 2-sulfonyloxy compound is run as follows:
To a stirred solution of 28.2 g. of the amino-alcohol salt, trans-3,4-dichloro-N-(2-hydroxycyclopentyl)aniline hydrochloride, in 200 ml. of chloroform, there is added 12.9 g. of chlorosulfonic acid in 50 ml. of chloroform over 15 minutes. The mixture is placed in a warm water bath to accelerate evolution of hydrogen chloride by-product. The resulting reaction mixture solution is concentrated and the residue dissolved in 100 ml. of 40% monomethylamine in water. The resulting mixture is heated overnight in a bomb reactor at 125° C. The resulting reaction mixture is cooled and extracted with 500 ml. of ethyl ether. The ether extract is washed with 200 ml. of saturated sodium chloride and dried over magnesium sulfate and then evaporated to a yellow oil. The oil is chromatographed on 300 g. of silica gel, eluting with 3 liters of ethyl acetate to remove amino-alcohol starting material. The oil in the chromatograph column is then eluted with 3 liters of methanol to give 6.5 g. of crude oil product (25% yield) after evaporation of solvent. This diamine oil product, trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline, is converted to its hydrochloride salt with excess ethyl ether-hydrochloric acid solution and then recrystallized from 40 ml. of methanol in about 300 ml. of ethyl ether; the diamine hydrochloride salt weighs 6.4 g. (19% yield) m.p. about 175° C. (with softening and effervescence). The NMR, IR, UV and mass spectral analyses are consistent with this subtitled diamine salt and the analysis is as follows:
Calcd. for C 12 H 12 N 2 Cl 2 ·2HCl Calcd.: C, 43.40; H, 5.46; N, 8.44; Cl, 42.71
Found: C, 43.74; H, 5.43; N, 8.41; Cl, 42.63
D. Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methyl-N-trichloroethoxycarbonylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline hydrochloride
To a mixture of 3.03 g. (0.03 mole) of triethylamine and 9.96 g. (0.03 mole) of the free diamine, trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline, released from its hydrochloride salt with sodium hydroxide, in 250 ml. of ethyl ether, there is added 6.36 g. (0.03 mole) of 2,2,2-trichloroethyl chloroformate in 50 ml. of ethyl ether. The mixture is stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. Then 100 ml. of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution is added. The organic layer is dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated to a yellow oil. This oil is converted to its hydrochloride salt by treatment with excess ethereal hydrochloric acid. This salt is recrystallized from a mixture of 120 ml. of methanol and 400 ml. of ethyl ether. The subtitled salt weighs 11.25 g. (80% yield). The NMR, IR, UV and mass spectral data are consistent with the subtitled structure.
E. Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methyl-N-trichloroethoxycarbonylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide
A mixture of the 2-N-blocked diamine, prepared as in part D above, and converted to its free base, and an equimolar amount of cyclopropanecarboxylic acid anhydride is heated on a steam bath overnight. Then water is added and the mixture is heated for one hour. The mixture is diluted with ethyl ether. The organic layer is washed with 15% sodium hydroxide solution followed by saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate, and evaporated to an oil: the subtitled cyclopropanecarboxanilide.
In another run, going through two steps without isolation of the 2-N-blocked diamine (Part D) 10.6 g (0.05 mole) of 2,2,2-trichloroethyl chloroformate in 50 ml of ethyl ether is added over one-half hour with ice cooling to a mixture of 5.06 g (0.05 mole) of triethylamine and 16.6 g (0.05 mole) of the diamine, trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline, released from its hydrochloride salt, in 400 ml of ethyl ether. After stirring at room temperature for two hours, 200 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution is added. The organic layer is washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated to a yellow oil. Then cyclopropanecarboxylic acid anhydride is added to the oil and the solution is heated overnight on a steam bath. Then water is added and the mixture is heated with stirring for one hour. The mixture is made basic with 15% sodium hydroxide and extracted with ethyl ether. The ethyl ether extract is washed with saturated sodium chloride, dried over magnesium sulfate, and evaporated to obtain an oil, the subtitled cyclopropanecarboxanilide.
F. Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide and its p-toluenesulfonate salt
The N-blocked cyclopropanecarboxanilide, from E above, and a large excess of zinc dust in 5% acetic acid in methanol is stirred at room temperature for three hours, refluxed for one hour, and cooled to room temperature. The mixture is then filtered through a filter aid (Celite®) and washed with methanol. The solvent is evaporated and the residue treated with 5 N ammonium hydroxide and ethyl ether. The ether extract is washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated to obtain an oil, the subtitled cyclopropanecarboxanilide. This cyclopropanecarboxanilide is converted to its p-toluenesulfonate salt by treating the oil with p-toluenesulfonic acid in a solvent mixture of methanol and ethyl ether.
EXAMPLE 60
Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-methylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide, and its p-toluenesulfonate salt - Method B.
A mixture of 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]cyclopropanecarboxanilide, released from its oxalate salt (Example 42) with sodium hydroxide, and an excess of mercuric acetate in 5% acetic acid in water is heated on a steam bath for about three days. The precipitate which results is filtered and washed with 10% hydrochloric acid solution. A small amount of precipitate is removed by filtration. The solution (filtrate) is made basic with concentrated ammonium hydroxide and extracted with ethyl ether. The ether extract is washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated to an oil. This oil is converted to its p-toluenesulfonate salt with p-toluenesulfonic acid in methanol and ethyl ether. After recrystallization there is obtained the titled cyclopropanecarboxanilide salt.
EXAMPLE 61
Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)acrylanilide and its β-naphthylsulfonate salt
A. Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)aniline and its hydrochloride
A mixture of 16.3 g. (0.05 mole) of 3,4-dichloro-N-(2-sulfonyloxycyclopentyl)aniline (from Example 59, Part B) and 50 ml. of 17 N ammonium hydroxide (0.85 mole) is heated in a sealed bottle at 125° C. for 48 hours. The mixture is then cooled to room temperature. The contents of the bottle are dissolved in a mixture of ethyl ether and water. The ether layer is washed with 100 ml. of saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated to a brown oil. This oil is chromatographed on 300 g. of silica gel eluting with 2000 ml. of ethyl acetate and 3000 ml. of methanol. A thin layer chromatographic (TLC) analysis of the last 2000 ml. of methanol eluant shows that it contains the subtitled diamine product. After evaporating the bulk of the methanol from the amine the residue is treated with excess ethyl etherhydrogen chloride solution to form the diamine hydrochloride salt. The salt is recrystallized from a mixture of about 5 ml. of methanol and about 20 ml. of ethyl ether to obtain 2.4 g. (15% yield) of the subtitled diamine hydrochloride salt, m.p. 103° C., with vigorous effervescence.
The NMR, IR, UV and mass spectral analyses are consistent with the subtitled compound structure.
B. Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(N-trichloroethoxycarbonylamino)cyclopentyl]aniline, and the hydrochloride salt
To a mixture of 9.54 g. (0.03 mole) of the diamine from part A above, released from its hydrochloride salt, and 3.03 g. (0.03 mole) of triethylamine in 250 ml. of ethyl ether, cooled in ice, there is added 6.36 g. (0.03 mole) of 2,2,2-trichloroethyl chloroformate in 25 ml. of ethyl ether. The resulting mixture is stirred over the weekend at room temperature. Then 200 ml. of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution is added. The organic layer is washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate, and concentrated to a yellow oil residue, the subtitled aniline. The hydrochloride salt is prepared by treating the yellow oil residue with excess ether-hydrogen chloride solution. The salt is recrystallized from a mixture of about 300 ml. of methanol and 700 ml. of ethyl ether to obtain a first crop, 8.15 g., of the subtitled aniline salt. The filtrate is evaporated and the residue is recrystallized from a mixture of 100 ml. of methanol, and about 500 ml. of ethyl ether, to obtain an additional 2.54 g. of the aniline salt, for a 78% total yield, m.p. 207°-209° C.
The NMR, IR, UV and mass spectra are consistent with the subtitled aniline salt structure.
C. Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonylamino)cyclopentyl]acrylanilide
A mixture of trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonylamino)cyclopentyl]-aniline and an equimolar amount of acrylic acid anhydride is heated on a steam bath overnight. Then water is added and the mixture is heated for one hour. The mixture is diluted with ethyl ether. The organic layer which develops is separated from the aqueous layer and washed with 15% sodium hydroxide and with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated to obtain the subtitled N-blocked acrylanilide compound.
D. Trans-3,4-dichloro-N-(2-aminocyclopentyl)-acrylanilide, and its β-naphthylsulfonate salt
A mixture of trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonylamino)cyclopentyl]-acrylanilide from Part C above, and a large molar excess of zinc dust in 5% acetic acid in methanol solution is stirred at room temperature overnight. The mixture is filtered through a filter aid (Celite®) and washed with methanol. The filtrate is evaporated and the residue is heated with 5 N ammonium hydroxide and ethyl ether. The ether layer is washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated to an oil which is converted to its napsylate (β-naphthylsulfonic acid) salt in methanol/ethyl ether solution using an equimolar amount of β-naphthylsulfonic acid.
An alternative procedure for preparing the 2-(di-C 1 to C 3 -alkylamino)cyclopentanol intermediate described above, and exemplified by the preparation of trans-2-dimethylaminocyclopentanol can involve the following variation of procedure:
After addition of the aqueous dimethyl amine to the cyclopentene oxide, the mixture can be stirred at reflux for 4 hours. After cooling, the liquid phases can be separated with the aid of adding saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution; after separation, extraction of the aqueous phase can be accomplished with methylene chloride rather than ethyl ether to separate the trans-2-dimethylaminocyclopentanol.
In preparing the 1-amino-2-di(C 1 to C 3 -alkyl)-aminocyclopentanes, exemplified by the preparation of trans-N,N-dimethyl-N'-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,2-cyclopentanediamine, above, an alternative procedure can be to use methylene chloride as solvent in place of tetrahydrofuran (THF), not use the sodium hydride suspension, carefully add the methanesulfonyl chloride to an ice-cooled solution of the 2-(N,N-dimethylamino)cyclopentanol in methylene chloride to maintain the temperature of the mixture below about 20° C., then, after the addition is completed, allow the reaction mixture to warm to room temperature and stir for three hours. Thereafter, a solution of 25 percent w/v sodium carbonate in water solution can be added to the methylene chloride reaction mixture containing the 2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentanol mesylate intermediate, and the mixture can be stirred for a time; the organic (methylene chloride) phase containing the mesylate intermediate can be separated from the aqueous phase, diluted with toluene, concentrated under a vacuum below 30° C., and used further in reaction with the selected aniline, e.g., 3,4-dichloroaniline, in toluene, to give the desired diamine, e.g., trans-N-[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]-3,4-dichloroaniline.
Purification of the diamine can be accomplished by chromatography on silica gel using a methanol/ethyl acetate mixture as eluant. Preparation of the diamine maleate salt can be effected by adding maleic acid to the diamine in the methanol/ethyl acetate solution. | N-(2-Aminocyclopentyl)N-alkanoylanilides and their 2-N-oxides of the formula ##STR1## e.g., trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclopentyl]propionanilide, and their pharmacologically acceptable salts, have been found to possess potent Central Nervous System anti-depresssant properties. Many of them are new.
These compounds are promising anti-depressant drugs which are characterized by a better therapeutic ratio than imipramine, and long acting activity which may allow longer durations between administrations, e.g., once a day. Pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds and a process for treating conditions of depression with these compositions are disclosed. | 2 |
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of my previous application, Ser. No. 09/985,519, filed on Nov. 5, 2001, abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to siding installation tools. More particularly, the invention comprises a gauge for positioning overlapping sections of building materials such as siding, clapboard, and roofing shingles during installation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When overlapping flat sections of building material such as clapboard, roofing shingles, and cedar, concrete or laminate siding are installed on vertical building surfaces, it is desirable to maintain adjacent courses even. Cedar is referred to hereinafter as a preferred wood siding, although other woods are often planed to a similar shape and for purposed of discussion will be considered as cedar. Utilizing standard commercial products, which are usually fairly straight and regularly shaped, this requires placing each succeeding member over a previously installed member such that a constant degree of overlap is established along the lengths of the two members. This can be performed by “snapping a line” or other traditional marking methods. However, it would be more efficient to utilize a method that eliminates marking and which also requires only one mechanic.
An adjustable gauge for installing siding is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,007, issued to Daniel Gordon on Mar. 10, 1992. The gauge has an elongate member and a shorter member clamped thereto. The shorter member slides along the elongate member and is adjusted by releasing the clamp. A bolt and wingnut clamp the shorter member to the elongate member. The threaded shaft of the bolt and the wingnut project from the elongate member. By contrast, no fastener projects beyond a corresponding elongate member in the present invention. The elongate and shorter members of the present invention are far easier to fabricate than is the device of Gordon.
A jack for supporting clapboards is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 425,173, issued to Edwin W. Brown on Mar. 25, 1890. This jack has a carrier block bearing projecting spikes for engaging clapboards. No such spikes exist in the present invention. Such spikes would potentially damage siding, which is a principal application of the present invention. Also, a guide element present at the rear face of the jack of Brown, where the rear face is that face located away from contact with an installed clapboard, is stepped in that it has a guide and metallic plate which occupy separate planes. By contrast, the corresponding rear surface of the present invention occupies a plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 351,722, issued to William E. Trueblood on Oct. 26, 1886; U.S. Pat. No. 631,315, issued to Thomas B. Meskill on Aug. 22, 1899; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,357, issued to Leo A. Gayan on May 19, 1964, illustrate gauges or the like for positioning siding. These devices are considerably more complicated than is the present invention, and have configurations considerably more irregular than the joined parallelepipeds of the present invention which are present when the novel gauge is assembled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,100, issued to Wallace T. Wheeler on Sep. 25, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,767, issued to Christopher Colavito on Apr. 29, 1997; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,311, issued to Bernard J. Paquin on Dec. 2, 1997, illustrate siding tools that incorporate hand grips. These tools are considerably more complicated than is the present invention, and have configurations considerably more irregular than the joined parallelepipeds of the present invention which are present when the novel gauge is assembled.
The present invention further incorporates a measuring device and a level, tools frequently used while installing siding, which are absent in the above referenced prior art.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention sets forth an uncomplicated gauge which is suitable for cedar, concrete and laminate siding, and is readily utilized by a single person when installing siding. As has been stated previously, cedar is being used to refer to any wood siding of similar profile. The novel gauge is preferably utilized with an S-shaped siding hanger used to support a section of siding in its new position prior to permanent fastening. The gauge comprises a slide bar having a longitudinally oriented slot formed therein, and a stop block adjustably clamped to the slide bar. Outer surfaces of the slide bar occupy opposed planes. The stop block displays similar characteristics, but is smaller. Two cap screws releasably secure the stop block to the slide bar by engaging threaded holes formed in the stop block. The heads of the cap screws occupy the slot, thereby interlocking the stop block to the slide bar unless both screws are fully removed.
The gauge has no projections such as fasteners and barbs as seen in prior art devices which could mar delicate surfaces such as those of siding. Corners and edges of both the slide bar and the stop block are rounded so as to provide further protection of the siding. Both slide bar and stop block are generally parallelepipeds. The stop block is no wider than the slide bar. The gauge is thus readily carried in pockets of apparel without risk of tearing the fabric.
The gauge is utilized by adjusting the stop block to a desired position wherein exposed length of the slide bar corresponds to a dimension a length of siding which is intended to be exposed to view when the length of siding is covered by an overlapping length of siding. With the stop block held firmly against the bottom edge of the last length of siding installed on a building wall, the top of the slide bar is aligned with a predetermined point on the installed length of siding. A new length of siding is positioned such that its bottom edge rests on the top of the slide bar, and is tacked or hung in place, preferably utilizing a siding hanger, or even permanently fastened in place. The same operation is repeated at the opposite end of the partially installed length of siding. The second end of the newly placed length of siding is then fastened in place. Once set to a desired position, the gauge is not adjusted until all siding is fastened in place.
The gauge further features a measuring device and level in the face of at least one of the lengths.
Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide a gauge for positioning a length siding at a desired degree of overlap over an installed length of siding.
It is another object of the invention to prevent the gauge from scratching or otherwise marring the siding.
It is a further object of the invention that the novel gauge have only flat and rounded external edges and corners.
Still another object of the invention is that the stop block be no wider than the slide bar.
An additional object of the invention is to enable a single person to install lengths of siding and the like in their permanent positions on buildings.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a measuring device as an integral part of the siding gauge.
Still another object of the invention is to prove a level as an integral part of the siding gauge.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of one embodiment of a siding gauge of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the siding gauge of FIG. 1 , shown partially in cross section.
FIG. 3 is an exaggerated environmental diagrammatic view of how the siding gauge is used.
FIG. 4 is an environmental perspective view of how the invention is used.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of siding hanger used with the siding gauge of FIG. 1 .
FIGS. 5 a - 5 c are side elevational views of the various siding hangers of FIG. 5 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, novel siding gauge 1 is seen to comprise an elongate slide bar 10 and a stop block 40 , and cap screws 60 , 70 .
Slide bar 10 is substantially a parallelepiped having a lower end 12 , and upper end 14 , a first side 16 , a second side 18 , a first face 20 , and a second face 22 . A stepped slot 24 is formed along the longitudinal axis of first face 20 and second face 22 of slide bar 10 , although slot 24 need not be centered within slide bar 10 . Slot 24 is stepped, having a shoulder 26 . Second face 22 is milled so as to have a rough surface (not shown), the purpose of which will be further detailed herein below.
Stop block 40 is also substantially a parallelepiped having a lower end 42 , an upper end 44 , a first face 46 , a second face 48 , and two sides. The width of stop block 40 is substantially equal to that of slide bar 10 , while the length of stop block 40 is substantially less than that of slide bar 10 . A raised tenon 50 runs the length of first face 46 of stop block 40 , raised tenon 50 being designed to snugly, but slidably, engage slot 24 of slide bar 10 . Threaded holes 52 , 54 are formed in stop block 40 , threaded holes 52 , 54 being spaced apart and centered on the width of raised tenon 50 . It would be evident to one skilled in the art that rather than threaded holed 52 , 54 being threaded directly in stop block 40 , threaded nuts could be imbedded into stop block 40 . First face 46 is milled so as to have a rough surface (not shown), the rough surfaces (not shown) of second face 22 and first face 46 providing additional friction to reduce slippage between slide bar 10 and stop block 40 when cap screws 60 , 70 are tightened, as will be detailed herein below.
Although cap screws 60 , 70 could be any type of fastener which engages both slide bar 10 and stop block 40 , it is preferred that the fasteners have threaded shanks 62 , 72 and that heads 64 , 74 of the fasteners be cylindrical, and nearly as wide as shoulder 26 of slot 24 . This relationship, along with that of raised tenon 48 and slot 24 , assists in assuring that stop block 40 be longitudinally aligned with slide bar 10 when cap screws 60 , 70 are tightened into threaded holes 52 , 54 . Washers 66 , 76 further grip shoulder 26 of slot 24 .
FIG. 2 shows gauge 1 assembled. In referring to FIG. 2 , references to cap screw 60 and its subordinate parts apply equally to cap screw 70 , hidden from view in FIG. 2 . It will be seen that shoulder 26 is nearly the same depth as the height of heads 64 , 74 of cap screws 60 , 70 . Heads 64 , 74 do not extend outside surface 20 of slide bar 10 when cap screws 60 , 70 pass through slot 24 , and are fully tightened. Heads 64 , 74 are entrapped within shoulder 26 . In a manner similar to that of heads 64 , 74 , threaded shanks 62 , 72 of cap screws 60 , 70 do not extend outside surface 48 of stop block 40 when cap screws 60 , 70 are fully tightened. Heads 64 , 74 of both cap screws 60 , 70 are fully contained within shoulder 26 when fully threaded into stop block 40 . Gauge 1 is thus both compact when assembled, and also presents no edges, corners, and other projections which could potentially mar siding.
Another feature of gauge 1 is that the edges and corners of both slide bar 10 and stop block 40 are rounded or radiused to the point that the edges and corners do not feel sharp to the touch when gauge 1 is firmly grasped. This feature assists in assuring that gauge 1 and its major components not scratch, dent, or otherwise mar delicate surfaces of siding.
Screws 60 , 70 can be tightened quite securely by utilizing hexagonal key 2 (see FIG. 1 ). Heads 64 , 74 have hexagonal sockets 68 , 78 for receiving key 2 .
A retainer 28 for key 2 may be formed into either one of side 16 , 18 by forming a groove 30 in the surface of side 16 or 18 with a hole 32 of a diameter to snugly receive the shorter end of key 2 drilled at one end of groove 30 . Cut out 34 along the length of groove 30 provides easy access to the shank of key 2 for removal. It would be evident to one skilled in the art that a spring clip retainer (not shown) could be utilized to hold key 2 in lieu of the snug fit suggested for hole 32 .
Either one or both of sides 16 , 18 of slide bar 10 may, optionally, be inscribed with a measuring device 36 , either in metric, U.S. customary units, or both, with measurements beginning at upper end 14 and running toward lower end 12 . Guide 1 may be adjusted by aligning upper end 44 of stop block 40 with the desired measurement on measuring device 36 .
Either one or both of sides 16 , 18 of slide bar 10 may also, optionally, contain a bubble level 38 , thereby conveniently allowing an individual establish a level line for beginning a first course of siding or periodically check subsequent courses of siding for levelness. It would be evident to one skilled in the art that level 38 could be of an electronic variety with equal effectiveness.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show how gauge 1 is used. Turning first to FIG. 3 , a section of a length of siding 4 to be overlapped by a subsequently installed length of siding 6 (shown in broken lines in FIG. 3 ) is predetermined to have a height 8 . This determination will establish how much of siding 4 is exposed. Next, position of stop block 40 along slide bar 10 is established such that when upper surface 44 of stop block 40 abuts lower surface 7 of siding 4 , upper surface 14 of slide bar 10 is spaced apart from upper surface 9 of siding 4 by a distance equal to height 8 . Screws 60 , 70 are tightened with stop block 40 in the position shown in FIG. 3 .
Referring particularly to FIG. 4 , length of siding 6 is placed with its lower edge abutting surface 14 of slide bar 10 . One end of the length of siding 6 is positioned relative to siding 4 utilizing gauge 1 as described above. That end of siding 6 may be tacked, suspended on a siding hanger 80 (shown separately in FIG. 5 ), or otherwise fastened. With the fastened end of siding 6 held against the wall or other environmental surface receiving siding, the opposite end is positioned and fastened by the installer. Positioning is accomplished by performing the same steps utilized to position the first end of siding 6 , employing gauge 1 as described above. The second end to be positioned is then suitably permanently fastened. The first end is also permanently fastened. As long as lengths of siding being installed have constant dimensions, the amount of “weather” or section of exposed siding will remain the same throughout all courses of siding which are installed.
FIGS. 5 a - 5 c show preferred configurations of hanger 80 . Hanger 80 is configured in the form of an S-shaped hook when viewed in side elevation, the difference in each embodiment being in the side elevation profile. The edges and corners are rounded or beveled to avoid scratching siding. Hanger 80 is preferably formed from a thin sheet of plastic or metal strong enough to support a section of siding when hanger 80 engages a second section of siding, as shown in FIG. 4 . Hanger 80 is thin enough to be maneuvered into the position shown in FIG. 4 , yet strong enough to avoid deforming either section of siding or deforming itself.
While gauge 1 may be employed as a tool in installing siding, it should be noted that utilizing hanger 80 enables a single installer to install siding single handedly. Therefore, gauge 1 and hanger 80 may be incorporated into a kit for installing siding. The kit includes gauge 1 and at least one hanger 80 and optionally additional hangers 80 . FIG. 5 a depicts a hanger 80 adapted for siding materials such as, but not limited to, cedar (again, cedar is referring to any siding of similar profile); FIG. 5 b depicts a hanger 80 adapted for concrete fiber siding, and FIG. 5 c depicts a hanger 80 adapted for laminated lap siding.
The present invention is most advantageously used with cedar, concrete or laminated siding, but may also be utilized with clapboard, roofing shingle, and other materials which must be placed in overlapping fashion.
The invention is susceptible to variations and modifications which may be introduced thereto without departing from the inventive concept. For example, location of slot 24 and holes 52 , 54 may be reversed, although this would likely necessitate additional threaded holes (not shown). Also, the type of fastener may differ from cap screws 60 , 70 .
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. | A siding hook and a gauge for positioning a length of siding at a predetermined degree of overlap over an installed length of siding is disclosed. The gauge comprises an elongate slide bar and a stop block slidably mounted on the slide bar. The stop block is clamped to the slide bar by screws which thread into holes formed in the stop block. The heads of the screws are entrapped within the stepped slot of the slide bar. Both the slide bar and the stop block have flat surfaces devoid of projections which could mar siding, and rounded or beveled edges and corners. The siding hook is S-shaped, formed from thin sheet metal or plastic, and configured to overhang the installed siding while supporting a length of siding being installed over installed siding. A measuring device and level are incorporated into the design of the gauge. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the leveling of a foundation and specifically relates to the leveling of a foundation using a column of piling sections located in a central portion of the foundation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Columns of piling sections are installed under the interiors of buildings using several techniques. Tunnels can be dug under buildings for piling sections to be installed therein, or holes can be cut into the foundations for piling sections to be inserted into the holes from above. The holes must be large enough to permit the passage of piling sections and brackets for fastening the piling sections to the foundations and to provide for working room. To install a six-inch diameter concrete piling through an excavation typically requires a hole measuring 2 feet by 2 feet. When steel piling sections are installed through brackets, the piling sections are cut and welded to the brackets after a foundation is lifted to the desired level.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A device and method are provided for leveling and supporting a slab foundation on a column of piling sections. A vertical hole is bored through the slab foundation and an anchoring cylinder is inserted in the hole. An adhesive is used to adhere the outer surface of the anchoring cylinder to a portion of the foundation. The cylinder has a plurality of downward-facing load shoulders which are engaged by upward-facing shoulders of a reacting member positioned across and above the hole. Piling sections are inserted into the anchoring cylinder and forced into the earth with a driving device that reacts against the reacting member. The anchoring cylinder is then supported on the piling sections to maintain the desired level of the foundation.
Use of the present invention allows the size of excavations to be greatly reduced. The size of the hole bored in the foundation will be approximately equal to the piling diameter plus 3 inches, reducing the damage caused by interior excavations. Because the assembly for driving a piling section is attached within the anchoring cylinder, no external apparatus is required, reducing the size of the required bore. For steel or concrete piling sections, the present invention allows for piling sections to be adjusted after installation.
Additional objects, features, and advantages will be apparent in the written description that follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed to be characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a partially-exploded perspective view of a driving assembly of a piling anchor constructed in accordance with this invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a support assembly of a piling anchor constructed in accordance with this invention.
FIGS. 3, 4 , 6 , and 7 are sectional views showing successive steps in the method of installation of.
FIG. 5 is a top sectional view showing a piling anchor constructed in accordance with this invention and adhered to a beam of a foundation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an apparatus for leveling and supporting a slab foundation on a column of piling sections. The apparatus can be secured to a slab or to the slab and a strengthening beam. The invention comprises two assemblies: a driving assembly, shown in FIG. 1 and used to drive the piling sections and to lift the foundation; and a support assembly, shown in FIG. 2 and used to permanently lock the foundation on the piling after being lifted.
Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the driving assembly 11 comprises an anchoring cylinder 13 , two latching bars 15 , a reacting bar 17 , two connecting pins 19 , and a driving plate 21 . The anchoring cylinder 13 is a cylindrical tube. Two downward-facing load shoulders 23 are formed as the upper portion of rectangular, opposing hook slots 25 through the sidewall of the anchoring cylinder 13 . The hook slots 25 are located near an upper portion of the cylinder 13 . The anchoring cylinder 13 has two opposing shim stops 27 that have a rectangular cross-section and are affixed to an upper portion of the inner surface 29 of the anchoring cylinder 13 , the longitudinal axes of the shim stops 27 being parallel to the central axis of the anchoring cylinder 13 . The lower ends of the shim stops 27 and the lower ends of the hook slots 25 are located the same vertical distance from the top of the anchor cylinder 13 .
The latching bars 15 are part of a reacting member that also includes reacting bar 17 . Latching bars are formed from metal plates, and each has a hole 31 near an upper end and a hook 33 on a lower portion. The hole 31 is cylindrical and is perpendicular to a plane bisecting both latching bars 15 when the latching bars 15 are in their installed positions. Each hook 33 is a U-shaped member forming an upward-facing load shoulder 35 for engaging the hook slots 25 in the anchoring cylinder 13 .
The reacting bar 17 is a rectangular, metal bar having vertical slots 37 in the ends of the bar 17 , the bar also having a length sufficient for spanning the distance between the installed latching bars 15 . The vertical slots 37 are sized for receiving the upper ends of the latching bars 15 and give the reacting bar 17 an H-shape when viewed from above. Each slot 37 has a horizontal hole 39 having the same diameter and orientation as the holes 31 in the latching bars 15 and which extends through both sides of the slot 37 . The length of the connecting pins 19 is equal to the horizontal width of the reacting bar 17 , and the outer diameter of the pins 19 is equal to the inner diameter of the holes 31 , 39 in the reacting bar 17 and the latching bars 15 . The driving plate 21 is a circular metal plate having four notches 40 in its periphery, the notches 40 being sized for receiving the cross-sectional shapes of the latching bars 15 and the shim stops 27 . A lifting or driving device 41 , which may be a hydraulic ram, can be placed between the reacting bar 17 and the driving plate 21 .
FIG. 2 shows the preferred embodiment of the support assembly 43 which comprises the anchoring cylinder 13 , steel shims 45 , a locking bar 47 and two locking pins 49 . The shims 45 are 45 degree arcs and have a radial width equal to the distance that the shim stops 27 protrude into the anchoring cylinder 13 . The locking bar 47 is a rectangular metal bar having a length slightly longer than the outer diameter of the anchoring cylinder 13 . The horizontal width of the locking bar 47 is equal to the width of the hook slots 25 , and the vertical height is equal to ¾ of the height of the hook slots 25 . The locking pins 49 are also rectangular metal bars having a width equal to the width of the hook slots 25 , but their height is equal to ¼ the height of the hook slots 25 . The length of the locking pins 49 can be from ¼ to ⅓ of the outer diameter of the anchoring cylinder 13 .
FIGS. 3 through 7 show the steps in the preferred method for installation of the apparatus and the use thereof. Referring to FIG. 3, the anchoring cylinder 13 is installed by boring a hole 51 through the slab 53 of a foundation and into the earth 55 below, cleaning the inner surface of the hole 51 , coating the concrete portions of the inner surface of the hole 51 with a layer of adhesive 57 , and then inserting the anchoring cylinder 13 into the hole 51 . As seen in these figures, it may be necessary or desired to locate the hole 51 so that the hole 51 penetrates through a vertical side of a horizontal strengthening beam 59 of the foundation. As seen in FIG. 5, this encroachment creates in the beam 59 a concave recess 61 preferably having an arc of between 120 and 180 degrees. It is not necessary for all 360 degrees of the hole 51 to penetrate through a beam 59 , and it is desirable to avoid placing the hole 51 directly through a beam 59 to avoid cutting cables or reinforcing steel located in the beam 59 . After the anchoring cylinder 13 is installed, the hooks 33 on the latching bars 15 are inserted into the hook slots 25 of the anchoring cylinder 13 .
The steps for inserting the column of piling sections 63 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. Steel or concrete piling sections 63 are placed within the anchoring cylinder 13 and the driving plate 21 is placed on top of the uppermost piling section 63 . FIG. 5 shows the driving plate 21 placed with notches 40 aligned to receive the corresponding shim stops and latching bars. The reacting bar 17 is attached to the latching bars 15 by inserting the upper ends of the bars 15 into the slots 37 of the reacting bar 17 and inserting the connecting pins 19 into the aligned holes 31 , 39 . The piling sections 63 are cylindrical and have an outer diameter less than the distance between the two latching bars 15 . The hydraulic ram 41 is placed between the reacting bar 17 and the driving plate 21 .
To install a column of piling sections 63 , hydraulic power is supplied to extend the ram 41 , as shown in FIG. 6 . The ram 41 applies a downward force to the driving plate 21 as the reacting bar 17 opposes the upward reaction force. This upward force is directed into the slab 53 and beam 59 by the driving assembly 11 and tends to lift the foundation. The downward force pushes the piling section 63 into the earth 55 . Once the ram 41 is fully extended, the ram 41 is retracted and removed, and the driving plate 21 is then removed. A second piling section 63 is placed in the anchoring cylinder 13 , the driving plate 21 is replaced, and the ram 41 is reinserted. The second piling section 63 is then driven into the earth 55 , and the process is repeated until the earth 55 below the piling sections 63 is compacted enough to resist further downward movement.
The top of the driving plate 21 must be located below the lower ends of the shim stops 27 to allow shims 45 to be placed between the shim stops 27 and the driving plate 21 . To achieve this, it may be necessary to remove the uppermost piling section 63 and replace it with a shorter piling section 63 .
After the column of piling sections 63 is installed, the ram 41 is used to lift the foundation to the desired level. With the ram 41 still extended and supporting the foundation at this level, shims 45 are used to fill the space between the lower ends of the shim stops 27 and the top of the driving plate 21 .
As seen in FIG. 7, the ram 41 is withdrawn and the driving assembly 11 is removed while the anchoring cylinder 13 is being supported by the shim stops 27 resting on the stacks of shims 45 . Additional shims 45 are used to fill the space from the top of the driving plate 21 to the bottoms of the hook slots 25 . If desired, additional shims 45 of various configurations can be placed near the center of the driving plate 21 . The locking bar 47 is then lowered into the anchoring cylinder 13 and the ends of the locking bar 47 are placed into the hook slots 25 . The locking pins 49 are placed on top of the locking bar 47 and driven into the hook slots 25 to secure the locking bar 47 in the hook slots 25 .
Several advantages are realized from the use of the present invention. The size of excavations are greatly reduced, reducing the damage caused by interior excavations. The assembly for driving the piling sections is attached within the anchoring cylinder, and no external apparatus is required, reducing the size of the required bore. For steel or concrete piling sections, piling sections can be adjusted after installation.
While the invention is shown in only one of its forms, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible to various changes without departing from the scope of the invention. | A device and method are provided for leveling and supporting a slab foundation on a column of piling sections. A vertical hole is bored through the slab foundation and an anchoring cylinder is inserted in the hole. An adhesive is used to adhere the outer surface of the anchoring cylinder to a portion of the foundation. The cylinder has a plurality of downward-facing load shoulders which are engaged by upward-facing shoulders of a reacting member positioned across and above the hole. Piling sections are inserted into the anchoring cylinder and forced into the earth with a driving device that reacts against the reacting member. The anchoring cylinder is then supported on the piling sections to maintain the desired level of the foundation. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a certification pattern determination method and a payment method using the same.
Description of Related Art
[0002] Since purchasing and making payment for products or services online, for example, through an Internet shopping mall, and the like, is actually not facing payment but achieved online, a process of certifying whether the payment is normal payment is required.
[0003] As an example of the certification, publicized is a method through input of an SMS authentication number disclosed in Korean Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-2009-0091051 published on Aug. 26, 2009. When a service such as Nate On is used, a cell phone text message may be viewed in a personal computer (PC) and when the PC is hacked, there is a possibility of payment by a malicious third person by snatching the SMS authentication number, and as a result, there is a security vulnerability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a more step forward online payment certification method.
[0005] A certification pattern storage method according to the present invention includes: (1) a first step of encoding, by the server, an image including a random number table with a one-time key generated on the basis of first information and transmitting the encoded image and receiving, by the user terminal, the transmitted encoded image; (2) a second step of generating, by the user terminal, the one-time key on the basis of the first information and decoding the encoded image; (3) a third step of receiving, by the user terminal, characters arranged according to a predetermined pattern in the random number table; and (4) a fourth step of sending, by the user terminal, the pattern determined by means of the inputted characters to the server, and storing the pattern in the server.
[0006] A payment means information storage method according to the present invention includes: (5) a fifth step of receiving, by a user terminal, payment means information and transmitting the received payment means information to the server; (6) a sixth step of encoding, by the server, an image including a random number table and the payment means information with a one-time key generated on the basis of first information and transmitting the encoded image and receiving, by the user terminal, the transmitted encoded image when the payment means information is available; (7) a seventh step of decoding, by the user terminal, the encoded image with the one-time key on the basis of the first information; (8) an eighth step of receiving, by the user terminal, characters of the random number table and sending the received characters to the server; and (9) a ninth step of determining, by the server, whether the characters input in the eighth step coincide with the characters which follow a pattern stored in the fourth step and storing the payment means information when the characters coincide with each other and receiving, by the user terminal, a storage result.
[0007] A payment method according to the present invention includes: (10) a tenth step of encoding, by receiving, by a server receiving payment history information from an online shopping mall accessed by a user, an image including a random number table and payment history information with a one-time key generated on the basis of first information and transmitting the encoded image and receiving, by the user terminal, the transmitted encoded image; (11) an eleventh step of decoding, by the user terminal, the encoded image with the one-time key generated on the basis of the first information; (12) a twelfth step of receiving, by the user terminal, characters of the random number table and transmitting the received characters to the server; and (13) a thirteen step of determining, by the server, whether the characters input in the twelfth step coincide with the characters which follow a pattern stored in the fourth step and approving payment and receiving, by the user terminal, an approval result.
[0008] The user terminal may produce an image keyboard capable of inputting the characters displayed in the random number table.
[0009] According to the present invention, a user can make certification by inputting a text of a random number table which follows a predetermined certification pattern, and as a result, security increases as compared with a case of making certification by inputting a certification number received through a short message service (SMS).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a server, a user terminal, and an internal operation in which the present invention is performed.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a certification pattern storage method according to the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed for setting a certification pattern.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a payment means setting method according to the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed for setting payment means information.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a payment method according to the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed for payment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Hereinafter, preferable embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description given below, it should be interpreted that a description order of a flowchart is not limitative except for a case where a preceding step needs to become a logic and inevitable preceding step of a succeeding step. That is, it should not be interpreted that it is excluded that the succeeding step is performed earlier than the preceding step.
[0018] In FIG. 1 , a server 10 , a user terminal 20 , and internal operations thereof in an environment in which the present invention is performed are illustrated. Contents included in an image 11 of FIG. 1 may vary depending on the operation. A certification pattern storage method according to the present invention is described with reference to FIG. 2 .
[0019] Prior to carrying out the present invention, a user installs application software capable of storing and making payment for a certification pattern according to the present invention in the user terminal 20 . In addition, membership joining that enables using a service according to the present invention is performed through a user certification process 200 , and the like, (a log-in ID and a password are set), a terminal ID and a time based disposable password generation key (time OTP key; an electronic key to generate a disposable password based on a time) are generated, and the generated time based disposable password generation key is stored in the user terminal 20 and the server 10 ( 205 and 210 ). The terminal ID means information enabling distinguishment from other terminals, which includes a phone number of the user terminal, a terminal serial number, and the like, and there is no limit in the type thereof.
[0020] A method for storing the certification pattern which the user will use in a payment method according to the present invention is described. The certification pattern storage method may be consecutively performed in the membership joining and the time based disposable password setting and performed at a temporal interval.
[0021] In a certification pattern setting step, first, the server 10 generates a disposable key based on the time based disposable password generation key, time information (reflecting a predetermined time interval at which the time based disposable password is available) and the password corresponding to the relevant user terminal ( 215 ). As the password, a hash value of the password is preferable used rather than using an actual password.
[0022] In the present specification, information which is the basis of the one-time key is defined as “first information” and the first information may adopt all information which may include security. In the present specification, as one example of the first information, the time based one-time password generation key, the time information, and the password are used, but it should not be interpreted that the first information is not limited thereto and an average technician may select the first information and may use any information of which the security is guaranteed.
[0023] The server 10 generates a random number table ( 220 ) and the random number table may be extracted and generated from a random number generation parent set by using the terminal ID as a challenge value. As the challenge value, the user or information unique to the user may be used and it should not be interpreted that the channel value is limited to the terminal ID.
[0024] Next, the server 10 encodes the image 11 including the random number table generated in step 220 with the one-time key generated in step 215 ( 225 ) and transfers an encoded image 13 to the user terminal 20 ( 230 ).
[0025] The user terminal 20 decodes the encoded image with the one-time key generated based on the first information ( 235 ). The user terminal 20 generates an image keyboard by using the terminal ID as the change value ( 240 ). The generated image keyboard includes random numbers extracted by using the terminal ID as the challenge value and additionally includes other characters (including figures) to allow the user to input the characters of the random number table.
[0026] The challenge value used for generating the image keyboard needs to be the same as the challenge value used in step 220 . The generation of the image keyboard is not a required component of the present invention and may be selectively applied.
[0027] When the image is normally decoded in step 235 , the random number table illustrated in FIG. 3 is displayed. Herein, the user inputs the characters which match a pattern order to be used as the certification pattern ( 245 ). In FIG. 3 , a diagonal line which is progressed from an upper left side to a lower right side is assumed as a pattern. The characters 1, 31, ?, and & which match the pattern order are sequentially input through the image keyboard or a keyboard and input once more to verify the input characters ( 250 ). The pattern depending on the input character order is transmitted to the server 10 and stored in the sever 10 ( 255 ).
[0028] A storage method of payment means information is described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .
[0029] The user inputs the payment means information in the user terminal 20 . In the case of a credit card, a card number, a valid period, a password, and the like, are input ( 400 ). The input payment means information is transferred to the server 10 and the server 10 communicates with a server (not illustrated) of a financial institution to verify whether the corresponding payment means is a normal payment means ( 405 ). The server 10 generates the random number table ( 410 ) and herein, the payment means information is preferably used as the challenge value.
[0030] The server 10 generates the image 11 including the payment means information and the random number table ( 415 ) and encodes the image 11 with the one-time key generated based on the first information and generates the encoded image 13 ( 420 ). The image 11 may be a single image including the payment means information and the random number table and an image divided into the image in which the payment means information is displayed and the image in which the random number table is displayed. The same applies to cases of payment history information and the random number table described below.
[0031] The encoded image 13 is transferred to the user terminal 20 and the user terminal 20 decodes the encoded image 13 with the one-time key generated based on the first information ( 430 ). When the encoded image 13 is decoded, the payment means information and the random number table are displayed in the user terminal 20 as illustrated in FIG. 5 .
[0032] The user terminal 20 generates the image keyboard by using the payment means information as the challenge value ( 240 ). In this case, the used challenge value is the same as the challenge value used in step 410 . As described with reference to FIG. 2 , the image keyboard additionally includes other characters (including the figures) in addition to a value of the random number table to allow the user to input the characters of the random number table.
[0033] The user inputs the characters which follow the set certification pattern ( 440 ). As described above, in the present specification, since a diagonal direction which faces the lower right side from the upper left side assumes the certification pattern, the certification may be received only by inputting 2, 6, !, and * in the random number table illustrated in FIG. 5 .
[0034] When the input characters coincide with the characters that follow the certification pattern, the payment means information is stored in the server 10 ( 445 ). Further, the encoded image is stored in the server 10 in order to prevent denial and store a certification result. A storage result may be notified to the user terminal 20 .
[0035] Next, a payment method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 .
[0036] When the user intends to purchase an article/service (hereinafter, referred to as “article”) by accessing an online shopping mall, and the like, the user selects a payment method to be used. When the user selects mobile payment according to the present invention, the user inputs user identification information to log in ( 600 ).
[0037] The server 10 transmits a push message to the user terminal 20 of the user ( 605 ). The server 10 generates the random number table by using the payment history information as the challenge value ( 610 ). In addition, the server 10 generates the image including the payment history information and the random number table ( 615 ). Further, the server 10 generates the one-time key based on the first information ( 620 ) and encodes the image 11 with the generated one-time key ( 625 ). The encoded image 13 is transferred to the user terminal 20 ( 630 ) and the user terminal also decodes the encoded image 13 with the one-time key generated based on the first information ( 635 ). One example of the decoded image is illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0038] The user terminal generates the image keyboard by using the payment history information as the challenge value and other characters (including the figures) are additionally included in the value of the random number table generated in step 610 to allow the user to input the characters of the random number table.
[0039] The user verifies the payment history information in the decoded image displayed in the user terminal 20 and inputs the characters depending on the certification pattern in the random number table when the payment history information is correct ( 645 ). According to the certification pattern in the present specification, 1, 31, 14, and 27 are sequentially input in FIG. 7 .
[0040] The input characters are transmitted to the server 10 to verify whether the input characters are values depending on the certification pattern ( 655 ) and when the verification is unsuccessful, payment failure processing is performed ( 660 ) and when the verification is successful, payment processing is performed and the encoded image is stored in order to prevent the denial and store the certification result. A payment processing result may be notified to the user terminal 20 .
[0041] Hereinabove, the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it should not be interpreted that the scope of the present invention is determined by claims described below and limited to the aforementioned embodiment and/or drawings. In addition, it should be apparently appreciated by those skilled in the art that improvement, changes, and modification of the invention disclosed in the claims are also be included in the scope of the present invention.
10 : Server 11 : Image 13 : Encoded image 20 : User terminal | A certification pattern storage method according to the present invention comprises: (1) a first step of receiving, by a user terminal, an image including a random number table which is encoded into a one-time key generated on the basis of first information and sent by a server; (2) a second step of generating, by the user terminal, the one-time key on the basis of the first information and decoding the encoded image; (3) a third step of receiving, by the user terminal, characters arranged according to a predetermined pattern in the random number table; and (4) a fourth step of sending, by the user terminal, the pattern determined by means of the inputted characters to the server, and storing the pattern in the server. | 6 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the field of dispensing machines intended to dispense and/or meter more or less viscous fluid products, such as for example paints, colorants, inks, and the like.
BACKGROUND ART
Prior art in the above sector comprises dispensing machines that run according to various operating principles. One fairly widespread type of known machine comprises multiple reservoirs for colorant fluids, connected to a dispensing circuit. Each fluid product is drawn from its respective reservoir by a positive-displacement pump and delivered to a corresponding three-way two-position distributing valve. When the valve is in an inactive position, the fluid is returned to its respective reservoir through a recirculation duct. When it is necessary to dispense a pre-set amount of fluid, the valve is set to an active position so as to deliver the fluid from the reservoir to a dispensing nozzle. This type of machine provides excellent results in terms of precision repeatability and reliability Of results over time. However, the use of a pump and solenoid valve for each reservoir of fluid product raises the overall cost of the machine, in terms of both manufacture and servicing. Another known type of dispensing machine for fluid products, especially colorant fluids, comprises a series of reservoirs connected to or integrated with syringe-type dispensing pumps, comprising plungers axially movable inside respective cylinders, the pumps being usually arranged around the circumference of a rotating drum. To distribute a pre-set amount of fluid product into a container, it is necessary to rotate the drum until the appropriate syringe is aligned with the container. Generally, therefore, in machines of this known type it is impossible to dispense multiple fluid products simultaneously into the same container, which leads to low productivity for machines of this known type. Various solutions have been proposed to overcome the above problem all fairly complicated and costly to manufacture and service. In addition, one intrinsic problem with known syringe-type machines lies in the difficulty of providing sufficient sliding seals between the plungers and cylinders to ensure good precision and repeatability over time in dispensing and metering. Also, use of these machines with aggressive or abrasive fluids leads to rapid wear on the sliding seals and thus a decline in the machine performance, which can only partly be overcome by constant servicing, which heavily increases the running costs of the machine.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome the above problems with the prior art by providing a dispensing machine to dispense and/or meter fluid products which is easy and economical to manufacture and service, and which provides high precision and reliability over time, even when using aggressive, corrosive or abrasive fluid products. Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine that is compact in size with satisfactory productivity performance, especially—but not exclusively—when dispensing limited amounts of fluid products. A further object of the present invention is to provide a machine comprising a plurality of independent dispensing units which are easy to manufacture and install on the machine and which can be quickly replaced if needed, even by unskilled personnel, for example even the machine user. In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention relates to a dispensing unit having the characteristics described below. The invention also relates to a dispensing machine to dispense and/or meter fluid products, comprising a plurality of dispensing units of the above type.
According to a particular feature of the present invention, the dispensing unit comprises a pumping chamber with flexible walls, in particular but not exclusively bellows-like walls. In one particular embodiment, the pumping chamber is activated by a linear actuator in order to provide a linear proportion between the actuator stroke and the amount of product dispensed. According to a further particular feature, the linear actuator comprises a stepper motor to provide a linear proportion between the number of motor steps and the amount of fluid dispensed. Another special feature lies in the fact that, with the dispensing unit of the present invention, the pressure in the delivery duct to the dispensing nozzle drops immediately as soon as dispensing is interrupted, which prevents dripping and droplets at the nozzle.
According to another feature of the invention, the dispensing unit is set to filling position at the end of each dispensing, making the dispensing unit immediately available for the next delivery.
Yet another feature of the invention is that the dispensing unit comprises an optic limit sensor, which defines the zero point for the pumping unit. This feature makes it possible to achieve high repeatability of the dispensing process of a fluid product by the dispensing unit.
Another feature of the dispensing unit lies in the fact that the intake and dispensing strokes may take place at different speeds, to improve the machine productivity by reducing the time needed to refill the pumping chamber, yet without sacrificing precision during the dispensing phase.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further features and advantages shall become apparent from the description below of one preferred embodiment, with reference to the enclosed figures, provided solely as nonlimiting examples, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal schematic cross-section of a pair of dispensing units of the present invention, mounted inside a body of a dispensing machine,
FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-section of the pumping unit of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a diagram of the control system for a dispensing machine of the present invention, especially suited to sequential dispensing of products, and
FIG. 4 is a diagram similar to FIG. 3, illustrating a control system especially suited to simultaneous dispensing of products.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference now to the figures, a dispensing machine to dispense and/or meter fluid products comprises a body 10 , at the front of which is located at least one nozzle or group of dispensing nozzles 11 , of a generally known type, reached by dispensing ducts 12 that serve to convey preset amounts of fluid products into one or more cans C, simultaneously or sequentially. The dispensing machine body may take on different overall shapes and configurations, primarily dictated by the transport or handling needs of the cans C, as well as considerations of ergonomics and appearance, which are not especially relevant to the present invention. For these reasons the overall structure of the machine is not described in detail in the remainder of this description.
Inside the dispenser body 10 , dispensing units 13 are located, each of which comprises a reservoir 14 for a fluid product, connecting to a pumping unit 15 , which in turn is connected to its respective dispensing duct 12 leading outside at the nozzle or group of nozzles 11 . A filter 16 is preferably inserted between the reservoir 14 and the corresponding pumping unit 15 . A stirring member 17 , of a generally known type—for instance, a rotary blade type as illustrated in FIG. 1, activated by a motor unit 18 attached at the lower end of the reservoir itself—may be mounted inside the reservoir 14 .
The generic pumping unit 15 , illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 2, comprises a base support 19 beneath which is a stepper motor 20 , whose motor shaft 21 extends into a cavity 22 provided in the base support 19 . The motor shaft 21 is connected to an actuator member 23 , rotatably mounted in the base support and supported therein by a pair of axial bearings 24 . A nut screw 25 is axially located in the actuator member 23 , into which is screwed the threaded end 26 of a drive shaft 27 acting as a drive screw. The screw-nut screw coupling is preferably of the irreversible type. The drive shaft 27 is fixed to a carriage 28 that slides along vertical guide bars 29 fixed to the base support 19 , upon which a position sensor 40 is also mounted, the function of which shall become clear hereinbelow.
The lower base of a bellows-like pumping chamber 30 is fixed to the carriage 28 ; the internal cavity 30 a of the chamber communicates with a manifold 31 provided inside an upper cross-beam 32 , fixed to the top end of the guide bars 29 . The manifold 31 in turn communicates with an inlet 33 and an outlet 34 , which communicate with the reservoir 14 and the dispensing duct 12 , respectively, with the interposition of two respective non-return valves 35 and 36 . In detail, the non-return valves each comprise a spherical shutter 37 that urges against, a circular valve seat 38 thanks to the action of a resilient element 39 , preferably a pre-set helical spring.
The stepper motor may be controlled by an electronic control system 45 (shown schematically in FIG. 4) mounted on the dispensing unit 13 , which may also control the motor unit 18 of the stirring member 17 . In the embodiment illustrated in the diagram in FIG. 4, the control systems 45 communicate with a central processing unit 46 , preferably installed on the machine and capable of sending information to activate the control system 45 of the appropriate dispensing unit 13 following a dispensing request for a preset amount of one or more fluid products. In particular, the central processing unit 46 acts as the machine/user interface and is connected by any known data transmission system to a circuit block 47 , responsible for controlling and managing the members of the dispensing machine. The circuit block 47 is connected in known ways to the machine resources, such as a dispensing nozzle humidifier device 48 , an actuator 49 for a shelf to adjust the container height, or even a sensor system 50 to detect the presence of the container in the dispensing compartment of the machine, as well as others. In the case of FIG. 4, the circuit block 47 connects via a data network connection 51 with the control systems 45 placed on each dispensing unit 13 . In this case, it is possible to simultaneously activate two or more dispensing units 13 , and thus simultaneously dispense two or more products.
In another embodiment, shown schematically in FIG. 3, the circuit block 47 is connected to an I/O card 52 that directly controls, without the interposition of the control systems 45 , the dispensing units 13 and receives information signals from each unit, for example the signals emitted by each position sensor 40 . This solution makes it possible to manufacture a dispensing machine decidedly more economical than the one shown in FIG. 4, as it is not necessary to equip each dispensing unit 13 with its own independent control logic. Although the control system in FIG. 3 does not allow for the simultaneous dispensing of products, the precision and repeatability of the dispensing suffer no decline, as they are determined by the features of each dispensing unit 13 .
During periods of inactivity, when no product dispensing is in progress, all dispensing units on the machine are in a resting position, where the bellows-like pumping chambers 30 are open to their maximum extension and completely filled with fluid product. In these situations, the carriages 28 are positioned at the lower end of their stroke as detected by the position sensors 40 . The electronic systems installed on the machine are set up to process information regarding amounts of fluid products to be distributed in terms of either volume or weight, and translate them by means of conversion tables into information on the number of cycles and fractions of cycles needed in order for the pumping chamber 30 to transfer the desired amount of fluid product to the corresponding outlet duct 12 . This conversion is simplified by the fact that the ratio between the volume of product transferred to the outlet following a compression of the bellows 30 is essentially directly proportional to the axial movement of the drive shaft 27 , and thus the number of steps of the stepper motor 20 .
When the central processing system 46 sends dispensing information to a specific pumping unit 15 via the circuit block 47 , the local electronic control system 45 or the I/O board 46 activates the stepper motor 20 to control the movement of the carriage 28 , and thus the compression of the bellows-like pumping chamber 30 . Since the cavity 30 a of the pumping chamber is already full of fluid product, the dispensing unit is immediately ready to dispense as soon as it receives the activating information from the central processing unit.
If the volume of the fluid product to be dispensed is less than the displacement of the bellows-like pumping chamber 30 , the stepper motor 20 is controlled in one rotation direction for a number of steps sufficient to reduce the volume of the pumping chamber by an amount equal to the volume of product to be distributed. Since the fluid products to be dispensed are essentially non-compressible, the pressure generated inside the chamber 30 a as soon as the carriage 28 is raised to compress the bellows 30 is enough to overcome the resistance of the spring 39 of the non-return valve 36 , thereby opening it, and thus causing fluid product to leave the dispensing duct 12 . This duct is normally full of product and is preferably short to reduce the effects of load loss on the precision and linearity of the dispensing unit. When dispensing is complete, the stepper motor 20 is controlled in the opposite direction until the sensor 40 signals that the carriage 28 has reached the lower end of its stroke. As soon as the motor 20 reverses its direction, the pressure inside the chamber 30 a drops, causing the non-return valve 36 to close immediately. This also causes the pressure to drop in the dispensing duct 12 , and, due to the slight shift by the shutter 37 , probably also creates a slight vacuum in the duct 12 sufficient to prevent the formation of drops or leaks of fluid product at the nozzle 11 . During the return stroke of the carriage 28 toward the lower end of its stroke, the volume of the chamber 30 a of the bellows 30 increases, thereby drawing fluid product from the reservoir 14 through the non-return valve 35 which opens. As shown in FIG. 1, the reservoir 14 is preferably located above the corresponding pumping unit 15 and is connected to it by an essentially vertical duct with a fairly wide cross-section. All of this facilitates penetration of the fluid product into the chamber 30 a when the carriage 28 is lowered, without the risk of cavitation. The fact that it is so easy to draw product from the reservoir 14 makes it possible to control the return stroke of the carriage 28 at a greater speed than the dispensing stroke.
This feature is specially advantageous when the amount of product to be dispensed is greater than the displacement of the bellows. In this case, the electronic control system controls the stepper motor 20 so that it completes one or more full dispensing cycles, each of which consists of a complete stroke by the carriage 28 upwards and a return downward stoke to the lower limit position detected by the position sensor 40 . In order to deliver the desired amount of fluid product, the last dispensing stroke of the carriage 28 shall usually be a partial stroke, followed by the return of the carriage 28 to the lower end of its stroke, in resting position. The fact that the return strokes of the carriage 28 , during which the nozzle 11 has stopped dispensing product to allow the chamber 30 a of the accordion 30 to refill, take place at a higher speed than the delivery strokes reduces refilling times and thus increases the overall productivity of the dispensing machine.
The presence of the position sensor 40 makes it possible to easily implement an important control function of the proper operation of the dispensing unit, and consequently a procedure to correct any malfunctions. Indeed, it is necessary simply to count the number of motor steps needed to return the carriage to home position, or the lower end of its stroke—indicated by the position sensor—and compare it to the number of steps taken by the motor to carry out the carriage forward stroke. This immediately checks for any operating errors if the two numbers do not match. In this case, the control system can generate an error signal and indicate the malfunction to the user. In addition, if the number of steps in the dispensing stroke is lower than in the return stroke, the processing system can automatically activate the step motor again for the number of steps equal to the difference found, to deliver the missing amount of product and thus complete the dispensing operation, which would otherwise be defective.
To increase the productivity of the machine, it is also possible to parallel control several dispensing units, as shown in the example of the diagram in FIG. 4, so that several fluid products may be dispensed simultaneously into the same container C through a shared set of nozzles 11 . This need is especially felt in the-paint, enamel, etc. manufacturing industry, where it is normal to deliver preset amounts of various colorant products into a container C to obtain a finished product having the desired color shade.
The fact that the screw-nut screw connection which acts as a linear actuator between the stepper motor 20 and the carriage 28 is irreversible allows the carriage 28 to remain in its position even in the event of a temporary, accidental electrical power loss. In other words, the type of screw-nut screw used does not allow the carriage to move except after the stepper motor has been activated in one rotation direction or the other. Each dispensing unit 13 is independent and may easily be replaced even by unskilled personnel in the event of a breakdown, since one must simply connect the electrical power and communication connectors of the dispensing duct 12 . The bellows-like pumping chamber 30 may be made using materials that resisist aggression by fluid products, for example fluoride-based polymers. The absence of sliding seals ensures high reliability even in the presence of abrasive fluids. Of course, the geometry of the pumping chamber may vary from the example shown: for example, it may comprise a different type of variable-volume chamber such as one with flexible walls, or a diaphragm, or similar solutions. In addition, the same carriage may control more than one pumping chamber.
Of course, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the embodiments and development details may vary widely from those described and illustrated without exceeding the extent of the present invention. | A dispensing unit for a fluid dispensing machine comprises at least an inlet duct and an outlet duct for fluid products, connected to a variable-volume pumping chamber comprising at least one flexible wall. Two non return valves mounted in counter-phase are located in the inlet and outlet ducts, respectively. The pumping chamber is coupled to actuator means comprising a stepper motor, a screw-nut screw unit and a carriage. The carriage moves the pumping chamber from a zero position in which the chamber has a maximum volume to an upper limit in which the chamber has a minimum volume. An optic sensor defines the zero point of the pumping chamber so as to guarantee precision and repeatability of the dispensing operations. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for hooking a heddle of a weaving loom of Jacquard type to a cord belonging to a harness. The invention also relates to a weaving loom heddle equipped with such a device and to a weaving loom equipped with such a heddle.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Each hook of a Jacquard mechanism is known to be associated with a harness cord to which a plurality of cords are connected, the assembly of these cords constituting the harness of the Jacquard mechanism. In its lower part, each cord is hooked to the upper end of a heddle which comprises a mail for passage of a warp yarn.
The heddles are generally formed by metal wires. It is known, particularly from FR-A-2 212 891, to bend the upper end of each heddle so as to constitute a loop for passage of the cord, the cord being maintained in position in this loop thanks to a possibly heat-retractable sheath or any other appropriate means.
In this type of device, it is necessary to bend the end of each heddle precisely, which is a relatively delicate maneuver, as the loop formed at the upper end of each heddle must have minimum dimensions in order not to bump against the ends of the adjacent heddles, it being understood that the density of the installed heddles of a weaving loom is high. With the known devices, it has proved to be difficult to master the transverse dimensions of the loops formed by bent-over wires, with the result that the sheaths which cover them rub against one another, this inducing overheating and premature wear of these sheaths which may disturb the functioning of the weaving loom.
In addition, in the known devices, the loop of metal wire essentially extends in a first plane containing the heddle, while the cord is disposed in a second plane substantially perpendicular to the first plane, with the result that the sheath which covers these two objects at the same time undergoes considerable deformations in two transverse dimensions. If the sheath is not flexible enough, it may tear or stretch in these two dimensions to the point of bumping against the sheaths of the adjacent heddles.
It is a particular object of the present invention to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a hooking device whose transverse dimensions may be mastered with high precision, while its cost remains attractive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To that end, the invention relates to a device for hooking a heddle of a weaving loom of the Jacquard type to a cord belonging to a harness, characterized in that it comprises an endpiece molded on the upper end of the heddle, this endpiece forming an orifice for passage and for wedging of the cord in cooperation with a sheath.
The use of a molded endpiece makes it possible to define the dimensions of this endpiece with high precision and to obtain a substantial saving of time with respect to an operation of bending a metal wire into a loop. The hooking devices thus have the same dimensions, in particular the same transverse dimensions, with the result that the risks of friction on one another of the sheaths which cover them, may be substantially reduced, even eliminated. The invention even enables sheaths which are not thermo-retractable to be used, insofar as the force of wedging obtained with the device of the invention and a non-retracted sheath may be greater than that of the known devices. This aspect of the invention therefore economizes on the step of heating the sheath with a view to deforming it around the end of the heddle.
According to a first advantageous aspect of the invention, the endpiece comprises two flexible branches adapted to deform in order to reduce the apparent diameter of the endpiece, particularly under the effect of a force exerted by the sheath. Thanks to this aspect of the invention, the orifice defined between the branches has, in the absence of pinching effort exerted thereon, a sufficient opening to allow easy introduction of the cord in this orifice when it is being positioned. When the cord is in place, the branches may be brought closer together thanks to their flexible nature in order to reduce the apparent diameter of the endpiece with a view to minimizing the risks of contact or friction between the sheaths which cover these endpieces.
According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, portions of the endpiece in contact with the cord include parts in relief for retaining or hooking the cord.
According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the endpiece comprises two branches extending from a common base molded around the end of the heddle, these two branches being joined, opposite the base, by a web of molded material of thickness less than the width of the branches. Thanks to this aspect of the invention, the cord is naturally disposed around the web of molded material between the branches, with the result that the thickness of the cord is partially concealed by the difference in thickness between the web and the branches, which contributes to giving the sheath an overall cylindrical outer appearance.
According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the web defines two grooves for receiving the cord above the orifice. This aspect of the invention facilitates the location of the cord in the endpiece, which makes it possible efficiently to control the apparent transverse dimensions of it and of the sheath which covers it. In that case, the web may be provided to be bordered by two cheeks with which it forms a guide for the cord, the grooves being defined between these cheeks. The guide may in particular be provided to present a cross section substantially in the form of an H. In that case, the web constitutes the transverse bar of the H while the cheeks constitute the vertical bars thereof.
According to another advantageous aspect of the invention the upper end of the heddle is bent in at least one direction substantially perpendicular to its principal direction in order to improve the hooking of the endpiece on the heddle. For example, the upper end of the heddle may be provided to be in zigzag form, which increases its surface of contact with the base of the endpiece.
The invention also relates to a heddle of a weaving loom of Jacquard type, characterized in that it comprises a device for hooking to a harness cord as described hereinbefore. Such a heddle, whose cost is attractive, does not risk coming into contact with the adjacent heddles.
The invention also relates to a weaving loom of Jacquard type equipped with such heddles. Such a weaving loom may function at high speed without risk of overheating or premature wear.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be more readily understood on reading the following description of an embodiment of a device for hooking a heddle of a weaving loom of Jacquard type, in accordance with its principle, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic partial view of a weaving loom according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the upper end of a heddle according to the invention equipping the loom of FIG. 1, when it is hooked to a cord of the harness.
FIG. 3 is a vertical section of the upper end of the heddle of FIG. 2 hooked to a cord.
FIG. 4 is a section on a larger scale along line IV--IV in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a view in perspective similar to FIG. 2 for the end of a heddle in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 for the heddle end of FIG. 5, and
FIG. 7 is a section on a larger scale alone line VII--VII in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 very schematically shows a Jacquard mechanism 2 of a weaving loom. This mechanism controls a plurality of harness cords of which only one, 4, has been shown. The lower end of this harness cord is associated with a plurality of cords 6. The assembly of the cords 6 forms the harness of the weaving loom.
Each cord 6 is hooked to the upper end of a heddle 8 for controlling the position of a warp yarn 10. Each heddle 8 is fixed by its lower part to a spring 12 fastened to a fixed anchoring frame 14 via a filar element 16.
The upper end of the heddle visible in FIG. 2 corresponds to the detail II of FIG. 1.
In accordance with the invention, an endpiece 20 is molded on the upper end 8A of each heddle 8. It will be noted that the end 8A of the heddle 8 is zigzagged, i.e. shaped in directions overall perpendicular to the principal direction of the heddle in order to improve hooking of the endpiece 20. This makes it possible to resist the relatively great efforts of traction that the heddle must withstand.
The endpiece 20 comprises a base 20A in which is molded the end 8A of the heddle 8, and two branches 20B and 20C joined, opposite the base 20A, by a web 20D of material moulded at the same time as the rest of the endpiece 20. The branches 20B and 20C thus define therebetween an orifice 22 inside which one of the cords 6 can be inserted.
Branches 20B and 20C are arcuate, with the result that the opening of the orifice 22 is relatively large with respect to the dimensions of the cord 6, this facilitating introduction thereof.
A sheath 24 is provided to be disposed around the cord 6 and the endpiece 20 when the cord 6 has been positioned as shown in FIG. 2, the sheath 24 then being displaced in the direction of arrow F. In accordance with another assembly procedure, the sheath 24 may be disposed around the heddle 8, below the endpiece 20 in FIG. 2, then slid around this endpiece to cover the loop formed by the cord 6 in a direction opposite that of arrow F. It will be understood that, when the sheath 24 is in place as shown in FIG. 3, the end of the cord 6 is firmly wedged in position.
The branches 20B and 20C extend respectively by elements 20E and 20F substantially of the same width I as the branches 20B and 20C. The elements 20E and 20F form cheeks disposed on either side of the web 20D. As shown more clearly in FIG. 4, the thickness e of the web 20D is less than the width I of the branches 20B and 20C and of elements 20E and 20F.
The assembly formed by elements 20D to 20F presents a cross section substantially in the form of an H and defines two grooves 26 and 26' for receiving the cord 6 on either side of the web 20D.
In this way, the cord 6 does not project substantially outside the endpiece 20 in a dimension represented by the axis XX' in FIG. 4.
The web 20D includes, on each of its lateral faces, cogs or projections 20G whose function is to increase the forces of friction of the cord 6 on the web 20D which constitutes the bottom of the grooves 26 and 26'. The cogs 20G are disposed on each lateral face of the web 20D along two rows respectively close to elements 20E and 20F, the cogs of each row being interposed between two cogs of the other row. This further improves the forces of friction and of wedging of the cord 6.
In the position of FIGS. 3 and 4, the sheath 24 exerts on the branches 20b and 20C a force which tends to decrease the section of the orifice 22 by moving the branches 20B and 20C, which are flexible, closer together. In this way, when the sheath 24 is in place, the apparent diameter of the endpiece 20 is small. In practice, and as shown in FIG. 4, it is defined by the radius of curvature of the outer surfaces of the branches 20B and 20C or of elements 20E and 20F.
In the second embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the elements similar to those of the preceding embodiment have identical references increased by 100. In this embodiment, an endpiece 120 is molded on the upper end 108A of a heddle 108 in order to receive the lower end of a cord 106 which is covered by a sheath 124. The endpiece 120 comprises a base 120A extended by a rod 120H at the end of which are provided two branches 120B and 120C connected by a web 120D. The web 120D has a thickness e less than the width I of the branches 120B and 120C.
The upper ends of the branches 120B and 120C, which are wider than the web 120D, form shoulders 120E and 120F on either side of this web. These shoulders constitute cheeks between which are defined grooves 126 and 126' in which the cord 106 may be at least partially housed. This makes it possible to reduce the transverse dimensions of the endpiece 120 covered with the sheath 124 in the direction XX' visible in FIG. 7.
The width of the orifice 122 in which the cord 106 passes is reduced when the sheath 124 is placed in position as the branches 120B and 120C are flexible, this making it possible to move them closer by a pinching effort
As is clearly apparent in FIG. 7, the assembly formed by elements 120B to 120D has a transverse section in the overall shape of an H, which enables it to serve as guide for the cord 106.
The endpiece 120 of this second embodiment is particularly adapted to cords of small diameter.
Whatever the embodiment in question the endpiece 20 or 120 may be made of any appropriate injectable thermo-plastic material. These materials are light and present good mechanical properties of suppleness and shear resistance. | A device for connecting a heddle of a weaving loom to a harness cord which includes an endpiece adapted to be molded on an upper end of the heddle and which end piece forms an orifice for receiving one of the harness cords. A sheath is provided for surrounding a harness cord passing through the orifice to thereby provide a structure wherein interference between adjacent heddles is avoided. | 3 |
FIELD OF INVENTION
This application is related to digital broadcasting systems.
BACKGROUND
A single-frequency network (SFN) is a broadcast network where multiple transmitters simultaneously transmit the same signal over the same frequency channel. Some examples of SFNs include Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DVB-T) and Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) systems. DVB-T is a coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation (COFDM) system. In a DVB-T system, a number of time-shifted versions of the same transmitted signal are received by the DVB-T receiver. The distribution of path delays between the signals is known as the delay spread of the channel. The delay spread causes the transfer function of the channel to vary over frequency which results in inter-symbol interference (ISI) and frequency selective fading.
In a DVB-T or ISDB-T system, a cyclic prefix is inserted as a guard interval (with a length of ¼, ⅛, 1/16, or 1/32 of one symbol) to combat the ISI caused by channel delay spread. An ISI-free transmission may be guaranteed when the channel length is shorter than the guard interval. Increasing the length of the guard interval, however, may reduce the channel efficiency.
Pilots are also transmitted, on selected carriers, to equalize the received signal, estimate the channel response, determine the signal to noise ratio (SNR), and to assist in timing and synchronization. There are two types of pilots that are commonly used in an SFN; continuous pilots and scatter pilots. Continuous pilots are transmitted in every symbol whereas scattered pilots are repeated periodically, such as every four symbols. The pilot carriers are identified by carrier indexes. An example pilot structure of a DVB-T system is shown in FIG. 1 . Pilots are transmitted using binary phase-shift keying (BPSK). The pilot carriers have a boosted power level of 16/9, compared to QPSK/16 QAM/64 QAM with power level of 1/1 for data carriers. The power boost assures that the channel response of the pilot carriers (H P ) can be reliably estimated.
FIG. 1 shows an example pilot structure of an OFDM DVB-T system. The bit stream is split into parallel data streams, each transferred over its own carrier using BPSK. The modulated carriers may be summed to form an OFDM signal. A bitstream is transferred over a communication channel using a sequence of OFDM symbols. As shown in FIG. 1 , in one symbol, there is one pilot inserted every twelve carriers. The scattered pilot pattern repeats every four symbols. Combining the pilots from four symbols gives one pilot every three carriers. A channel estimate (Ĥ P ) that is generated based on the pilots of a scattered pilot pattern is a downsampled-by-three version of the overall channel frequency response H.
In DVB-T, the continuous pilots are a sub-set of scattered pilots. Both continuous/scattered pilots only use a portion of all the carriers in one symbol. The channel response on these pilot carriers is first estimated. The channel response may be estimated for the data carriers based on any known algorithm, including least square (LS), minimum mean-square error (MMSE) or Modified MMSE. The estimation can be performed once per symbol.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method ( 200 ) to estimate the channel frequency response of an OFDM system. A handset receives the pilots over pilot carriers with boosted power levels 205 . The handset then determines the channel response H P of the data carriers that are transmitted in between the transmission of the pilot carriers 210 . The channel response H P may be determined using interpolation based on the channel estimate Ĥ P . Next, the handset performs an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) on the channel estimate Ĥ P , to generate a resolution-reduced channel impulse response (CIR) ĥ ( 215 ). The resolution-reduced CIR ĥ is used to adjust the symbol timing, which refers to the point where individual OFDM symbols start and end ( 220 ). A fast Fourier process is performed, wherein the adjusted symbol timing is used to define the fast Fourier transform window ( 225 ). This method, however, may result in aliasing. Because the channel estimate Ĥ P is the downsampled-by-three version of the channel frequency response H, the resolution-reduced CIR ĥ will be repeated at T u /3 interval, where T u is the time span of one OFDM symbol. Therefore, any channel longer than T u /6 will cause aliasing, as shown in FIG. 3 .
FIG. 3 is a graph showing an aliasing problem associated with a long channel. Instead of a post-cursive channel with length of T u /4, the resolution-reduced CIR ĥ becomes a pre-cursive channel with length of T u /12 because of the use of the window [−T u /6, T u /6], which can result in aliasing. Aliasing can affect both the symbol timing and channel estimation, which thereby causes a demodulator malfunction.
The aliasing problem can be partially resolved by designing a system that weighs the post-cursive channel more heavily. However, this design only improves the aliasing problem in a channel with a constrained channel length and without any outside guard echoes. Current solutions focus on generating a channel estimate based only on the continuous/scattered pilot signal. However, if the channel impulse response is too long, the continuous/scattered pilots are not transmitted frequently enough to recover all the channel information.
SUMMARY
A method and apparatus for window position optimization in a pilot-aided OFDM system is disclosed. A method of reducing aliasing in an OFDM system, using window optimization and pilots comprises receiving an RF signal including a pilot, generating a channel frequency response estimate, interpolating the channel estimate to calculate a pilot carrier frequency response, and dynamically selecting a window to capture a channel impulse response to prevent aliasing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 shows an example pilot structure of a DVB-T system;
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method to estimate the channel frequency response of an OFDM system; and
FIG. 3 is a graph showing an aliasing problem associated with a long channel;
FIG. 4 is a baseband equivalent OFDM system; and
FIG. 5 is a graph showing a shifted channel impulse response to reduce aliasing; and
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of window position optimization for a pilot-aided OFDM system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the DVB-T/ISDB-T systems, continuous/scattered pilots are transmitted for the use in synchronization, channel estimation, etc. In addition to the continuous and scattered pilot carriers, DVB-T systems may also include transmission parameter signaling (TPS) carriers. TPS carriers are transmitted in parallel with the continuous/scattered pilot carriers; however they are transmitted more frequently (seventeen carriers for 2K mode and sixty-eight carriers for 8K mode). TPS carriers convey information regarding: a) modulation including the value of the QAM constellation pattern; b) hierarchy information; c) guard interval (not for initial acquisition but for supporting initial response of the receiver in case of reconfiguration); d) inner code rates; e) transmission mode; and f) frame number in a super-frame. Methods and apparatus using the TPS carrier to assist in acquiring channel information, particularly the optimal window that contains the correct channel impulse response, are disclosed.
A baseband equivalent OFDM system 400 is shown in FIG. 4 , including an OFDM transmitter 401 and an OFDM receiver 402 . The OFDM transmitter 401 includes a channel coding and modulation block 405 , pilot signal inserter block 410 , a serial-to-parallel (S/P) converter 415 , an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block 420 , a parallel-to-serial (P/S) converter 425 , a cyclic prefix (CP) inserter 430 , a digital-to-analog converter 435 , and a transmitter antenna 440 . The OFDM receiver 402 includes a receiver antenna 445 , an analog-to-digital converter 450 , a CP remover 455 , an S/P converter 460 , a fast Fourier transform (FFT) block 465 , a P/S shifter 470 , a pilot symbol extractor 475 , a channel decoding and demodulation block 480 , and a synchronization and channel estimation (SCE) block 485 .
Referring to the OFDM transmitter 401 of FIG. 4 , an input bitstream is received by a channel coding and modulation block 405 which performs channel coding and modulation (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 8-ary PSK (8 PSK), 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16 QAM, 64 QAM, 256 QAM, etc.) on the input bitstream and outputs a modulated signal.
The pilot signal inserter 410 is configured to insert the continuous pilot signaling, the scattered pilot signaling, as well as the TPS signaling into the modulated signal. The S/P converter 415 converts the modulated signal into a parallel signal. The parallel signal is received by the IFFT block 420 , which performs IFFT processing and converts the composite signal into a time domain signal. The time domain signal is converted into a serial digital signal by P/S converter 425 .
The CP inserter 430 inserts a CP into the time domain signal, which is used for dealing with multi-path distortion. The signal is then passed through the digital-to-analog converter 435 which converts it to a radio frequency (RF) analog signal. The RF analog signal is then transmitted by the transmitter antenna 440 .
Referring to the OFDM receiver 402 of FIG. 2 , the receiver antenna 445 receives the RF analog signal. The analog-to-digital converter 450 converts it to a digital signal. The CP remover 455 receives the digital signal and removes the CP. The S/P converter 460 converts the digital signal into a parallel signal. The output of the S/P converter 460 is also received by the SCE block 485 .
The SCE block 485 is configured to estimate the noise power based on inserted continuous/scattered pilot signals, TPS signals and other equivalent signals, (e.g. TMCC), as will be explained in further detail hereinafter. The SCE block 485 then outputs channel estimates, as will be discussed further below. The SCE block 485 can be configured to operate using any known approach of channel estimation, including but not limited to: Least-squares (LS) or Linear Minimum Mean Squared Error (LMMSE) methods. For example, the SCE block 485 may be configured to generate LS estimates of the channel gains over the continuous pilot carriers by backrotating the received signal according to the knowledge of the continuous pilot symbols. The SCE block 485 may also include an interpolation filter 486 configured to smooth over (interpolate) the LS estimates over the entire frequency-time grid.
In one embodiment, to resolve the aliasing problem that is often associated with long channels, the SCE block 485 is configured for dynamic channel selection of the window to capture the CIR. In order to perform the dynamic channel selection, after receiving a parallel signal from the S/P converter 460 , the SCE block 485 isolates the TPS carriers. The TPS carriers are then processed by the SCE block to determine a first channel estimate based on the TPS carriers. Because of the frequency of transmission of the TPS carriers, the channel response can be estimated accurately on the TPS carriers. These properties of the TPS signaling allow the SCE Block 48 to determine the first channel estimate in the same manner as a channel estimate for a continuous pilot carrier would be determined, (using e.g. LS, LMMSE, etc.) Since the TPS carrier and continuous pilot carriers comprise known data, the simplest method to estimate the channel frequency response is to divide the received data on those carriers by the known data.
The SCE block 485 would generate a second channel estimate based on the continuous/scattered pilots. This estimate can be generated based on any of the methods discussed above or any method known in the art.
Once the first and second channel estimates have been determined, the SCE block 485 then compares the first channel estimate and the second channel estimate. Based on the comparison, the SCE block 485 selects a window that minimizes the differences between the two channel estimates for the interpolation filter 486 . However, for different windows, the estimation based on pilots will be different. Accordingly, the SCE block 485 may select multiple different windows and repeat the process described above for several windows. The SCE block 485 may also store the values of the comparisons resulting from the multiple window selections. The SCE block 485 may then select the window that minimizes the difference in channel estimates. Alternatively, the SCE block 485 may be configured with an algorithm to assist in the window selection to minimize the steps involved in the iterative process. Once a preferred window is selected, the SCE block 485 may capture a channel impulse response. For example, referring to FIG. 3 , if the interpolation filter 486 uses the window [−T u /6, T u /6], then aliasing occurs. However, if the window between [0, T u /3] is used, there will be no aliasing.
FIG. 5 is a graph where the channel impulse response is shifted to reduce aliasing. In some systems, the interpolation filter 486 may be configured to always use the window centered at zero. After determining the channel estimates, the SCE block 485 may apply a phase slope across all of the pilot carriers, which will shift the correct CIR into the window. Accordingly, referring to the example above, the time interval [−T u /6, T u /6] becomes the correct window by shifting the correct CIR into the window [−T u /6, T u /6]. Selecting the proper window may guarantee proper equalization for channels shorter than T u /3. With the interpolation filter 486 , as long as the channel length is less than T u /3, by trying different shifting of CIR, the SCE block 485 is able to find the shifting direction and the amount of shifting to make minimize the difference in the channel estimates {tilde over (H)} TPS and {tilde over (H)} TPS , which is equivalent to finding the correct window to capture the correct CIR.
The FFT block 465 receives the output signal of the S/P converter 460 and performs FFT processing on it. FFT processing is well known in the art and can be performed according to any known method. A time domain signal is output from the FFT block 465 .
When the channel estimate is available from the SCE block 485 , the output of the FFT block 465 is signaled to the P/S shifter 470 . The P/S shifter 470 compensates any channel effects and improves the bit error rate (BER) performance and converts the received time domain signal into a serial signal.
The pilot signal remover 475 receives the output of the P/S shifter 470 and extracts the pilot signal. The pilot signal remover 475 output then passes to the channel decoding and demodulation block 480 which decodes and demodulates the signal to a display.
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method 600 of window position optimization for a pilot-aided OFDM system. The OFDM receiver receives an RF analog signal including a TPS signal ( 605 ). A first channel estimate of a TPS carrier is generated ( 610 ). Interpolation is used on the first channel estimate to calculate a TPS carrier channel frequency response ( 615 ). A second channel frequency response is estimated based on the continuous/scattered pilot signals ( 620 ). Interpolation is used on the second channel estimate to calculate a continuous/scattered pilot carrier channel frequency response ( 625 ). A window is then dynamically selected to minimize the difference of the two estimates ( 630 ). When there is no aliasing, Ĥ TPS and {tilde over (H)} TPS will be almost identical, subject to minor difference because of noise. However, if aliasing occurs, then Ĥ TPS and {tilde over (H)} TPS will be different because they represent different channels. As mentioned herein before, selection of the proper window to capture the CIR can prevent aliasing.
While the examples above are shown for use in a DVB-T system, they may also be used in other broadcasting networks. Examples of broadcasting networks includes second generation Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DVB-T2), Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial/Handheld (DVB-T/H), ISDB-T, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB, and Media-Flo.
Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements or in various combinations with or without other features and elements. The methods or flow charts provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable storage medium for execution by a general purpose computer or a processor. Examples of computer-readable storage mediums include a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs).
Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), and/or a state machine. | A window position optimization for a pilot-aided OFDM system is disclosed. A method of reducing aliasing in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, using window optimization and pilots comprises receiving an RF signal including a pilot, generating a channel frequency response estimate, interpolating the channel estimate to calculate a pilot carrier frequency response, and dynamically selecting a window to capture a channel impulse response to prevent aliasing. | 7 |
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation and claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC 120 of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/449,378, filed Nov. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,900,619. The disclosure of the prior application is considered part of (and is incorporated by reference in) the disclosure of this application.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
This application herein incorporates by reference the following applications: U.S. application Ser. No. 09/240,751, which was filed on Jan. 29, 1999, U.S. application Ser. No. 60/117,784, filed Jan. 29, 1999, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/449,505, entitled “Discharging a Superconducting Magnet”, filed Nov. 24, 1999; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/449,436, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Controlling a Phase Angle”, filed Nov. 24, 1999; U.S. application Ser. No. 60/167,377, entitled “Voltage Regulation of a Utility Power Network”, filed Nov. 24, 1999; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/449,375, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Providing Power to a Utility Network”, filed Nov. 24, 1999; and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/449,435, entitled “Electric Utility System with Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage”, filed Nov. 24, 1999.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electric power utility networks including generating systems, transmission systems, and distribution systems serving loads.
Utility power systems, particularly at the transmission level, are primarily inductive, due to the impedance of transmission lines and the presence of numerous transformers. Further, many of the largest loads connected to the utility power system are typically inductive. Large motors used, for example, in lumber mills, rock crushing plants, steel mills, and to drive pumps, shift the power factor of the system away from the desired unity level, thereby decreasing the efficiency of the power system. Because of the daily and hourly load variations, it is necessary to change the amount of compensation applied to counteract the effects of these changing inductive loads
One approach for providing compensation to the system is to connect one or more large shunt capacitor banks to provide a capacitive reactance (e.g., as much as 36 MVARs) to the system in the event of a contingency (i.e., a nonscheduled event or interruption of service) or sag in the nominal voltage detected on the utility power system. By selecting the proper amount of capacitance and connection location, these capacitor banks provide a level of control of the line voltage or power factor. Mechanical contactors are typically employed to connect and switch the capacitor banks to compensate for the changing inductive loads.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention features a system and approach for minimizing the step voltage change experienced by the utility customer as well minimizing transients imposed on the fundamental waveform of a normal voltage carried on a utility power network when a reactive power source (e.g., capacitor bank) is instantaneously connected to the utility power. The reactive power source is adapted to transfer reactive power of a first polarity (e.g., capacitive reactive power) to the utility power network.
In one aspect of the invention, the system includes a reactive power compensation device configured to transfer a variable quantity of reactive power of a second, opposite polarity to the utility power network, and a controller which, in response to the need to connect the shunt reactive power source to the utility power network, activates the reactive power compensation device and, substantially simultaneously, causes the shunt reactive power source to be connected to the utility power network.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of providing reactive power compensation from a reactive power source to a utility power network carrying a nominal voltage includes the following steps. A change in magnitude in the desired nominal voltage on the utility power network is detected, and such change results in voltage deviating outside of a utility specified acceptable range. In response to detecting the change in the desired nominal voltage, the reactive power source is connected to the utility power network to provide reactive power compensation of a first polarity. For a predetermined first duration, reactive power compensation of a second opposite polarity is provided to the utility power network in a period substantially coincident with connecting the reactive power source to the utility power network.
By transferring reactive power of a second, opposite polarity to the network when the switch is closed, the magnitude of a potentially large step-like change in reactive power introduced from the reactive power source is offset for a period of time, thereby minimizing potential transients which would normally be imposed over the fundamental utility waveform carried on the utility power network. These transients are caused by the generally step-like change in voltage when the reactive power source is connected to the utility power network. Although there are many forms of transients, which can be imposed on the utility waveform, such transients are typically in the form of oscillatory “ringing” imposed over the fundamental waveform. Such ringing can cause among other problems, false switching of power devices and overvoltage failures. In addition, the sudden step voltage change induced by switching the utility reactive device can disrupt sensitive industrial control systems and processes. An overvoltage failure can be catastrophic to customers. In essence, the system “softens” the sharp, step-like introduction of reactive energy from the reactive power source.
Embodiments of these aspects of the invention may include one or more of the following features.
In a preferred embodiment, the controller is configured to activate the reactive power compensation device to transfer reactive power compensation of the first polarity to the utility power network prior to connecting the shunt reactive power source to the utility power network. As stated above, providing reactive power compensation of the second, opposite polarity to the utility power network opposes the abrupt step like introduction to the utility power network of reactive power of the first polarity delivered by the shunt reactive power source. Providing reactive power compensation of the first polarity prior to connecting the shunt reactive power source to the utility power network, allows a significantly greater magnitude of change in reactance when the reactive power compensation of the second polarity is introduced. Furthermore, the reactive power compensation device provides additional voltage support to the system prior to the shunt reactive power source being connected to the utility power network.
The reactive power compensation of the first polarity is generally provided for a duration between 1 and 2 seconds.
The impedance of a utility power network is primarily inductive, due to the long line lengths and presence of transformers. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the reactive power source is a capacitor bank and during particular time periods the reactive power compensation device provides inductive power compensation.
The system and method are used with a utility power network that includes a transmission network and a distribution network electrically connected to the transmission network. The distribution network has distribution lines, with the reactive power source normally connected to the transmission network and the reactive power compensation device connected to the distribution network of the utility power network and proximally to each other.
Typically, reactive power compensation is switched on when the nominal voltage drops below 98% and switched off when voltage exceeds 102% of the nominal voltage. Moreover, the allowable step change in the voltage due to switching of the reactive compensation device is typically limited to about 2% at the transmission voltage level
In certain applications, after providing reactive power compensation of the second opposite polarity, a second stage of reactive power compensation of the first polarity is provided in conjunction with the reactive power source providing reactive power compensation. In other words, the reactive power compensation device supplements the reactive power provided by the reactive power source.
For example, in an emergency mode operation, the voltage on the utility power network may have dropped significantly. In this case, the inverter will operate continuously to provide reactive power in conjunction with the capacitor bank. If the inverter is only operated for a relatively short, emergency mode, the inverter may be operated in overload fashion to provide a maximum amount of reactance. Alternatively, the inverter can be operated in a steady state mode, to provide a lower reactance level over a longer, indefinite duration.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a presently preferred embodiment and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of a voltage recovery device and switched capacitor bank connected to a utility power network.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portion of reactive power compensation device of FIG. 1 connected to a distribution line.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the general steps for operating the voltage recovery device.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the output of the reactive compensation device.
FIG. 5 is a graph showing the utility voltage characteristic as a function of time using the reactive compensation device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1 , a reactive power compensation system 30 is shown connected in shunt with a distribution line 20 of utility power network. Distribution line 20 is shown connected to a transmission line 18 of the transmission line network through a first transformer 22 a , which steps down the higher voltage (e.g., greater than 25 kV carried on transmission line 18 to a lower voltage, here 6 kV. A second transformer 22 b steps down the 6 kV to a voltage suitable for a load 24 , here 480 V.
Reactive power compensation system 30 includes an energy storage unit 32 , an inverter system 44 , and a controller 60 , which is used in conjunction with a transmission capacitor bank 31 . Energy storage unit 32 may be in a part of a D-SMES module, which is capable, together with inverter system 44 , of delivering both real and reactive power, separately or in combination, to distribution line 20 . In this embodiment, D-SMES module could be sized at 3.0 MVA and with inverter 44 is capable of delivering an average of 2 MWatts for periods as long as 400 milliseconds, 7.5 MVA for a full second, and 3.0 MVAR of reactive power indefinitely. Further details relating to the operation and construction of the D-SMES module can be found in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/449,435, filed on Nov. 24, 1999, by Paul Frederick Koeppe, Arnold P. Kehrli, John A. Diaz de Leon II, Donald L. Brown, Warren Elliott Buckles and Douglas C. Folts, and entitled “Electric Utility System with Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage”.
As will be described in greater detail below, inverter 44 , under the intelligent control of controller 60 , serves to transfer reactive power to and from the utility power network. In particular, during the initial period in which capacitor bank 31 begins delivering reactive power to the utility power network, inverter 44 provides an inductive reactance to counteract the abrupt, step-like introduction of capacitive reactive power from capacitor bank 31 on the utility power network. Furthermore, inverter 44 can be controlled to provide additional voltage support to the system prior to capacitive bank 31 being connected to the utility power.
Capacitor bank 31 provides a capacitive reactance (e.g., as much as 36 MVARs) to the system in the event of a contingency (i.e., a nonscheduled event or interruption of service) or sag in the nominal voltage detected on the utility power system. Capacitive banks suitable for use with reactive power compensation system 30 are commercially available from ABB, Zurich Switzerland. Further details relating to capacitor banks used in conjunction with superconducting energy storage systems can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,962,354, 5,194,803, and 5,376,828, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Capacitor bank 31 is coupled to transmission line 18 through a relay switch 35 and a switchgear unit 39 , which provide over-current protection and to facilitate maintenance and troubleshooting of capacitor bank 31 . A protective fuse 41 is connected between switchgear 39 and transmission line 18 .
Referring to FIG. 2 , inverter system 44 converts DC voltage from energy storage unit 32 to AC voltage and, in this embodiment, includes four inverter units 46 . In general, inverter 44 can act as a source for leading and lagging reactive power. In general, inverter can only source real power from energy storage unit 32 for as long as real power is available from the energy storage unit. However, inverter 44 can source reactive power indefinitely assuming the inverter is operating at its nominally rated capacity. Thus, inverter 44 can provide reactive power without utilizing power from energy storage unit 32 . Further details regarding the arrangement and operation of inverter 44 can be found in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/449,435, filed on Nov. 24, 1999, by Paul Frederick Koeppe, Arnold P. Kehrli, John A. Diaz de Leon II, Donald L. Brown, Warren Elliott Buckles and Douglas C. Folts, and entitled “Electric Utility System with Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage.”
Each inverter unit 46 is capable of providing 750 KVA continuously and 1.875 MVA in overload for one second. The outputs of each inverter unit 46 are combined on the medium-voltage side of the power transformers to yield the system ratings in accordance with the following table.
Power Flow Value Duration MVA delivered, leading or lagging 3.0 Continuously MVA delivered, leading or 7.5 1-2 seconds in event of lagging, overload condition transmission or distri- bution fault detection Average MW delivered to utility 2.0 0.4 seconds in event of (for an exemplary D-SMES module). transmission or distri- bution fault detection
Each inverter unit 46 includes three inverter modules (not shown). Because inverter units 46 are modular in form, a degree of versatility is provided to accommodate other system ratings with standard, field proven inverter modules. A level of fault tolerance is also possible with this modular approach, although system capability may be reduced. Each inverter module is equipped with a local Slave Controller that manages local functions such as device protection, current regulation, thermal protection, power balance among modules, and diagnostics, among others. Inverter units and modules are mounted in racks with integral power distribution and cooling systems.
Inverter system 44 is coupled to distribution line 20 through step-down transformers 50 and switchgear units 52 . Each power transformer 50 is a 6 kV/480 V three-phase oil filled pad mount transformer having a nominal impedance of 5.75% on its own base rating. The power transformers are generally mounted outdoors adjacent to the system enclosure with power cabling protected within an enclosed conduit (not shown). As is shown in FIG. 1 , a fuse 53 is connected between step-down transformer 50 and distribution line 20 .
Each switchgear unit 52 provides over-current protection between power transformers 50 and inverter units 46 . Each of the four main inverter outputs feeds a circuit breaker rated at 480 V, 900 A RMS continuous per phase with 45 kA interruption capacity. Switchgear units 52 also serve as the primary disconnect means for safety and maintenance purposes. The switchgear units are generally mounted adjacent to the inverter unit enclosures.
Referring again to FIG. 1 , system control unit 60 has a response time sufficient to ensure that the transfer of power to or from energy storage unit 30 occurs at a speed to address a fault or contingency on the utility system. In general, it is desirable that the fault is detected within 1 line cycle (i.e., 1/60 second for 60 Hz, 1/50 second for 50 Hz). In one embodiment, the response time is less than 500 microseconds.
With reference to FIGS. 3-5 , the operation of controller 60 and inverter 44 is described in conjunction with an exemplary contingency occurring on the utility power network. At the outset, the nominal voltage of the utility power system is monitored (step 200 ). For example, the nominal voltage on transmission line 18 is sensed either directly or from a remote device. FIG. 5 shows that in this particular example the voltage is detected as being 98% of nominal value at t=0. When the nominal voltage has dropped below a predetermined threshold value (e.g., here 98%), an input control signal is transmitted to controller 60 which, in turn, transmits a trigger signal 73 (at point 75 of FIG. 5 ) to activate inverter 44 (step 202 ) and begin ramping inverter reactive output from zero to full overload rating in 0 to 2 seconds. When full leading output of the inverter has been achieved, a signal is sent to close mechanical contactor 35 (step 204 ).
Referring to FIG. 4 , prior to enabling switch 35 to operate, inverter system 44 is activated to ramp upward to provide the maximum amount of capacitive reactance available, for example, +7.5 MVARs). Because inverter is not intended to provide this maximum reactive power for more than a few seconds, inverter system 44 is operated in an overload mode. Simultaneous with the closing of contactor 35 (at point 77 of FIGS. 4 and 5 ), inverter 44 is controlled to now provide the maximum available inductive reactance, for example, −7.5 MVARs (step 206 ). The time period between step 202 and setup 206 is set based on the known characteristics of mechanical contactor 35 or can be learned by controller 60 which monitors the change in voltage. As shown in FIG. 5 , inverter 44 alone has increased the voltage by 1.45% prior to energizing capacitor bank 31 .
In a second step, when contactor 35 closes, capacitor bank 31 injects capacitive reactance, here 36 MVARs, onto the utility power system. During this period in which capacitive bank 31 is switched into the circuit, the voltage increases an additional 0.98%. The inductive reactance provided by inverter 44 cancels in part the capacitive reactance from capacitor bank 31 . This mitigates possible “ringing” caused by the rapid introduction of reactance onto the sagging utility power signal were capacitor bank 31 be allowed to unleash its full 36 MVARs onto the utility power network.
In a third step—immediately after contactor 35 is closed—the inductive reactance provided by inverter 44 ramps down (at point 79 ) until the inverter no longer generates reactive power (at point 81 ). During this third step the voltage increases an additional 1.14%. At this point, the sole reactance being introduced to the utility power network is from capacitor bank 31 .
As can be seen from FIG. 5 , this approach softens the otherwise step-like injection of capacitive reactance from capacitor bank 31 (represented by dashed line 83 ). Moreover, the full 3.6% voltage increase provided by capacitor bank 31 has been accomplished without an abrupt step-like injection of reactive power. Furthermore, the full 3.6% voltage increase is provided in three steps, none of which exceeds the 2% limit that utilities generally require.
However, in circumstances in which additional capacitive reactance, beyond that provided by capacitive bank 31 , would be desirable, inverter 44 can be controlled to provide supplemental capacitive reactance.
Referring to FIG. 4 , inverter 44 is controlled to provide additional capacitive reactance in an “emergency overload mode.” It is important to note that during this second capacitive reactance period 87 , capacitor bank 31 is also providing capacitive reactance to the utility power network. In this overload mode, inverter 44 provides the maximum reactance available. In an alternative application, where capacitive reactance is desired over longer periods (perhaps, indefinitely), inverter 44 may be controlled to provide a lower level (e.g., 2-3 MVARs) in a steady state mode of operation. In applications where real power does not need to be supplied to the utility power network, the invention would be implemented without energy storage unit 32 .
Further details relating to the control of inverter 44 to adjust the phase angle of the reactance, can be found in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/449,436, filed on Nov. 23, 1999, by Douglas C. Folts and Warren Elliott Buckles, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Controlling a Phase Angle,” and in Ser. No. 60/167,377, filed on Nov. 24, 1999, by Thomas Gregory Hubert, Douglas C. Folts and Warren Elliott Buckles, entitled “Voltage Regulation of Utility Power Network”.
It is also important to appreciate that the invention is equally applicable in situations when capacitor bank 31 is removed from the utility power network. That is, a similar step voltage would decrease occur when capacitor bank is switched off. In this case, the process described above in conjunction with FIGS. 3-5 is reversed.
Other embodiments are within the scope of the claims. For example, in the embodiment described above in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2 , a D-SMES unit was discussed as being used to provide the real and reactive power needed to recover the voltage on the transmission network. However, it is important to appreciate that other voltage recovery devices capable of providing both real and reactive power, including flywheels, batteries, an energy storage capacitive systems bank, compressed gas energy sources, and fuel cell systems (e.g., those that convert carbon based fuels into electricity) are also within the scope of the invention.
Still other embodiments are within the scope of the claims. For example, the invention can also be used in conjunction with other approaches for minimizing transient effects. For example, the invention can complement those approaches using zero-switching techniques, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,356, which is incorporated herein by reference. The utility power network described above in conjunction with FIG. 1 included distribution lines connected to a load 24 . | The invention features a system and approach for minimizing the step voltage change as seen by the utility customer as well minimizing transients imposed on the fundamental waveform of a normal voltage carried on a utility power network when a reactive power source (e.g., capacitor bank) is instantaneously connected to the utility power. The reactive power source is adapted to transfer reactive power of a first polarity (e.g., capacitive reactive power) to the utility power network. The system includes a reactive power compensation device configured to transfer a variable quantity of reactive power of a second, opposite polarity to the utility power network, and a controller which, in response to the need to connect the shunt reactive power source to the utility power network, activates the reactive power compensation device and, substantially simultaneously, causes the shunt reactive power source to be connected to the utility power. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to golf. More specifically, this invention relates to a new kind of golf course. Several golf courses in accordance with the invention may be incorporated into a golf park. This invention also relates to a method for playing a golf game.
Golf is a sport loved by millions world wide. Unfortunately for golf aficionados, golf has become so popular that courses have become markedly crowded. It is not uncommon for waiting times to be comparable to playing times. Waits are experienced not only prior to starting a golf game but during the game, at tees subsequent to the first one. Even if a particular course is not crowded at a certain time, frustration may nevertheless be occasioned one group of golfers by a another slow group of golfers playing ahead. Conversely, one's enjoyment in the game can be considerably diminished by demands of following players to play more quickly. Beginners can be discouraged from playing the game, not only by pressures to minimize strokes and thus time on any particular hole, but also by exorbitant costs. High expense is especially rampant in countries such as Japan where land is at a premium.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a golf course where an individual or a group can play golf at a desired pace, without encountering slower golfers in front or faster golfers behind.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf course wherein land usage is minimized, thereby enabling the play of golf even in areas where land is scarce.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new method for playing a golf game.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the drawings and descriptions herein
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing objects are realized in a golf course comprising essentially a single fairway with multiple greens. At least two greens are provided, at opposite ends of the fairway. One or more additional greens may be provided between the first two greens and along the fairway. Also, multiple tees are provided for the one fairway. At least one tee is provided at each end of the fairway, the tee facing down the fairway towards the green at the opposite end of the fairway. Each green may be the target of two or more tees disposed at different locations on the fairway. The golf course is occupied for a predetermined limited period of time by an individual or a single group of golfers. The individual or single group of golfers plays back and forth along the fairway, for as long as they have reserved the course.
They can play at their own pace, undisturbed by other golfers because there are no other golfers on the course. The only limitation is duration: eventually they will have to stop because their reserved interval of play has terminated.
In accordance with the present invention, the tees and the greens, as well as hazards disposed along the fairway, are so arranged as to present many different holes on the same fairway. The tee off location will vary depending on which tee one selects. In addition, the greens can be large enough to have multiple cups at substantially spaced locations.
Accordingly, a golf course in accordance with the present invention comprises a fairway having a first end and a second end. A first green is disposed at the first end of the fairway, while a second green is disposed at the second end of the fairway. Play is from the fairway onto the two greens. A first tee is disposed approximately at the first end of the fairway for play onto the fairway towards the second green. A second tee is disposed approximately at the second end of the fairway for play onto the fairway towards the first green The fairway is the only fairway of the golf course and accommodates more than two holes of a golf game. Of course, a plurality of such single-fairway golf courses may be provided in proximity to one another. Such a collection of golf courses might be termed a "golf park."
According to another feature of the present invention, the golf course further comprises a third green disposed along the fairway intermediate between the first green and the second green, a third tee disposed approximately at the third green for play onto the fairway towards the first green, and a fourth tee disposed approximately at the third green for play onto the fairway towards the second green. The single-fairway golf course may additionally comprise a fifth tee disposed approximately at the first end of the fairway for play onto the fairway towards the third green and a sixth tee disposed approximately at the second end of the fairway for play onto the fairway towards the third green.
Pursuant to an additional feature of the present invention, each end of the fairway may be provided with multiple, relatively spaced tees for play towards the green at the other end of the fairway. Generally, one tee presents a shorter or easier hole while the other tee at the same end of the fairway presents a longer or harder hole.
Hazards may be provided along the single fairway which present different degrees of difficulty depending on which tee is used and which cup is being played. A hazard may be disposed in the fairway for dividing the fairway into substantially parallel portions each extending the length of the fairway. In that case, two tees at one end of the fairway may be disposed for play onto respective portions of the divided fairway.
According to a further feature of the present invention, a movable hazard is disposed along the fairway. The hazard is mounted to a carrier which may be towed by a truck or pulled by cables. The hazard may be removed from the fairway and replaced with a different hazard for varying the aspect and level of skill required by the course. Alternatively, the hazard may simply be moved to a different location on the course.
As discussed above, a golf park may be created by providing several single-fairway golf courses in proximity to one another. The courses of such a golf park may be designed to present a varying level of difficulty.
In a method for playing golf in accordance with the present invention, a first golf ball is hit from a first tee onto a fairway from a first end of the fairway towards a first green disposed at a second end of the fairway opposite the first tee and the first end. That ball is then hit from the fairway onto the first green and into a first cup on the first green. Thereafter, a second golf ball (which may be same ball as the first) is hit from a second tee onto the fairway towards a second green disposed at the first end of the fairway. The second tee is disposed approximately at the second end of the fairway and the first tee is disposed approximately at the first end of the fairway After the second golf ball is hit from the second tee onto the fairway, that ball is hit from the fairway onto the second green and into a second cup on the second green.
Play on the golf course may be extended by hitting a third golf ball from a tee at least approximately at one of the first end and the second end onto the fairway towards a third green disposed along the fairway intermediate between the first green and the second green. This ball is played into a cup on the third green. Then, a fourth golf ball (perhaps the same physical ball as the first, second and third golf balls) may be played onto the fairway towards one of the first green and the second green from a tee disposed substantially proximately to the third green.
A golf course in accordance with the present invention requires substantially less space than a traditional golf course Land usage is minimized, thereby enabling the play of golf even in areas where land is scarce.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a plan view diagram of a single-fairway golf course in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view diagram of another single-fairway golf course in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view diagram of a park including several single-fairway golf courses in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram showing a plurality of movable hazards substitutable for one another in a recess in accordance with the present invention, for use in a golf course as shown in FIGS. 1-3.
FIG. 4A is a schematic perspective view of a method for moving a hazard in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram of a movable hazard in accordance with the present invention, for use in a golf course as shown in FIGS. 1-3.
FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a portion of a transport system for the movable hazard of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7A is a schematic partial perspective view of a golf course with the movable hazard of FIG. 5, showing the hazard in one location.
FIG. 7B is a schematic partial perspective view similar to FIG. 7A, showing the hazard in another location
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a golf course 10 has a single fairway F1 which is provided at opposite ends 12 and 14 with two greens G1 and G2. Green G1 is provided with two cups 16 and 18 marked by respective flags or pins 20 and 22. Green G2 is similarly provided with two cups 24 and 26 marked by pins 28 and 30. Two mutually spaced tees T1 and T2 are provided at fairway end 12, and two mutually spaced tees T3 and T4 are provided at end 14.
In playing a golf game on course 10, a player hits a golf ball (not shown), for example, from tee T1 onto fairway F1. The player then hits the ball from fairway F1 onto green G2 and into a selected cup 24 or 26. Subsequently, the player hits either the same ball or another ball from a tee T3 or T4. This second tee may be selected by the player or may be preselected in accordance with a predetermined agenda. If all of the holes (identified by respective combinations of tees and cups) are preselected by agenda, the player can more easily check his performance with predetermined par standards.
The player continues in the above described manner, selecting different tees and different cups to vary the lengths and aspects of a sequence of golf holes. Generally, a single player or a single group of players exclusively occupies golf course 10 for an assigned or reserved period. The single player or group of players is free of slower players in front of them and faster players behind them.
FIG. 2 illustrates some of the variety which may be introduced into a single-fairway golf course or multiple green fairway in accordance with the invention. A golf course 32 shown in FIG. 2 includes a single fairway F2 with a dog-leg shape. A first end 34 of fairway F2 or course 32 is provided with a green G,) and pair of tees T5 and T6 aimed generally down fairway F2 towards two greens G4 and G5 located at an opposite end 36 of fairway F2. At that opposite end 36 are provided two tees T7 and T8 for play onto fairway F2 back towards green G3. A further tee T9 is provided at fairway end 36 for play onto fairway F2 towards a pair of additional greens G6 and G7 disposed at an intermediate location along fairway F2. Yet another tee T9 at fairway end 36 is aimed at green G6. A plurality of tees T10, T11 and T12 are provided in the area of greens G6 and G7 for play onto fairway F2 either towards green G3 or greens G4 and G5. Another tee T13 at green G3 is provided for play towards any of greens G4-G7,
Substantial variation in the holes playable on course 32 is presented by the different greens and tees. Further variation is introduced by providing multiple cups on the different greens. Green G3, for example, has cups 38 and 40. For purposes of simplicity, the pins at cups 38 and 40 and the cups and pins on greens G4-G7 are not labeled with reference designations. As in conventional single-green fairways, hazards such as sand traps S1-S6 and a water hazard W1 may be provided on course 32. A hazard such as a copse of trees 42 is disposed substantially centrally along fairway F2 for dividing the fairway into two generally parallel portions P1 and P2. Other trees 44 are disposed about the periphery of fairway F2.
In playing a golf game on course 32, a player hits a golf ball (not shown), for example, from tee T5 onto fairway F2 and more particularly onto fairway portion P2. The player then hits the ball from fairway portion P2 onto green G4 or G5 and into a selected cup on the respective green. For the next hole, the player hits either the same ball or another ball from tee T7 back towards green G3 along fairway portion P2, from tee T8 towards green G3 along fairway portion P1, from tee T8 towards green G6 or G7 along fairway F2, or from tee T9. If green G3 is the target green on this second hole, the player may select either cup 38 or 40.
After playing to green G6 or G7, the player or group of players may select tee T10 for play onto fairway portion P1 towards green G3, tee T12 for play onto fairway portion P1 towards green G3, or tee T11 for play onto fairway F2 towards green G4 or G5. After playing to green G3, the player or group of players may select tee T13 for play onto fairway portion P1 towards green G4, G5, G6 or G7. Alternatively, the player or players may tee off from tee T5 or T6 onto fairway portion P2 towards greens G4 or G5. Again, the tees, greens and cups selected by the player or golf group may be pursuant to a predetermined standard sequence of holes for golf course 32. Of course, following golf conventions, each combination of tee, fairway portion, green and cup may be assigned a par value for facilitating gauging a players performance.
FIG. 3 depicts a golf park incorporating several single-fairway golf courses 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, and 58 having respective fairways F3-F9. Courses 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, and 58 may have varying levels of difficulty determined generally by the nature and numbers of hazards. The golf park also has a centrally located administrative building or clubhouse 60 and a parking lot 62.
Fairway F3 of course 46 is provided with a centrally located floral or arboreal hazard 64 which divides fairway F3 into two parallel portions P3 and P4. A first green G8 is located at one end of fairway F3, a second green G9 at an opposite end, and a third green G10 at an intermediate position. Two tees T14 and T15 at green G8 are aimed at respective fairway portions P3 and P4 and concomitantly at respective greens G9 and G10. Two further tees T16 and T17 are disposed at green G9 for play onto fairway F3 towards greens G8 and G10, respectively. Two additional tees T18 and T19 are provided at green G10 to enable players to tee off onto fairway F3 towards greens G8 and G9, respectively Each green G8, G9, G10 is provided with two or more cups (not labeled), marked by pins (not labeled). Course 46 is designed to be relatively easy to play Fairway F3 is level and devoid of hazards, with the exception of floral or arboreal hazard 64.
Course 48 includes three greens G11, G12, and G13 and five tees T20 through T24. Greens G11 and G12 are provided at opposite ends of fairway F4; green G13 is disposed at an intermediate location. Tees T20 and T21 are aimed towards greens G12 and G13, respectively, while tees T22 and T23 are aimed towards green G11 and tee T24 is aimed towards green G12. Fairway F4 is level and completely devoid of hazards so that course 48 presents a modicum of difficulty.
Course 50 includes three greens G14, G15, and G16 and seven tees T25 through T31. Greens G14 and G15 are provided at the far ends of fairway F5, while fairway G16 is located in between. A hazard 66, such as a pond, a sand trap, a copse of trees or bushes or an artificial structure such as a sculpture, is disposed substantially centrally in fairway F5 and effectively divides that fairway into two portions P5 and P6. Tees T25 and T26, located next to green G14, point towards green G16 along fairway portion P5. Tee T27, also near green G14, is directed towards green G15 along fairway portion P6. Tees T28 and T29 are provided near green G15 and are designed for play onto fairway F5 towards greens G14 and G16, respectively. Tees T30 and T31, at an intermediate location, enable play towards greens G14 and G16, respectively. Each green is provided with two cups and associated pins (not designated). Course 50 is longer and therefore more difficult than course 46.
Course 52 has four greens G17-G20. Greens G17 and G18 are the farthest apart and concomitantly by definition are located at opposite ends of fairway F6. Greens G19 and G20 are located along fairway F6 between greens G17 and G18. Associated with each green G17-G20 is a respective pair of tees. namely, tees T32 and T33, T34 and T35, T36 and T37, and T38 and T39. Tees T32 and T33, disposed at the near or proximal end of fairway F6 in the neighborhood of green G17, may be used to play holes associated with either green G18 or G19. Tee 32 may also be used to play towards green T20. Tees T34 and T35, disposed at the far or distal end of fairway F6 in the neighborhood of green G18, are oriented along fairway F6 in the direction of greens G20 and G17, respectively. Tees T36 and T37, near green G19, are disposed for pay onto fairway F6 towards greens G17 and G20, respectively. Tees T38 and T39, beside green G20, are for play towards greens G17 and G19, respectively. Course 52 is of greater difficulty than course 50, particularly since course 52 is provided with sand trap hazards S7 and S8.
Like course 52, course 54 has four greens G21-G24. Green G21 is located at a proximal end of the course, near clubhouse 60, while green G22 is located at a distal end of course 54, farthest from clubhouse 60. Greens G23 and G24 are located between greens G21 and G22 along fairway F7 Disposed in the area of proximal green G21 are two tees T40 and T41, for play towards greens G24 and G22, respectively. A tee T42 near green G22 may be used for play onto fairway F7 towards green G21 or G24. Another tee T43 behind green G22 is used for play towards green G23. Green G23 is itself associated with three tees T44-T46 which are directed towards greens G21, G22 and G24, respectively. Another three tees T47-T49 are located about green G24 for enabling teeing off towards greens G21, G22 and G23, respectively. Sand traps S9-S14 are provided for increasing the level of play required on course 54. As in other courses of the golf park of FIG. 3, each green G21-G24 has at least two cups and associated pins (not labeled) for providing enhanced variation. One skilled in the art will appreciate that each greens G21-G24 may have different levels and inclined sections, with the cups being located at different areas to enhance hole difficulty.
Course 56 includes three Preens G25-G27, seven tees T50-T57, several sand traps S15-S19, a water hazard W2 and a mid-fairway arboreal hazard 68. Course 56 is generally triangularly shaped. In such a case, two greens, for example, greens G25 and G26, will be spaced from one another by a greater distance than greens G25 and G27 or greens G26 and G27. Greens G25 and G26 are then located by definition at opposing ends of fairway F8, while green G27 is considered to be located along fairway F8 between the other two greens. Water hazard W2 and arboreal hazard 68 divide fairway F8 into two portions P7 and P8.
Course 58 includes four greens G28-G3 1, several tees T57-T62, sand traps S20-S24, a water hazard W3 and arboreal hazards 70 and 72. Greens G28 and 29 are located at a proximal end of fairway F9 or course 58, near clubhouse 60, while green G30 is disposed at a distal end of fairway F9 and green G31 is located midway along fairway F9. Tees T57 and T58, at the proximal end of course 58, are aimed at greens G30 and G31, respectively, while tees T59-T61, at the distal end of the course, are oriented in the directions of greens G28, G29 and G31, respectively. Tee T62 near green G31 is pointed towards green G29.
Courses 54, 56 and 58 require a high level of skill, owing to the various hazards on those courses. The golf park has a multitude of trees 70 and other vegetation for defining courses 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56. Other means of separating the different golf courses may include walls or fences.
FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a technique for modifying a golf course, particularly a single-fairway golf course as described hereinabove. A fairway F10 having a green G32 is provided with a recess 72 of a fixed shape for receiving a removable container 74. Container 74 has a shape which conforms to recess 72 so that container 74 may be inserted into recess 72 Container 74 holds a hazard such as a tree 76. Container 74 with tree 74 may be removed from recess 72 and replaced with a container 78 holding a sand trap 80, a container 82 holding turf 84, or a container 86 holding a water hazard 88. Containers 78, 82 and 86 are substantially identical to container 74 and are likewise removably receivable into recess 72 for varying the difficulty of a golf hole played on fairway F10 to green G32.
As depicted in FIG. 4A, a hazard container 90 may be provided with wheels 92 and an inclined wall 94 conforming to an inclined surface of a recess (not shown) in a golf course fairway. The inclined surface of the recess facilitates the use of a truck 96 to move container 90 into and out of the recess in the fairway. In contrast, containers 74, 78, 82 and 86 (FIG. 4) require the use of a crane (not shown) or other lifting device to raise the containers out of recess 72.
FIG. 5 shows another technique for modifying a golf course to vary the level of play required. A hazard 100, such as a tree, is mounted to a movable platform or carrier 102. Carrier 102 is covered with dirt and turf and otherwise conforms to a fairway F11 on which the carrier and hazard 100 are disposed. A generally underground cable and track system 104 is provided for shifting carrier 102 and its hazard 100 along a pre-established path on fairway F11. System 104 includes a cable 106 and a pair of rail assemblies 108. Cable 106 is fastened along an intermediate point to carrier 102 and at ends of the travel path to sheaves (not shown) driven by motors 110 and 112.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, a rail assembly 108 includes a channel member 114 housing a rail 116 on which a plurality of wheels 118 ride (only one wheel shown). Carrier 102 is supported on wheels 118 by respective struts 120. Struts 120 extend through a slit 122 between too resilient lips 124. Lips 124 are angled to close slit 122 around struts 120 and to prevent golf balls from falling into channel member 114.
FIGS. 7A and 7B show fairway F11, a green G33, a tee T63 and hazard 100 on carrier 102. In FIG. 7A, carrier 102 and hazard 100 are disposed in one location. In FIG. 7B, the carrier and the hazard are disposed in another location after shifting thereof by cable and track system 104.
It is to be noted that the hazard replacement or hazard shifting systems of FIGS. 4 through 7B can be utilized in conventional multiple-fairway golf courses as well as in the single-fairway courses of the present invention.
It is contemplated that a single-fairway golf course as described above will be used for a predetermined standard period such as one hour. At the end of that standard period, the player or players will depart from the course by walking or taking a golf cart along a path (not shown) disposed along a longitudinal boundary of the fairway. The end of the standard period may be communicated to the players by an acoustic alert signal or a verbal message generated via speakers at various locations throughout the course. Video cameras may be provided throughout the course for security and time enforcement purposes. Video images from the cameras can be displayed at a central location, for example, at clubhouse 60.
Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof | A golf park including a golf course having a single fairway with multiple greens. At least two greens are provided, at opposite ends of the fairway. One or more additional greens may be provided between the first two greens and along the fairway. Also, multiple tees are provided for the one fairway. At least one tee is provided at each end of the fairway, the tee facing down the fairway towards the green at the opposite end of the fairway. Each green may be the target of two or more tees disposed at different locations on the fairway. The golf course is occupied for a predetermined limited period of time by an individual or a single group of golfers. The individual or single group of golfers plays back and forth along the fairway, for as long as they have reserved the course. They can play at their own pace, undisturbed by other golfers because there are no other golfers on the course. The only limitation is duration: eventually they will have to stop because their reserved interval of play has terminated. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a well packer for forming a fluid barrier between the interior of a casing string and the exterior of a tubing string.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Well packers for directing formation fluid flow through a tubing string have been used for many years in the oil and gas industry. Well packers have been designed to accommodate one, two or more tubing strings. Examples of prior dual string well packers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,127 to P. S. Sizer; U.S. Pat. No. 3,381,752 to T. L. Elliston; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,741 toT. L. Elliston. These patents are incorporated by reference for all pruposes within this application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses a well packer comprising a pair of parallel mandrel means, each having a passageway extending therethrough; upper and lower body means carried on the exterior of the mandrel means and slidable longitudinally with respect to each other over the mandrel means; anchoring means carried by each body means and radially movable relative to each body means between a retracted position and an expanded position whereby each anchoring means is engageable with the interior of a casing string to prevent longitudinal movement of its associated body means relative to the casing string; packing means carried on the exterior of the mandrel means between the upper and lower body means; piston means, carried by said mandrel means, for moving the body means longitudinally toward each other in response to fluid pressure in one of said passageways; the longitudinal movement of the body means causing compression of the packing means and radial expansion thereof to form a fluid barrier between the exterior of the mandrel means and the interior of the casing string; the same longitudinal movement causing radial expansion of the anchoring means; means for locking each body means to the mandrel means after completion of the longitudinal movement whereby the packing means are maintained compressed and the anchoring means are maintained radially expanded; each anchoring means comprising a plurality of slip elements; each body means further comprising a slip carrier and a slip expander which are movable longitudinally towards each other to radially expand the associated slip elements; means for releasing the mandrel means from the locking means of the lower body means; and means for moving the slip expander of the upper body means longitudinally away from its associated slip carrier to allow retraction of the slip elements carried by the upper means after the locking means for the lower body means has been released.
One object of the present invention is to provide a dual string packer which does not require relative movement between the primary string mandrel and secondary string mandrel while setting the packer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a well packer, either single or dual string, which can be released from its downhole set position by cutting the mandrel means below the packing elements.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a dual string well packer which is hydraulically set and has opposing slips on opposite ends of the packing element(s).
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a dual string hydraulically set packer which does not require moving seals on either the primary or secondary mandrel while setting the packer with the exception of the setting piston.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a dual string well packer which has a continuous primary string mandrel and secondary string mandrel extending through the packing elements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dual string well packer which when set will resist both tension and compression forces within the tubing strings.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a dual string well packer which has the operational characteristics of a permanently set packer but can be removed from the well bore without having to mill or grind up the packer.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from reading thr following description in conjunction with the drawings and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal schematic view partially in section and elevation showing two parallel upper strings of production tubing coupled with two parallel lower strings of production tubing supported from a well packer set in a casing string.
FIGS. 2A, B, C and D are drawings in elevation with portions broken away showing the exterior of a well packer incorporating the present invention.
FIGS. 3A, B, C, D, E and F are drawings partially in section and elevation with portions broken away showing the well packer of FIGS. 2A-D incorporating one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 4A, B, C and D are drawings, partially in longitudinal section and elevation with portions broken away, of the packer shown in FIGS. 3A-F. The longitudinal section is generally shown rotated 90 degrees from the longitudinal section shown in FIGS. 3A-F. However, an irregular section is shown in the vicinity of the upper and lower external slips and the hydraulic piston's connecting tube. FIG. 25 demonstrates how the irregular section was taken at these three locations.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary drawing in section taken generally along line 5--5 of FIG. 3B.
FIG. 6 is a drawing in section along line 6--6 of FIGS. 3E and 4C.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the retaining cylinder which blocks the first and second cylinders of the upper body means from telescoping relative to each other.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section showing the threads on the exterior of the retaining cylinder which releasably engage matching threads on the interior of the second cylinder.
FIG. 9 is a drawing in section taken along line 9--9 of FIGS. 3C and 4A.
FIG. 10 is a drawing partially in section and elevation of the locking sleeve used in the upper body means.
FIG. 11 is a drawing in longitudinal section of the slip expander of the lower body means.
FIGS. 12 is a drawing in section taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is a drawing in longitudinal section of the portion of the mandrel means which can be cut to release the lower body means.
FIG. 14 is a drawing in longitudinal section of the lower body means adapter sub.
FIG. 15 is a plan view of the lower body means adapter sub shown in FIG. 14.
FIG. 16 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing a well packer similar to the packer of FIGS. 3A-F being lowered through a casing string.
FIG. 17 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing the well packer of FIG. 16 set within the casing string.
FIG. 18 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing the well packer of FIG. 16 after the mandrel means has been cut to release the lower body means.
FIG. 19 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing the well packer of FIG. 16 after the mandrel means has been raised to shift the locking sleeve or cylinder of the upper body means.
FIG. 20 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing the well packer of FIG. 16 after the mandrel means has been lowered to disengage the retaining cylinder.
FIG. 21 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing the well packer of FIG. 16 being removed from the casing string.
FIGS. 22A, B, C and D are drawings in section with portions broken away showing a well packer incorporating the present invention with an alternative embodiment for releasing the lower body means from its locked or set position.
FIG. 23 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing the lower body means of the well packer of FIGS. 22A-D being released from its locked position.
FIG. 24 is a schematic drawing partially in section with portions broken away showing the well packer of FIG. 23 being removed from the casing string.
FIG. 25 is a drawing in radial section taken along line 25--25 of FIG. 4A.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIG. 1 a well completion is shown using dual production tubing strings 40 and 41. Production packer 60 is set to seal with the interior of casing 42 and to direct formation fluid flow through tubing strings 40 and 41 to the well surface (not shown). The lower portions of tubing strings 40 and 41 are suspended from packer 60. The upper portions of tubing strings 40 and 41 are attached to orienting head assembly 43. Orienting body 44 is attached to packer 60. Orienting head assembly 43 and orienting body 44 provide a system for releasably coupling the upper portions of tubing strings 40 and 41 to packer 60. This coupling system is fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,734 by Mansour Ahangarzadeh. Alternatively, the upper portions of tubing strings 40 and 41 could be directly attached to packer 60 by suitable threaded connections. However, the use of orienting head assembly 43 and orienting body 44 provides for greater flexibility in operating the well.
Packer 60 is built around a pair of parallel mandrel means 61 and 62 which have passageways 63 and 64 extending respectively therethrough. Mandrel means 61 and 62 include several sections of hollow tubing which are attached to each other by matching threads 143. O-rings 144 are used to prevent fluid leaks through threaded connections 143. Other sections of mandrel means 61 and 62 are designated as 61a, 61b, 61c, 62a 62b, 62c and 62d respectively. Orienting head assembly 43 and orienting body 44 have parallel longitudinal bores 45 and 46 which extend therethrough and communicate with passageways 63 and 64 respectively. A locator recess or profile 47 is provided in each bore 45 and 46 for use in releasing packer 60 from its set position. Recesses 47 may also be used for other well control purposes. Threads 50 are provided within bores 45 and 46 to connect orienting head assembly 43 with the upper portion of tubing strings 40 and 41.
Upper body means 65 is releasably secured to and surrounds the exterior of mandrel means 61 and 62. Upper body means 65 includes several subassemblies which are generally cylindrical and slidable with respect to each other and mandrel means 61 and 62. Upper slip carrier 66 is the portion of upper body means 65 immediately adjacent to orienting body 44. Co-acting threads 48 are provided on the extreme end of mandrel means 61 and 62 and within bores 45 and 46 to attach orienting body 44 to packer 60. If desired, suitable threads could be placed on the extreme end of mandrel means 61 and 62 to allow direct attachment to tubing strings 40 and 41 respectively. An adapter sub or collar could be used in place of orienting body 44 to provide a suitable shoulder to abut slip carrier 66.
Slip carrier 66 has a plurality of external slip elements 67 attached thereto by conventional T-handles 68 and dove-tailed slots 69. A plurality of screw holes 70 is provided through the exterior of slip carrier 66 to allow insertion of shear screws 71 therein. Suitable annular grooves 72 are provided in the exterior of both mandrel means 61 and 62 adjacent to screw holes 70 to receive the extreme end of shear screws 71. As shown in FIG. 5, shear screws 71 releasably secure upper slip carrier 66 to mandrel means 61 and 62. Threads 48 and orienting body 44 preventing longitudinal movement of mandrel means 61 and 62 with respect to each other in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3B. If orienting body 44 is not used, upper slip carrier 66 and shear screws 71 will also prevent longitudinal movement of mandrel means 61 and 62 with respect to each other until after screws 71 have been sheared.
Upper slip carrier 66 also carries an internal slip ring or c-ring 73 adjacent to each mandrel means 61 and 62. Beveled cam surfaces are provided on the interior of slip carrier 66 to activate internal slip 73 causing them to ride against or contact the adjacent mandrel means 61 or 62. Teeth 74 are formed on each slip 73 to engage the exterior of the adjacent mandrel means 61 or 62 allowing longitudinal movement of the mandrel means in only one direction with respect to internal slips 73. As will be explained later, internal slips 73 perform an important function in the release of upper body means 65 from its set portion. Slip expander 75 is releasably secured by shear screws 76 to the exterior of mandrel means 61 and 62 spaced longitudinally from slip carrier 66. As shown in FIGS. 3B, 3C and 4A, this defines the first or retracted position for the anchoring means of upper body means 65. Slip expander 75 has tapered surfaces 77 adjacent to each slip element 67. When sufficient force is applied to slip expander 75, screws 76 will shear allowing slip expander 75 to move longitudinally towards slip carrier 66. Tapered surfaces 77 cause slip elements 67 to radially expand during this longitudinal movement and to engage the interior of casing string 42 as shown in FIG. 17. Slip elements 67, slip carrier 66 and slip expander 75 cooperate to provide an anchoring means carried by upper body means 65 which is engageable with the interior of casing string 42 to prevent longitudinal movement of body means 65 relative thereto. Bolts 78 are provided for use during assembly of packer 60 and to define the maximum longitudinal distance slip expander 75 can move away from slip carrier 66. Bolts 78 also assist with the removal of packer 60 after it has released from its set position. Beveled cam surfaces 50 are provided on the interior of slip expander 75 adjacent to each mandrel means 61 and 62. Surfaces 50 are sized to receive internal slip ring 73. Slip carrier 66 and the c-ring configuration of slips 73 hold internal slips 73 in contact with mandrel means 61 and 62 while packer 60 is lowered into casing string 42 and set at a desired downhole location. Slip expander 75 via surfaces 50 holds internal slips 73 in contact with mandrel means 61 and 62 during the release of packer 60 from its set position if downward force must be applied to slip expander 75.
First cylinder 80 surrounds mandrel means 61 and 62 and abuts slip expander 75. Flange 82 is formed on the exterior of first cylinder 80 to provide a shoulder for slip expander 75 to rest on. Second cylinder 81 surrounds mandrel means 61 and 62 adjacent to first cylinder 80. The outside diameter of first cylinder 80 is sized to telescope within the inside diameter of second cylinder 81. Retainer plate 83 is provided at the end of the second cylinder 81 opposite from first cylinder 80. Retainer plate 83 is basically a solid disc with two openings 85 and 86 for mandrel means 61 and 62 to respectively slide through. A circumferential rim 84 is provided on the exterior of plate 83 to receive the end of second cylinder 81.
Teeth or grooves 89 are formed on the inside diameter of second cylinder 81 near the end which receives first cylinder 80. Retaining cylinder 88 is disposed within second cylinder 81 and has matching teeth or grooves 89 to engage teeth 87. A portion of retaining cylinder 88 is cut away as best shown in FIG. 7 which allows cylinder 88 to function similar to a snap ring or c-ring. Also, the pitch of teeth 87 and 89, as best shown in FIG. 8, is selected so that when force is applied to end 90 of cylinder 88, teeth 87 and 89 will ratchet over each other if cylinder 88 can flex inwardly.
Normally, locking sleeve 91 is positioned between mandrel means 61 and 62 and retaining cylinder 88 to prevent inward flexing of cylinder 88. Shear pins 92 are provided to releasably secure locking sleeve 91 to first cylinder 80 and to maintain locking sleeve 91 positioned behind retaining cylinder 88. As best shown in FIG. 3C, retaining cylinder 88 prevents first cylinder 80 from telescoping relative to second cylinder 81 as long as teeth 87 and 89 are engaged.
Snap rings 93 are secured to the exterior of each mandrel means 61 and 62 in appropriately sized grooves adjacent to locking sleeve 91. Shoulders 94 are provided on the interior of locking sleeve 91 adjacent to snap rings 93. As will be explained later, snap rings 93 engage shoulders 94 to lift or remove locking sleeve 91 from behind retaining cylinder 88. First cylinder 80 and second cylinder 81 cooperate to provide a support for slip expander 75 and prevent slip expander 75 from moving longitudinally away from slip carrier 66 until after retaining cylinder 88 has been released from teeth 87.
Packing means 97 are carried on the exterior of mandrel means 61 and 62 between upper body means 65 and lower body means 110. Packing means 97 are preferably molded from elastomeric material. When upper body means 65 and lower body means 110 are moved longitudinally towards each other, this longitudinal movement causes compression and radial expansion of packing means 97 to form a fluid barrier with the interior of casing string 42 as shown in FIG. 1. For packer 60, packing means 97 consists of three separate elastomeric elements. However, other configurations for packing means 97 can be readily used.
Lower body means 110 is carried on the exterior of mandrel means 61 and 62 and is releasably secured thereto. Lower body means 110 includes several subassemblies which are generally cylindrical and slidable with respect to each other and mandrel means 61 and 62. Various components of lower body means 110 are interchangeable with components of upper body means 65 and have the same number such as slip elements 67.
Lower slip expander 111 is the portion of lower body means 110 immediately adjacent to packing means 97. Parallel bores 113 and 114 extend longitudinally through slip expander 111 to receive mandrel means 61 and 62 respectively therein. Shoulder or rim 112 is formed on the interior of each bore 113 and 114 near the end adjacent to packing means 97. Shoulders 112 are used to support the weight of lower body means 110 and the lower portions of tubing strings 40 and 41 while removing packer 60 from casing 42.
As best in FIG. 12, surface 77 on lower slip expander 111 actually consists of two parallel tapered surfaces 77a and 77b. Channels 98 are formed between surfaces 77a and 77b to guide slip element 67 and to retain close contact between slip elements 67 and lower expander 111 while packer 60 is being both set and released. Surface 77 on upper slip expander 75 has a similar configuration.
Teeth 101 are formed on the exterior of each slip element 67 to engage the inner wall of casing 42. The pitch or angle of teeth 101 is selected such that slips 67 carried by lower body means 111 will prevent packer 60 from moving downwardly (one direction) relative to casing 42. Slip elements 67 of upper body means 65 are carried with their teeth 101 oriented to prevent packer 60 from moving upwardly (the other direction) relative to casing 42 when the upper slip elements are expanded.
Slip carrier 117 has a plurality of external slip elements 67 attached thereto by conventional T-handles 68 and dove-tailed slots 69. Separation cylinders 119 and 120 are disposed around mandrel means 61 and 62 respectively between slip expander 111 and slip carrier 117 to prevent undesired longitudinal movement of expander 111 toward carrier 117. Cylinders 119 and 120 are sized to be received respectively within bores 113 and 114 of expander 111.
A plurality of screw holes 121 is provided through the exterior of slip expander 111 into each bore 113 and 114 to allow insertion of shear screws 122 therein. Suitable annular grooves 123 are provided in the exterior of each separation cylinder 119 and 120 to receive the extreme end of shear screws 122. As shown in FIG. 3D, shear screws 122 releasably secure cylinders 119 and 120 to slip expander 111. Cylinders 119 and 120 prevent longitudinal movement of slip expander 111 and slip carrier 117 towards each other until after screws 122 have been sheared.
Separation cylinders 119 and 120 are also releasably secured to their respective mandrel means 61 and 62 by shear screws 124. Snap rings 125 and 126 are carried on the exterior of mandrel means 61 and 62 respectively to provide shoulders 127 and 128. Opposing shoulders 129 and 130 are formed on the interior of cylinders 119 and 120 respectively. Opposing shoulder 127 contacts shoulder 129 and opposing shoulder 128 contacts shoulder 130 when packer 60 is removed from casing 42.
When sufficient force is applied to slip carrier 117, pins 122 will shear allowing cylinders 119 and 120 to slide within their respective bores 113 and 114. Slip carrier 117 can then move longitudinally towards slip expander 111 to radially expand slip elements 67. Slip expander 111, slip elements 67, and slip carrier 117 cooperate to provide an anchoring means carried by lower body means 110 which is engageable with the interior of casing string 42 to prevent longitudinal movement of body means 110 relative thereto. The first or retracted position for the anchoring means of lower body means 110 is shown in FIGS. 3D and 4B. Bolts 78 are used for the same function within lower body means 110 as in upper body means 65.
Adapter sub 133 is used to connect lower slip carrier 117 to release support cylinder 140. Adapter sub 133 is formed from a relatively short solid cylinder by machining parallel bores 135 and 136 therethrough. Mandrel means 61 and 62 are slidably disposed within the respective bores 135 and 136. Counter bore 134 is machined in one end of adapter sub 133 to receive a portion of slip carrier 117 therein. Holes 137 extend through the exterior of adapter sub 133 and communicate with counter bore 134. Shear screws 138 are positioned within each hole 137 to secure the attachment of expander 117 to adapter sub 133.
Matching threads 141 on the exterior of adapter sub 133 and the interior of release support cylinder 140 are used to attach these two components to each other. Cylinder 140 is a relatively long hollow sleeve with a single bore 142 therethrough. The inside diameter of bore 142 is larger than the sum of the outside diameters of mandrel means 61 and 62. Fluid dampening plate 131 is secured by snap rings 132 to mandrel means 61 and 62 between adapter sub 133 and mandrel sections 61a and 62a. The outside diameter of dampening plate 131 is slightly less than the inside diameter of bore 142. Therefore, dampening plate 131 restricts fluid flow within bore 142 whenever mandrel means 61 and 62 move longitudinally relative to release support cylinder 140.
Mandrel sections 61a and 62a are disposed within release support cylinder 140 and are critical components for releasing packer 60 from casing string 42. Stop plate 145 is positioned within release support cylinder 140 and rests on internal flange 146. Plate 145 has bores 147 and 148 with mandrel sections 61b and 62b slidably disposed therethrough. Shoulders 149 and 150 are formed by the upsets at threaded connections 143 between mandrel sections 61a and 61b and mandrel sections 62a and 62b respectively. Bores 147 and 148 are sized to prevent shoulders 149 and 150 from sliding therethrough. Shoulders 151 and 152 are formed on the exterior of mandrel means 61 and 62 by the upsets at threaded connections 143 between mandrel 61 and 61a and mandrel sections 62 and 62a. Shoulders 149, 150, 151 and 152 are important components for releasing packer 60 from casing 42.
Lower internal slip housing 154 surrounds mandrel means 61 and 62 adjacent to release support cylinder 140. A plurality of internal slip segments 173 is carried within housing 154 adjacent to each mandrel means 61 and 62. Beveled cam surfaces 172 provided on the interior of housing 154 activate internal slips 173 causing them to ride against or contact the adjacent mandrel means 61 or 62. Teeth 174 are formed on each slip 173 at an angle which allows movement of mandrel means 61 and 62 in only one direction relative to slips 173.
Lower spring housing 155 surrounds mandrel means 61 and 62 adjacent to slip housing 154. Springs 156 are disposed therein and surround each mandrel means 61 and 62. Springs 156 contact slip segments 173 and bias them against cam surface 172. Windows 157, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 4C, are machined partially through the exterior of spring housing 155. Bolts 158 are inserted through windows 157 to secure spring housing 155 to piston 159.
Piston 159 and piston housing 160 are carried on mandrel means 61 and 62 and cooperate to provide a piston means for moving lower body means 110 longitudinally towards upper body means 65 in response to fluid pressure in passageway 64. This longitudinal movement causes radial expansion of slips 67 and compression of packing means 97. Internal slips 173, springs 156 and slip housing 154 provide means for locking lower body means 110 to mandrel means 61 and 62 after completion of the longitudinal movement whereby packing means 97 are maintained compressed and slips 67 on both upper body means 65 and lower body means 110 are maintained radially expanded.
Ports 161 extend radially through mandrel section 62c and sleeve 162 which surrounds the exterior of mandrel section 62c. Sleeve 162 is secured to section 62c by the engagement between sections 62c and 62d. Boss 163 is attached to the exterior of sleeve 162 to communicate fluid between ports 161 and connecting tube or conduit 164. Connecting tube 164 is formed from two hollow tubes 164a and 164b which can telescope within each other. Tube 164a is attached to piston housing 160. Tube 164b is attached to boss 163. Knockout plugs 165 are threadedly engaged with each port 161 to prevent fluid flow therethrough until after knockout sleeve 166 has been shifted. Various well tools are readily available which can engage sleeve 166 to shear the end of plugs 65 to open fluid communication between ports 161 and piston 159.
Bolts 168 which extend through spring housing 155, slip housing 154, support cylinder 140 and stop plate 145 securely abut these components to each other. Bolts 158 and 168 cooperate to transfer longitudinal movement of piston 159 to lower body means 110.
Threads 169 are provided on the extreme end of mandrel sections 61c and 62d to connect the lower portions of tubing strings 41 and 40 thereto.
Operating Sequence
FIGS. 16 through 21 show the operating sequence of the various components within packer 60 as it is lowered through casing 42, set or anchored at a desired downhole location, and then released from casing 42. The components shown in FIGS. 16 through 21 are in schematic form only. The same numerical designations are used to allow correlation between the schematic representation of a component and its more detailed construction shown in the other figures. Only mandrel means 62 and its associated components will be discussed. FIGS. 16 through 21 demonstrate that the present invention could be used with a packer having a single mandrel means as well as a packer having dual mandrel means.
In FIG. 16, the components of packer 60 are shown as they would appear while packer 60 was lowered through the bore of casing string 42. A suitable running tool (not shown) would be attached to orienting body 44. Shear screws 71 and 76 releasably secure upper slip carrier 66 and slip expander 75 on the exterior of mandrel means 62 spaced longitudinally from each other with slip elements 67 retracted. Locking sleeve 91 is releasably positioned behind retaining cylinder 88 by shear pins 92. Retaining cylinder 88 in turn prevents first cylinder 80 from telescoping within second cylinder 81. Packing means 97 are relaxed.
Lower slip carrier 117 is releasably spaced from lower slip expander 111 by separation cylinder 120 to maintain slip elements 67 retracted. Shear screws 122 secure cylinder 120 to slip expander 111, and shear screws 124 secure cylinder 120 to mandrel means 62. Shear screws 124 provide a first releasable means for securing lower body means 110 to mandrel means 62. Adapter sub 133 and release support cylinder 140 (shown as a single component in FIGS. 16-21) are attached to lower slip carrier 117 by shear screws 138.
After packer 60 has been lowered to the desired downhole location, a suitable wireline tool can be used to shift sleeve 166, thereby opening a fluid communication path from passageway 64 to piston means 159 via ports 161. Fluid pressure within passageway 64 can then be increased to apply force to lower body means 110 by piston 159. Shear screws 124 are selected to release lower body means 110 from mandrel means 62 when fluid pressure acting upon piston 159 exceeds a first preselected value. After screws 124 are sheared, the force generated by piston means 159 is transmitted to packing means 97 and upper body means 65 via lower body means 110 and packing means 97. Shear screws 76 can be selected to have a shear value greater than the shear value of shear screws 124. Thus, force generated by piston 159 will shear screws 76 to release upper slip expander 75 from mandrel means 62 after screws 124 have been sheared. This same force causes slip expander 75 to move longitudinally towards slip carrier 66 and radially expand slip elements 67 until they engage casing string 42. During this radial expansion of slip elements 67, slip carrier 66 is firmly abutted against orienting body 44 which is threadedly engaged with mandrel means 62.
Prior to slip elements 67 on upper body means 65 being engaged with the interior of casing string 42, fluid pressure acting on piston 159 tends to compress and radially expand packing means 97 between upper body means 65 and lower body means 110. The shear value of shear screws 122 is selected to allow the fluid acting on piston 159 to exceed a second preselected value prior to shearing screws 122. This second preselected fluid pressure corresponds to the force required to compress packing means 97 to form a fluid tight barrier between the exterior of mandrel means 62 and the interior of casing string 42. After screws 122 have been sheared, lower slip carrier 117 can slide longitudinally towards lower slip expander 111 to radially expand slip elements 67 and engage them with the interior of casing string 42 as shown in FIG. 17. Thus, lower body means 110 is anchored to casing string 42 to hold packing means 97 compressed and radially expanded. In the alternative, lower body means 110 can be anchored to casing string 42 prior to upper body means 65 or concurrent therewith. If fluid pressure within passageway 64 continues to increase above this second preselected value, the additional force generated by piston means 159 causes slip elements 67 of lower body means 110 to more securely engage casing string 42. When packer 60 is anchored to the interior of casing string 42 as shown in FIG. 17, packer 60 will resist both tension and compression forces from tubing strings 40 and 41. Packing means 97 will also seal against differences in fluid pressure in either direction within casing 42. Packer 60 can remain in this position indefinitely.
As the well conditions change, it may be necessary to remove packer 60 from its downhole location. A standard wireline locking mandrel or well tool with a tubing cutting tool attached (not shown) can be lowered through tubing string 40 and secured within locator recess or profiles 47 of orienting head assembly 43. A locking mandrel satisfactory for engagement with profiles 47 is shown in Composite Catalog of Oil Field Equipment and Services 34th Revision (1980-81) Volume 4 page 5972. Various types of tubing cutting tools are shown in this same catalog on page 6085. The length of the locking mandrel and tubing cutting tool is selected such that the cutting tool will be disposed within mandrel section 62a between shoulder 152 and 150 when the locking mandrel is positioned within profiles 47. Various mechanical, chemical, and explosive tubing cutters are commercially available for use with the present invention. Profiles 47 and mandrel sections 61a and 62a cooperate to provide means for releasing mandrel means 61 and 62 from internal slips 173.
When mandrel section 62a is cut, the lower portions of tubing strings 40 and 41 drop, causing shoulder 150 and 145 to contact each other. This transfers the weight of the lower portion of tubing strings 40 and 41 to screws 138 which are designed to shear, allowing lower slip carrier 117 to separate from adapter sub 133. The lower portion of tubing strings 40 and 41 will then drop further until adapter sub 133 contacts shoulder 152 on mandrel means 62. To slow down or cushion the impact of adapter sub 133 with shoulder 152, dampening plate 131 restricts fluid flow within support cylinder 140.
The configuration of packer 60 after cutting mandrel section 62a is shown in FIG. 18. Prior to this, internal slips 173 prevent mandrel means 62 from moving upwards with respect to the other components of packer 60. After mandrel section 62a has been cut (mandrel section 61a would also have to be cut in a similar manner), upward tension can be applied to tubing strings 40 and 41 to lift orienting body 44 and the portion of mandrel means 62 attached thereto. This upward tension will shear screws 71 and 92 allowing mandrel means 62 to move longitudinally upward with respect to packing means 97. Teeth 74 on internal slip 73 allow longitudinal movement of mandrel means 62 in this direction. Snap ring 93 provides a shoulder on mandrel means 62 whereby this longitudinal movement of mandrel means 62 lifts locking sleeve 91 from behind retaining cylinder 88. This position for locking sleeve 91 is shown in FIG. 19. After locking sleeve 91 is lifted, retaining cylinder 88 can flex inwardly allowing disengagement of teeth 87 and 89.
The upward movement of mandrel means 62 results in internal slips 73 engaging the exterior of mandrel means 62 at a new location. By next lowering mandrel means 62, internal slips 73 contact beveled cam surfaces 50 of slip expander 75. Continued lowering of mandrel means 62a transmits force via internal slips 73 to slip expander 75 to remove slip expander 75 from behind upper slip elements 67. Internal slips 73 and camming surface 50 cooperate to provide means for moving slip expander 75 longitudinally away from slip carrier 66. Channels 98 on expander 75 cause slips 67 to retract and thus disengage upper body means 65 from its anchored position with the interior of casing string 42. This same engagement between mandrel means 62, internal slips 73, and camming surfaces 50 causes slip expander 75 to abut first cylinder 80 which in turn contacts end 90 of retaining cylinder 88 and disengages retaining cylinder 88 from teeth 89 of second cylinder 81. Thus, first cylinder 80 can now telescope within second cylinder 81 and remove all support for slip expander 75. The above described position for packer 60 is shown in FIG. 20. In this configuration, upper body means 65 has been released from its anchored position, and packing means 97 is no longer held in compression.
Following release of upper body means 65, upward tension is next applied to mandrel means 62 via orienting body 44. Mandrel means 62 is now free to move upward. This upward movement causes internal slip elements 73 to re-engage slip carrier 66 lifting it upwards. Slip ring 126 on mandrel means 62 will contact separation cylinder 120 which in turn contacts lower slip expander 111. Thus, lifting mandrel means 62 will result in removing lower slip expander 111 from behind slip elements 67. Channels 98 cause slip elements 67 to retract which disengages lower body means 110 from its anchored position with the interior of casing string 42. Packer 60 can now be withdrawn from casing string 42. The weight of the lower portion of tubing strings 40 and 41 is carried by shoulders 150 and 152 and release support cylinder 140. The configuration of the various components of packer 60 as it is withdrawn from a casing string 42 is shown in FIG. 21.
In summary, packer 60 is hydraulically set at a downhole location by applying fluid pressure to piston 159. Packer 60 is released from its set position by cutting mandrel section 62a. Mandrel means 62 is first lifted to free cylinder 88 from locking sleeve 91. Mandrel means 62 is next lowered to telescope first cylinder 80 into second cylinder 81 and to disengage upper body means 65 from the interior of casing string 42. Finally, mandrel means 62a is raised to move slip expander 111 upward and to retract lower slip elements 67. Mandrel means 62a can continue moving upwards to withdraw packer 60 from casing string 42.
Alternative Embodiment
A portion of well packer 200 incorporating an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 22A-D. Some components are interchangeable between packer 60 and packer 200. These components have the same numerical designation. Other components of packer 200, which function in a similar manner to components within packer 60 but are slightly different in design, have the same numerical designation followed by a prime (').
Packer 200 uses the same upper body means 65 as previously described for packer 60. Therefore, only lower body means 201 is shown in FIGS. 22A-D. The major difference between well packer 200 and well packer 60 is that fluid pressure within passageway 64' can be used to release the locking means for lower body means 201 rather than cutting mandrel means 62'.
Packing means 97 are carried on the exterior of mandrel means 61' and 62' between upper body means 65 and lower body means 201. When upper body means 65 and lower body means 201 are moved longitudinally towards each other, this longitudinal movement causes compression and radial expansion of packing means 97 to form a fluid barrier with the interior of casing string 42 as shown in FIG. 22A. For packer 201, packing means 97 consists of three separate elastomeric elements. However, other configurations for packing means 97 can be readily used.
Lower body means 201 is carried on the exterior of mandrel means 61' and 62' and is releasably secured thereto. Lower body means 201 includes several subassemblies which are generally cylindrical and slidable with respect to each other and mandrel means 61' and 62'. Various components of lower body means 201 are interchangeable with components of lower body means 110 and have the same number such as slip elements 67.
Lower slip expander 111 is the portion of lower body means 201 immediately adjacent to packing means 97. Parallel bores 113 and 114 extend longitudinally through slip expander 111 to receive mandrel means 61' and 62' respectively therein. Shoulder or rim 112 is formed on the interior of each bore 113 and 114 near the end adjacent to packing means 97. Shoulders 112 are used to support the weight of lower body means 201 and the lower portions of the tubing string (not shown) while removing packer 200 from casing 42. As previously explained, channels 98 are formed on lower slip expander 111 to retain close contact with slip elements 67 while packer 200 is both being set and released.
Slip carrier 117 has a plurality of external slip elements 67 attached thereto by conventional T-handles 68 and dove-tailed slots 69. Separation cylinders 119 and 120 are disposed around mandrel means 61' and 62' respectively between slip expander 111 and slip carrier 117 to prevent undesired longitudinal movement of expander 111 toward carrier 117. Cylinders 119 and 120 are sized to be received respectively within bores 113 and 114 of expander 111.
A plurality of screw holes 121 is provided through the exterior of slip expander 111 into each bore 113 and 114 to allow insertion of shear screws 122 therein. Suitable annular grooves 123 are provided in the exterior of each separation cylinder 119 and 120 to receive the extreme end of shear screws 122. Shear screws 122 releasably secure cylinders 119 and 120 to slip expander 111. Cylinders 119 and 120 prevent longitudinal movement of slip expander 111 and slip carrier 117 towards each other until after screws 122 have been sheared.
Separation cylinders 119 and 120 are also releasably secured to their respective mandrel means 61' and 62' by shear screws 124. Snap rings 125 and 126 are carried on the exterior of mandrel means 61' and 62' respectively to provide shoulders 127 and 128. Opposing shoulders 129 and 130 are formed on the interior of cylinders 119 and 120 respectively. Opposing shoulder 127 contacts shoulder 129 and opposing shoulder 128 contacts shoulder 130 when packer 200 is removed from casing 42.
When sufficient force is applied to slip carrier 117, pins 122 will shear, allowing cylinders 119 and 120 to slide within their respective bores 113 and 114. Slip carrier 117 can then move longitudinally towards slip expander 111 to radially expand slip elements 67 as shown in FIGS. 22A and 23. Slip expander 111, slip elements 67, and slip carrier 117 cooperate to provide an anchoring means carried by lower body means 201 which is engageable with the interior of casing string 42 to prevent longitudinal movement of body means 201 relative thereto.
Support plate 202 is positioned next to and abuts lower slip carrier 117. Support plate 202 has bores 203 and 204 with mandrel sections 61' and 62' slidably disposed therethrough. For ease of assembly, support plate 202 is a separate component. In FIGS. 23 and 24 slip carrier 117 and support plate 202 are shown as a single component. Piston 205 and piston housing 206 are carried on the exterior of mandrel means 61' and 62' adjacent to support plate 202. One end of piston 205 is slidably disposed within housing 206. The other end of piston 205 abuts support plate 202. Ports 207 as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24 extend radially through mandrel means 62' to communicate with passageway 208 through piston housing 206. Ports 207 and passageway 208 cooperate to communicate fluid pressure from passageway 64' to act upon piston 205. Piston 205 and piston housing 206 cooperate to provide a piston means for moving lower body means 201 longitudinally towards upper body means 65 in response to fluid pressure in passageway 64'. This longitudinal movement causes radial expansion of slips 67 and compression of packing means 97. Internal slips 173', springs 240, and slip housing 209 provide a portion of the means for locking lower body means 201 to mandrel means 61' and 62' after completion of the longitudinal movement of lower body means 201 towards upper body means 65.
Lower internal slip housing 209 surrounds piston 205 and is a continuation of piston housing 206. The cross section of packer 200 used in FIGS. 22A-C does not show internal slips 173'. A plurality of slip segments 173' is carried within housing 209 adjacent to piston 205 as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24. Beveled cam surfaces and springs 240 activate slips 173'. Teeth are formed on each slip 173' at an angle which allows longitudinal movement of piston 205 in only one direction relative to mandrel means 61' and 62'.
Piston housing 206 rests upon support cylinder 206a. In FIGS. 23 and 24, piston housing 206 and support cylinder 206a are shown as a single unit. For ease of manufacture and assembly, they are two separate components as shown in FIG. 22B. Support cylinder 206a is releasably secured to mandrel means 61' and 62' by snap ring 210. Mandrel means 61' and 62' include several sections of hollow tubing which are threadedly attached to each other. Sections 61a' and 62a' have exterior grooves 211 to receive snap ring 210. Backup ring 212 surrounds snap ring 210 and holds it engaged with grooves 211. Snap ring 210 traps flange 213 of support cylinder 206a against shoulders 215 and 216 on the exterior of mandrel sections 61a' and 62a' respectively. When flange 213 is so trapped, support cylinder 206a and thus piston housing 206 cannot move longitudinally relative to mandrel means 61' and 62'. Snap ring 210, grooves 211, shoulders 215 and 216 and backup ring 212 provide another portion of the means for releasably locking lower body means 201 to the exterior of mandrel means 61' and 62'.
Sliding sleeve 220 is attached to backup ring 212 by threads 221 and surrounds the exterior of mandrel section 62a' below ring 212. Sleeve 220 consists of two sections designated 220a and 220b. Seal rings 217 and 218 are disposed between the exterior of mandrel sections 62a' and the interior of sliding sleeve section 220a. First ports 219 extend through the wall of mandrel section 62a' and communicate fluid pressure from passageway 64' to variable volume chamber 230 formed between seal rings 217 and 218. Second ports 221 extend through the wall of mandrel section 62a' and communicate fluid pressure from passageway 64' to the side of seal ring 218 opposite from first ports 219. When both first ports 219 and second ports 221 are open and passageway 64' is not blocked therebetween, fluid pressure on opposite sides of seal ring 218 is equalized. Shoulder 222 is provided on the exterior of mandrel section 61a' to provide a stop for seal ring 217. Therefore, when fluid pressure is increased within variable volume chamber 230, shoulder 222 limits the longitudinal movement of seal ring 217 away from first ports 219.
Guide sleeve 223 is disposed around the exterior of mandrel section 62a' adjacent to sliding sleeve section 220b. The outside diameter of guide sleeve 223 is sized to telescope within the inside diameter of sliding sleeve section 220b. Shear screws 224 releasably attach sleeve section 220b and guide sleeve 223 to each other in their extended position. Seal ring 225 is provided on the exterior of mandrel section 62a' abutting the extreme end of guide sleeve 223 within sliding sleeve section 220b. Seal ring 225 prevents fluid communication between second ports 221 and the exterior of sliding sleeve 220. Guide sleeve 223 is supported by collar 226 on the exterior of mandrel section 62a'. Mandrel means 62' includes an adapter sub 62b' and a landing nipple 62c' attached by threads 231 to mandrel section 62a'. Landing nipple 62c' has internal locator recess or profile 232 for securing various well tools therein. Well tools (not shown) can be landed or locked into nipple 62c' for use in setting packer 200 at a desired downhole location and for use in releasing packer 200 from the downhole location. Landing nipple 62c' can be considered as either a part of mandrel means 62' or as part of the lower tubing string which would be attached to mandrel means 62' below packer 200.
Operation Sequence
FIGS. 23 and 24 show the operating sequence of the various components within packer 200 as it is set or anchored at a downhole location within casing 42, and then released from casing 42. The components shown in FIGS. 23 and 24 are in schematic form only. The same numerical designations are used to allow correlation between the schematic representation of a component and its more detailed construction shown in the other figures. Only mandrel means 62' and its associated components will be discussed. FIGS. 23 and 24 demonstrate that the present invention could be used with a packer having a single mandrel means as well as a packer having dual mandrel means.
After packer 200 has been lowered to the desired downhole location, a suitable wireline tool can be locked into nipple 62c' to block passagewy 64'. An example of such a tool is shown in Otis Wireline Subsurface Flow Controls & Related Service Equipment Catalog (OEC 5121C) page 17. Fluid pressure within passageway 64' can then be increased via port 207 and passageway 208 to apply force to lower body means 201 by piston 205. During this time the same fluid pressure is present at both first ports 219 and second ports 221. Shear screws 124 are selected to release lower body means 201 from mandrel means 62' when fluid pressure acting upon piston 205 exceeds a first preselected value. After screws 124 are sheared, the force generated by piston 205 is transmitted to upper body means 201. Shear screws 76 are selected to have a shear value less than the shear value of shear screws 92 or 122. Thus, force generated by piston 205 will shear screws 76 to release upper slip expander 75 from mandrel means 62' after screws 124 have been sheared. This same force causes slip expander 75 to move longitudinally towards slip carrier 66 and radially expand slip elements 67 until they engage casing string 42. During this radial expansion of slip elements 67, slip carrier 66 is firmly abutted against orienting body 44 which is threadedly engaged with mandrel means 62'.
After slip elements 67 on upper body means 65 have engaged the interior of casing string 42, fluid pressure action on piston 205 can be increased further to compress and radially expand packing means 97 between upper body means 65 and lower body means 201. The shear value of shear screws 122 is selected to allow the fluid acting on piston 205 to exceed a second preselected value prior to shearing screws 122. This second preselected fluid pressure corresponds to the force required to compress packing means 97 to form a fluid tight barrier between the exterior of mandrel means 62' and the interior of casing string 42. After screws 122 have been sheared, lower slip carrier 117 can slide longitudinally towards lower slip expander 111 to radially expand slip elements 67 and engage them with the interior of casing string 42 as shown in FIG. 23. Thus, lower body means 201 is anchored to casing string 42 to hold packing means 97 compressed and radially expanded. Internal slips 173' engage the exterior of piston 205 to hold piston 205 extended from piston housing 206. When fluid pressure within passageway 64' decreases, slips 173' prevent piston 205 from returning to its initial position. As long as piston housing 206 is anchored to the exterior of mandrel means 62' via snap ring 210, internal slips 173' and snap ring 210 can lock lower body means 201 to the exterior of mandrel means 62'. When packer 200 is anchored to the interior of casing string 42 as shown in FIG 23, packer 200 will resist both tension and compression forces from tubing strings 40 and 41. Packing means 97 will also seal against differences in fluid pressure in either direction within casing 42. Packer 200 can remain in this position indefinitely.
As the well conditions change, it may be necessary to remove packer 200 from its downhole location. A standard wireline locking mandrel or well tool with a tubing packoff tool attached (not shown) can be lowered through tubing string 40 and secured within locator recess or profiles 232 of nipple 62c'. The length of the locking mandrel and tubing packoff tool extending thereabove is selected such that the packoff tool will be disposed within mandrel section 62a' between ports 219 and 221 when the locking mandrel is positioned within profiles 232. Various packoff tools are commercially available for use with the present invention. Examples of such tools are shown in Otis Wireline Subsurface Flow Controls & Related Service Equipment Catalog (OEC 5121C) pages 14, 25 and 119. Profiles 232 and mandrel section 62a' cooperate to provide means for releasing the locking means for lower body means 201 from mandrel means 61' and 62'.
With the packoff positioned between first ports 219 and second ports 221, fluid pressure can be increased within variable volume chamber 230 creating a difference in pressure across seal ring 218. When this pressure difference reaches a preselected value, screws 224 will shear allowing sliding sleeve 220 to telescope downwardly over the exterior of guide tube 223. This movement removes backup ring 212 from holding snap ring 210 engaged with grooves 211 as shown in FIG. 23. Dotted lines show the locked position for backup ring 212 in FIG. 23.
After backup ring 212 has been removed from supporting snap ring 210, mandrel means 62' can slide longitudinally relative to upper housing means 65 and lower housing means 201. Prior to this, slips 173' retained piston 205 locked relative to piston housing 206 which was in turn locked to mandrel means 62' by engagement of snap ring 210 with grooves 211. Upward tension can now be applied to lift orienting body 44 and mandrel means 62' attached thereto. This upward tension will shear screws 71 and 92 allowing mandrel means 62' to move longitudinally upward with respect to packing means 97. Mandrel means 62' is manipulated in the same manner as previously described for packer 60 to release upper body means 65 from casing 42.
Following release of upper body means 65, upward tension is next applied to mandrel means 62' via orienting body 44. Mandrel means 62 is now free to move upward. This upward movement causes internal slip elements 73 to re-engage slip carrier 66 lifting it upwards. Snap ring 126 on mandrel means 62' will contact separation cylinder 120 which in turn contacts lower slip expander 111. Thus, lifting mandrel means 62' will result in removing lower slip expander 111 from behind slip elements 67. Channels 98 cause slip elements 67 to retract which disengages lower body means 201 from its anchored position with the interior of casing string 42. Packer 200 can now be withdrawn from casing string 42. The configuration of the various components of packer 200 as it is withdrawn from a casing string 42 is shown in FIG. 24.
In summary, packer 200 is hydraulically set at a downhole location by applying fluid pressure to piston 205. Packer 200 is released from its set position by pressurizing variable volume chamber 230 and releasing snap ring 210. Mandrel means 62' is first lifted to free cylinder 88 from locking sleeve 91. Mandrel means 62 is next lowered to telescope first cylinder 80 into second cylinder 81 and to disengage upper body means 65 from the interior of casing string 42. Finally, mandrel means 62' is raised to move slip expander 111 upward and to release lower slips 67 from casing 42.
The previous descriptions of packers 60 and 200 are representative of only two embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily see other alternative changes and modifications without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the claims. | A well packer which is anchored downhole within the bore of a casing string by opposing slips. The well packer is hydraulically set. One embodiment of the invention allows the packer to be released from its downhole location by cutting the packer mandrels below the packing elements. The invention is particularly adapted for use with a dual string well packer. However, the anchoring and releasing mechanism of the present invention can be readily adapted for use with a single string well packer. Use of the present invention with a dual string packer is particularly desirable because it allows combining the features of hydraulic setting downhole, opposing slips for better resistance to differential pressure in either direction, and selective releasing of the packer from the downhole location. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/372,525, filed on Aug. 11, 1999, the entirety of the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/096,251 filed Aug. 12, 1998, the entirety of the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is generally directed to locking devices, and more particularly to a system and method for controlling access to vending machines and similar enclosures.
[0003] Latching or locking devices are commonly used to hold lids, doors or other closure elements of boxes, cabinets, doorways and other framed structures in closed and/or locked positions. Such devices are typically used to provide some measure of security against unauthorized or inadvertent access. For example, conventional vending machines generally include a key operated latch or locking device that typically includes a latching assembly and a post mounted to the frame and door of the vending machine so that the door of the vending machine is automatically locked when moved into a closed position against the machine frame by the insertion of the post into the latching assembly.
[0004] Typically, to disengage the latching assembly from the post, these latching assemblies utilize key locks in which a key is received, and, as the key is turned, the biased latching elements of the assembly are released from engagement with the post to enable the door or other closure element to which the latch is mounted to be opened. Examples of such latching assemblies for use with vending machines or similar enclosures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,050,413, 5,022,243 and 5,467,619. Such an unlocking or opening operation generally is a substantially manual operation such that most latching assemblies generally are limited in their placement to regions or areas where they can be readily reached and operated, e.g., in the middle of the door. Such easy access to these latching assemblies, however, tends to make these latching assemblies easy targets for vandals or thieves who can shield their actions from view while attacking the security of the enclosure by picking or smashing the lock to remove the primary and sometimes only point of security between the door and the frame of the enclosure.
[0005] In particular, vending machines have become an increasingly favorite target of vandals and thieves. The popularity of vending machines has increased greatly in recent years, especially in remote areas for providing ready access to an increasing variety of goods including food and drinks, stamps, and higher priced items such as toys and cameras, all without requiring human intervention. The increased popularity coupled with an increased capacity of vending machines as well as the expansion of products to higher priced items have significantly increased the amounts of money taken in by vending machines, providing an increasingly attractive target to thieves and vandals.
[0006] Further, if the key to one of these latching assemblies or locking devices is lost or stolen, all the locks accessible by such key must be “re-keyed” to maintain controlled access and security. Such re-keying is typically burdensome and very costly, especially where there are a significant number of locks that need to be re-keyed. Accordingly there is an increasing interest in improving the security of latching and locking assemblies for securing the doors or other closure devices of vending machines and similar enclosures.
[0007] There also exists a problem of monitoring and auditing the amount of time required for a service technician to access and service devices such as vending machines, automatic teller machines, gambling machines or other automated kiosks or containers. It is therefore difficult for many companies to develop a good schedule or concept of the total time required to service such vending devices or machinery to better plan service routes and/or allocate or assign service technicians. This problem is further compounded by conventional latching systems that require the post of the latch to be rotated through multiple revolutions to fully release it from the latch assembly. Such additional time required to disengage and open the latching assembly may seem small per individual machine, but constitutes a significant expenditure of time that can be burdensome, for example, for a company that has a large number of vending machines that must be serviced, by significantly increasing the amount of time required to service each particular vending machine.
[0008] There is, therefore, a need for improved latching systems and methods that address these and other related and unrelated problems.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention is directed to a key for wirelessly powering and selectively allowing access to an enclosure identified by an enclosure identification, the enclosure having an otherwise unpowered enclosure lock controller to control an electric enclosure lock mechanism, the key and the lock controller in two-way communication for transmitting and receiving variable signals for validating that the key is authorized to access the enclosure, the variable signals being alternately transmitted between the key and the lock controller to deter detection and duplication of the variable signals to prevent unauthorized access to the enclosure. The key comprises: a housing; a processor located within the housing, the processor operative to build the variable signals for transmission from the key to the lock controller and to interpret the variable signals received by the key from the lock controller; a storage device located within the housing in communication with the processor, the storage device operative to store data for building and interpreting the variable signals being alternately transmitted between the key and the lock controller for validating that the key is authorized to access the enclosure; a data transmitter located within the housing in communication with the processor, the data transmitter operative to wirelessly transmit signals from the key to the lock controller, to inductively transmit an access request signal to the lock controller upon proper alignment with the lock controller, and to transmit an interrogation response signal in response to receiving to a variable interrogation request; a data receiver located within the housing in communication with the processor, the data receiver operative to receive the variable interrogation signal; and a power transmitter located within the housing in communication with the processor for wirelessly transmitting power to the lock controller simultaneously with the transmission of data.
[0010] In accordance with yet further aspects of the invention, the key further comprises: a plurality of date sensitive key activation codes stored in the storage device; and a keypad located on the external surface of the housing used for entering one of the date sensitive key activation codes.
[0011] In accordance with still further aspects of the invention, the key further comprises a display located on the external surface of the housing.
[0012] In accordance with further aspects of the invention, the key selectively allows access to the enclosure via wireless simultaneous transfer of data and of power to the lock controller using a method of transmitting the variable signals comprising: transmitting the access request signal identifying the key from the key to the lock controller; receiving by the key, the variable interrogation signal from the lock controller, in response to the access request signal; decoding the variable interrogation signal to determine an enclosure identification and identify a variable interrogation question, the variable interrogation question corresponding to one of a plurality of possible interrogation questions; validating that the key is authorized to access the enclosure by comparing the enclosure identification to a list of authorized enclosure identifications stored in the key; computing the interrogation response signal using a selected stored cipher variable corresponding to the interrogation question and the enclosure identification, in response to a key validation; transmitting the interrogation response signal from the key to the lock controller; and repeatedly transmitting power from the key to the lock controller until the key receives a signal from the lock controller indicating that sufficient power has been received by the lock controller to send an open signal to the enclosure lock.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:
[0014] [0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating major components of a system for controlled access to an enclosure via a lock controller formed in accordance with the present invention;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 2 illustrates the route manager computer shown in FIG. 1;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary key of FIG. 1;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 4 illustrates data stored in the key shown in FIG. 3;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 5 illustrates data stored on the lock controller shown in FIG. 1;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary logic performed by the route manager computer;
[0020] [0020]FIG. 7 is an exemplary screen display for a route manager program as shown in FIG. 6;
[0021] [0021]FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary logic for loading data from the route manager onto the key;
[0022] [0022]FIG. 9 is an exemplary screen display for loading data from the route manager computer onto the key;
[0023] [0023]FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary key shown in FIG. 1;
[0024] [0024]FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary lock controller shown in FIG. 1;
[0025] [0025]FIG. 12 is an exemplary illustration showing simultaneous transmission of data and power from a key to a lock controller in accordance with the present invention;
[0026] [0026]FIG. 13 is a message sequence diagram illustrating communication between a key and a lock controller in accordance with the present invention;
[0027] [0027]FIG. 14 is a timing diagram illustrating the transmission of data as shown in FIG. 13 along with the transmission of power from the key to the lock controller;
[0028] [0028]FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary logic for unloading data from a key to the route manager computer;
[0029] [0029]FIG. 16 is an exemplary screen display for unloading data from the key to the route manager computer;
[0030] [0030]FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary logic for generating a report in accordance with the present invention;
[0031] [0031]FIG. 18 is an exemplary screen display for selecting a report to generate; and
[0032] [0032]FIG. 19 is an exemplary display of a report generated in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0033] Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating major components of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. A key 30 is used for controlled access to an enclosure 31 via communications with a lock controller 32 . For example, a vending machine having an electro-mechanical lock may have a lock controller 32 in communication with the electro-mechanical lock. The exemplary embodiment illustrated herein is directed to a system for a dispatcher or route manager to control access to vending machines on various routes. It will be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented to control access to various other types of enclosures, including, automated teller machines, cabinets, storage units and other, similar types of enclosures.
[0034] The key 30 is loaded with data used to provide controlled access to the lock controller 32 . In exemplary embodiments, the data is loaded onto the key 30 by a computer, e.g., route manager computer 34 , via a key interface 40 .
[0035] [0035]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating major components of the route manager computer 34 shown in FIG. 1. The route manager computer 34 can be any one of various conventional computers, for example a Personal Computer. The route manager computer 34 is used to run a route manager program, such as the one described in further detail later. In exemplary embodiments, such as the one shown in FIG. 2, the components (e.g., executable code, dynamic link libraries, etc.) for the route manager program are stored in multiple locations. In the illustrated embodiment, some of the components for the route manager program 54 are stored in the route manager computer 34 and the remaining components for the route manager program 56 are stored on a smart card 38 . Thus, the route manager program can not be loaded and executed unless the smart card 38 is loaded in a smart card interface 36 which is in communication with the route manager computer 34 . The route manager components 56 stored on the smart card 38 can vary in different embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the components on the smart card may be an access code, in other embodiments, the components may be one or more dynamic link libraries, in other embodiments, the components may include dynamic link libraries and an access code, etc. Preferably, the components on the smart card are unique to a particular smart card 38 . Preferably, smart card 38 also provides encryption and decryption functions for sensitive data elements within the database 58 , software for authenticating passwords and generating various codes used within the key and lock. The cipher variables required for such encryption and decryption are stored on the smart card 38 but are never revealed to the route manager computer 34 . These cipher variables are unique to the particular database 58 associated with the smart card 38 . Thus, a given smart card 38 can only be used with a given route manager computer 34 .
[0036] The route manager computer 34 has a processing unit 50 . The route manager computer 34 also has a memory 52 for storing data, such as internal route manager components 54 and a route manager database 58 . The route manager database is used to store data to be loaded onto keys 30 , as well as data unloaded from keys 30 . The route manager database can be in various formats. For example, the database can be implemented using Microsoft® Access®.
[0037] The route manager computer 34 also has a display 60 used to display a route manager program user interface, such as the one shown and described later. An input device 62 , such as a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse, trackball, etc.) is used by a user (e.g., a route manager or dispatcher) to interact with the route manager program, for example to load data onto keys 30 , to unload data from keys 30 and to display reports generated from data stored in the route manager database 58 .
[0038] [0038]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary key formed in accordance with the present invention. Key 30 has a housing 70 . Various components (not shown) are stored within the housing. For example, key 30 includes a processor for generating messages, encrypting messages, transmitting messages, receiving messages, and decrypting messages. Key 30 also a data/power link (e.g., ferrite coil)that is a mating link to a data power link in the lock controller 32 . The key also has a power supply, such as a battery. A keypad 72 disposed on the key housing 70 is used for entering data, e.g., a Personal Identification Number (PIN). In exemplary embodiments, the key 30 also includes a display 74 for displaying information, e.g., status messages. Key 30 also includes memory for storing data to be transmitted from the key 30 to the lock controller 32 . Key 30 also has sufficient memory to store data received from lock controller 32 . Exemplary data stored on key 30 is shown in FIG. 4, described next.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 4, in exemplary embodiments, key 30 contains data used for controlled access to lock controller 32 . A key identification uniquely identifies the key 30 . In exemplary embodiments, the key identification may be stored as encrypted data. In exemplary embodiments, the key also includes a list of PINs. The PINs are date sensitive access codes that allow access for a given day of the month. In exemplary embodiments, the key contains 31 PINs, one for each day of the month. The key also includes identification and access codes for lock controllers 32 that may be accessed by the key 30 . In exemplary embodiments, a number of openings allowed for the key is stored in the key 30 . The key 30 may also store valid times of day for using the key 30 to access lock controllers 32 , for example, from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. In exemplary embodiments, key 30 also includes an expiration date for the key 30 .
[0040] Some of the data stored in the key 30 is used to determine if the key should attempt to access a lock controller 32 . For example, if the key has expired, the maximum number of opening has been reached or if it is not a valid time of day for the key 30 to access a lock controller 32 , the key 30 will not even attempt to access the lock controller 32 . Additionally, if an invalid PIN is entered via the keypad 72 , the key will not attempt to access the lock controller 32 .
[0041] The key may also receive and store information obtained from a lock controller 32 . For example, upon valid access to a lock controller 32 , the lock controller transmits access information, such as key identifications and access times to the key 30 .
[0042] [0042]FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary data stored in a lock controller 32 . The lock controller 32 includes an enclosure identification that uniquely identifies the lock controller 32 of a particular enclosure 31 . The enclosure identification is transmitted to the key 30 in order to determine if the enclosure is in the list of authorized enclosures for the key 30 . In exemplary embodiments, the lock controller 32 also includes a list of cipher variables that are used to construct interrogation questions that are used for access verification. The key 30 includes a list of cipher variables that are used to construct interrogation responses. The lock controller 32 also keeps a record of key accesses (e.g., key identification value and date and time of access). The record of key accesses is transmitted from the lock controller 32 to the key 30 . The record of key accesses can then be unloaded from the key 30 to the route manager computer 34 .
[0043] Referring to FIG. 1, in exemplary embodiments, route manager 34 is in communication with a smart card interface 36 , e.g., via a serial port. The present invention includes a route manager program that is used to load information onto keys 30 and to unload information from the keys 30 . In exemplary embodiments, such as is shown in FIG. 2, only a portion of the route manager software is stored on the route manager computer 34 . The remainder of the route manager software is stored externally, e.g., on a smart card 38 . Smart card 38 is read by smart card interface 36 in order to obtain the portion of the route manager program stored on the smart card 38 . In exemplary embodiments, the portion of the route manager program 56 stored on smart card 38 is specific to the route manager computer 34 . Thus, the route manager program can only be run on a route manager computer 34 which has the proper smart card 38 loaded in the smart card interface 36 . Functionality of the route manager program is described in further detail later.
[0044] Once the route manager software has been properly loaded, the route manager program can read from and write to keys 30 via a key interface 40 .
[0045] [0045]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary logic for a route manager program formed in accordance with the present invention. The logic moves from a start block to block 100 where a password entered by the user of the route manager computer is authenticated. If a valid password is not entered (no in decision block 101 ), the logic of FIG. 6 ends.
[0046] If, however, a valid password is entered (yes in decision block 101 ), the logic proceeds to block 102 where route manager program is loaded from multiple sources. As described above, in exemplary embodiments, a portion of the route manager program is stored on the route manager computer 34 and a portion of the software is stored externally, for example, on a smart card 38 associated with a particular route manager computer 34 . Once the route manager program is completely loaded, the logic moves to block 103 where a user interface is displayed on the route manager computer 34 .
[0047] [0047]FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a route manager program formed in accordance with the present invention. The route manager program user interface provides controls (e.g., buttons, menus, etc.) that allow a user to perform various functions (e.g., load keys, unload keys, generate reports, etc.).
[0048] The logic of FIG. 6 proceeds to block 104 where a user request is obtained (e.g., by the user pressing a button or selecting a menu item). When a request is received, it is processed.
[0049] If it is determined in decision block 106 that it is time to exit, e.g., the user wishes to exit or the smart card is removed, the logic of FIG. 6 ends. In exemplary embodiments, if the smart card 38 is removed from the smart card interface 36 , after the smart card is entered, the logic of FIG. 6 begins again. In other words, if the smart card 38 is removed, the user must again enter the password for authentication before the program is reloaded and processing begins.
[0050] If it is not time to exit (no in decision block 106 ), the requested route manager function is performed. If the request is a load key request (yes in decision block 108 ), the logic moves to block 108 where the key is loaded. Exemplary logic for loading a key is shown in FIG. 8 and described next.
[0051] [0051]FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary logic for loading a key. The logic moves from a start block to block 130 where a load key user interface is displayed. FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary load key user interface formed in accordance with the present invention.
[0052] The logic of FIG. 8 proceeds to block 132 where a key is detected. In exemplary embodiments, multiple key interfaces 40 may be included and multiple keys 30 can be detected at the same time. A detected key is selected. See block 134 . For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a list of all detected keys is displayed and the user selects the desired key. After selecting a key, the user (e.g., route manager) can configure the settings for the selected key. For example, the user can define valid key times. For example, the key 30 may only be valid from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. In exemplary embodiments, the key may only be valid on certain days (e.g., weekdays). The user can also specify a maximum number of openings for the key for the current key period. The current key period ends on the key expiration date. The key expiration date is also configurable by the user. As shown in FIG. 9, in exemplary embodiments, such as a vending machine route, a key 30 can be associated with a given person and a given route. The key also contains an internal date and time. The user can view the internal date and time of the key. The internal date and time of the key can be updated. In exemplary embodiments, the internal date and time of the key is automatically updated to the same date and time as the route manager computer 34 . In alternative embodiments, the internal date and time of the key can be updated manually by the user instead of or in addition to being automatically updated by the route manager computer 34 .
[0053] After the user has updated the configuration settings as desired, the updated settings can be read (block 136 ) and loaded onto the key (block 138 ). For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the user presses a “GO” button on the load user interface to indicate that the settings should updated. The settings information is retrieved (block 136 ) and the information is stored in the route manager computer and in the key (block 138 ). In exemplary embodiments, encrypted elements of the settings information are modified by smart card 38 prior to being stored on the key 30 . They are decrypted from their database encryption format and then immediately re-encrypted to their key format. The non-encrypted data elements never appear outside of smart card 38 . The key 30 also includes a list of PINs. When the key 30 is loaded, a new list of PINs may be generated and loaded onto the key. See block 140 . The logic of FIG. 8 then ends and processing returns to FIG. 6.
[0054] After the key 30 is loaded, the service technician can use the key 30 . In order to use the key 30 , the PIN for the current day must be obtained. For example, the service technician can telephone the route manager or dispatcher. The route manager or dispatcher can load and run the route manager program and display the PIN for the day for the service technician. In exemplary embodiments, only the PIN for the current day can be decrypted and displayed by the route manager computer 34 .
[0055] Once the key has been programmed and its batteries have been charged, the user or service technician is able to access the enclosures identified on the key. In exemplary embodiments, the user places the key on the outer door of the enclosure. As shown in the schematic illustration of an exemplary key 30 of FIG. 10 is a 30 , key 30 includes a programmable logic device 80 that contains a power/data transmission modulator and data reception synchronizer. The key 30 also includes a key pad interface 82 for entry of data, such as a PIN. FIG. 11 is a schematic of an exemplary lock controller 32 formed in accordance with the present invention. Typically, the lock controller 32 of the enclosure 31 includes a microprocessor and a memory for storing data or information such as when and how long the door of the enclosure 31 has been opened and by whom. The lock controller also has a data/power link that typically comprises an inductive coupling, such as ferrite coil which enables indirect, inductive power transfer through the door over a desired air gap. The data/power link of the lock controller is typically positioned at a corner of the door frame so that the key can be slid into the corner and into engagement with the outer door frame to automatically locate and place the inductive coupling or link of the key controller in registry with the inductive coupling of the data/power link of the lock controller. In exemplary embodiments, such as the one shown in FIG. 11, the data demodulator and transmission synchronizer of the lock controller 32 are both implemented in firmware. Data transfer between the key and the lock controller can be accomplished using various known techniques, for example, electromagnetic dynamics, radio frequency transfer or an infrared link.
[0056] In order to gain access to an enclosure in accordance with the present invention, the user first enters a PIN using the keypad 72 of key 70 . If the PIN is invalid, no further processing occurs (e.g., the key 70 will not transmit any power or data until a valid PIN is entered). In addition to entering a valid PIN, the key must not have expired, must not have exceeded the maximum number of openings and the time must be a time which the key may be used. In alternative embodiments, the PIN is transmitted to the lock controller and the lock controller validates the PIN. If the lock controller determines that the PIN is invalid, the key ceases transmission of power and data.
[0057] If a valid PIN has been entered, the key has not expired, the maximum number of openings has not been exceeded and the time is within the valid time range, the user places the key in the proper position on the enclosure door so that the power/data link of the key is in registry with the power/data link of the lock controller of the enclosure. The key 30 then begins wireless transmission of power to the lock controller 32 . Simultaneously, data is transmitted and received between the key 30 and the lock controller 32 . Power from the battery of the key is transmitted inductively through the door across an air gap to the mating data/power link and to the lock controller to energize the data/power link to the lock controller. The wireless transmission of power from the key 30 to the lock controller 32 simultaneous with the transmission of data between the key 30 and the lock controller 32 is described in further detail next.
[0058] U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,192, entitled “Apparatus and method for Reading Utility Meters” discloses a system and method for an electronic reader having means to conductively and inductively transmit power and/or an interrogation command to a meter to be read at any selected one of a plurality of frequencies and for the reader to include a receiver for receiving data inductively from a meter being read. The entire contents of U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,192 are incorporated by reference herein.
[0059] In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a system such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,192 is used for wireless transmission of power from the key 30 to the lock controller 32 . Additionally, key 30 can transmit data to lock controller 32 simultaneously with the transmission of power. The two-way data communication of the present invention allows for controlled access to the enclosure 31 having a lock controlled by lock controller 32 . As described below, selective access to the enclosure having a lock controlled by lock controller 32 is achieved by two-way communication between the key 30 and the lock controller 32 which includes the transmission and receipt of variable signals for validating that the key is authorized to access the enclosure. The variable signals transmitted between the key 30 and the lock controller 32 deter detection and duplication, and thus prevent unauthorized access to the enclosure.
[0060] [0060]FIG. 12 is an exemplary illustration of phase/frequency modulation patterns of half-duplex data transmission simultaneous with power delivery. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the data is transmitted one bit at a time at a rate of 1896.3 bits/second and the data is received at a rate of 2275.6 bits/second. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, when data is not being transmitted, power (unmodulated carrier signal) is transmitted at a frequency of 17.067 KHz 220. When a “zero” bit is being transmitted, the data is transmitted as shown at frequencies of 5.689 KHz and 17.067 KHz 222. A “one” bit is transmitted at a frequency of 5.689 KHz 224. When the key 30 is ready to receive a data transmission, it transmits at frequencies of 11.378 KHz and 5.689 KHz followed by a receive window 226 . The lock controller 32 transmits one bit during the receive window. If the transmission by the lock controller is a “zero” bit, a 204.8 KHz burst is transmitted 228 . If the bit being transmitted by the lock controller is a “one” bit, there is no burst. If there is more data to be received from the lock controller 32 by the key 30 , the receive sequence with the receive window 226 and the lock controller transmission 228 are repeated until an entire message from the lock controller 32 is received by the key 30 .
[0061] [0061]FIG. 13 is a message flow diagram illustrating messages communicated between the key 30 and the lock controller 32 . In exemplary embodiments, the key 30 includes a keypad 72 . The service technician enters the PIN for the day using the keypad 72 on the key 30 . If the PIN is correct, an indication is given, e.g., the key emits a sound (e.g., a click or a beep) and/or an “OK” message is displayed on the key display 74 . Once the service technician has been validated as having entered the correct PIN for the day, the key 30 must be lined up with the lock controller 32 within a short period of time (e.g., 10 seconds). Once the key has been lined up with the lock controller, the key begins to transmit power. In exemplary embodiments, the key transmits power repeatedly in short bursts, e.g., 1000 times a second. The key transmits data simultaneously with power. The lock controller 32 transmits data to the key 30 between the key's power transmission cycles, as shown in FIG. 14. In exemplary embodiments, the power transmissions are synchronized so that the lock controller 32 knows when power is not being transmitted, such as is shown in 226 and 228 of FIG. 12. Power is transmitted until either sufficient power has been transmitted to open the lock of the enclosure or the transmission is aborted. The transmission may be aborted by the user removing the key 30 or when proper validation is not achieved.
[0062] After a valid PIN has been entered and the key 30 is properly aligned with the lock controller 32 , the key commences transmitting power as shown in FIG. 14. The key 30 builds an authentication request signal 200 and transmits it to the lock controller 32 . In exemplary embodiments, the key 30 builds an authentication request message that includes a key identification and a date/time. Prior to building the authentication request message, the key 30 verifies that the PIN entered is valid, that the user has not exceeded the maximum number of allowable openings and that the date/time is an allowable date/time. If the verification is not successful, the authentication request message is not built and the key 30 will not transmit the authentication request message and will cease transmitting power. If the validation is successful, the authentication message is built and encrypted. The encrypted authentication request signal 200 is then transmitted from the key 30 to the lock controller 32 . The key increments the number of openings to ensure that the number of openings does not exceed the allowable number of openings.
[0063] Upon receipt of the authentication request signal 200 , the lock controller 32 decrypts the authentication request message. The lock controller 32 then stores an entry indicating the key identification and date/time of access. The lock controller 32 builds a variable interrogation message that includes an enclosure identification, a record of previous accesses and an interrogation question. The lock controller 32 has multiple stored cipher variables and a random number generator that are used to construct interrogation questions and their expected replies used to provide additional security. Use of variable interrogation questions deters detection and duplication of the signals communicated between the key 30 and the lock controller 32 . The variable interrogation signal 202 is encrypted and transmitted from the lock controller 32 to the key 30 .
[0064] Upon receipt of the variable interrogation signal 202 , the key 30 decrypts the variable interrogation signal. The key 30 then builds an interrogation response message that includes an answer to the variable interrogation question. The interrogation response message is encrypted and transmitted from the key 30 to the lock controller 32 as an interrogation response signal 204 .
[0065] The lock controller 32 decrypts the interrogation response signal 204 and validates the reply to the interrogation question. The lock controller 32 sends an access report signal 206 to the key 30 . The access report signal includes an indication of whether sufficient power has been transmitted. Access report signals 206 are sent periodically until the lock controller 32 has received sufficient power to open the lock. The key 30 continues to transmit power until a message is received at the key 30 from the lock controller 32 that sufficient power has been received by the lock controller. When the key receives a message that sufficient power has been received, the key 30 ceases transmission of power. In exemplary embodiments, an indication is also provided by the key 30 (e.g., an audible and/or visual indication at the key 30 ) that sufficient power has been received by the lock controller 32 .
[0066] Returning to FIG. 6, if the user (e.g., route manager) wishes to unload data from a key (yes in decision block 112 ), the logic moves from decision block 112 to block 114 where the key is unloaded as shown in FIG. 15 and described next.
[0067] The logic of FIG. 15 moves from a start block to block 160 where an unload user interface is displayed. FIG. 16 shows an exemplary unload key user interface. As with the load key function, the key 30 is placed in the key interface 40 . The route manager program on the route manager computer 34 detects a key 30 loaded in the key interface 40 . The logic moves to block 162 where a key is detected. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, multiple keys may be detected at the same time from multiple key interfaces 40 . A list of keys is displayed as shown in FIG. 16. The user can select a key to unload from the list of available keys. See block 164 . After selecting a key, the user indicates that the selected key should be unloaded, e.g., by pressing an “GO” button as shown in FIG. 16. The logic proceeds to block 166 where the key 30 is unloaded. When the key is unloaded, data from the key 30 is transmitted from the key 30 to the route manager program. The transmitted data includes one record of key accesses from each of the enclosures 31 that were in communication with the key 30 since the previous upload process. The logic then moves to block 168 where the route manager program stores the data in the route manager database 58 . After the key has been unloaded, the logic of FIG. 15 ends and processing is returned to FIG. 6.
[0068] Returning to FIG. 6, if the user wishes to generate a report (yes in decision block 116 ), the logic moves from decision block 116 to block 118 where a report is generated. FIG. 17 illustrates exemplary logic for generating a report.
[0069] [0069]FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary logic for generating a report in accordance with the present invention. The logic moves from a start block to block 180 where a user interface for available reports is displayed. FIG. 18 is an exemplary user interface for selecting available reports. For example, a report may be generated for a selected key 30 for a specified period of time. The report will display access (e.g., a key identification and date/time) for the specified key during the specified period of time.
[0070] After selecting the desired report (block 182 ), the logic of FIG. 17 moves to block 184 where the desired report is generated. For example, the route manager database 58 is queried to obtain the desired report data. The logic then moves to block 186 where the report is formatted and displayed. FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary report display. After the report is displayed, the logic of FIG. 17 ends and processing returns to FIG. 6.
[0071] Returning to FIG. 6, after the desired function has been performed (e.g., load key in block 110 , unload key in block 114 or generate report in block 118 ), the logic of FIG. 6 returns to block 104 to obtain the next user request. The logic of blocks 104 - 118 is repeated until it is time to exit (yes in decision block 106 ). When it is time to exit, the logic of FIG. 6 ends. It will be appreciated that functions other than those shown in FIG. 6 may be available in a route manager program formed in accordance with the present invention. For example, there may be a help function, a configuration function (e.g., for setting date/time, etc.), a database function for examining and updating the database, etc.
[0072] Additional modifications and improvements of the present invention may also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the particular combination of parts described and illustrated herein is intended to represent only a certain embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to serve as a limitation of alternative devices within the spirit and scope of the invention. | A key for selectively allowing access to an enclosure having an unpowered lock and a lock controller is disclosed. The key comprises: a housing. Located within the housing are: a processor operative to build variable signals for transmission from the key to the lock controller and to interpret the variable signals received by the key from the lock controller; a storage device in communication with the processor, the storage device operative to store data for building and interpreting the variable signals being alternately transmitted between the key and the lock controller for validating that the key is authorized to access the enclosure; a data transmitter in communication with the processor, the data transmitter operative to wirelessly transmit signals from the key to the lock controller, to inductively transmit an access request signal to the lock controller upon proper alignment with the lock controller, and to transmit an interrogation response signal in response to receiving to a variable interrogation request; a data receiver in communication with the processor, the data receiver operative to receive the variable interrogation signal; and a power transmitter in communication with the processor for wirelessly transmitting power to the lock controller simultaneously with the transmission of data. | 4 |
[0001] This invention relates to a flat heating element according to the preamble of claim 1 , in particular for heating surfaces in contact with the user in the passenger compartment of a vehicle.
PRIOR ART
[0002] DE 41 01 290: It is known practice to contact a plurality of heating conductors with a plurality of contact conductors in order to create redundancy for the event of failure of individual conductors. However, there are certain applications in which such heating elements have to meet particularly stringent safety and sturdiness requirements.
[0003] Commercially available products: It is known practice to silver-plate copper conductors in order to protect them against corrosion. However, unless the silver coating is impervious, the copper is still susceptible to attack. Moreover, the silver diffuses with time into the copper. This results in the formation of a boundary layer comprising a Ag—Cu alloy, which is extremely brittle. Fractures in this boundary layer form incipient cracks that likewise endanger the conductor.
[0004] DE 3832342 C1, DE 19638372 A1, DE 10206336 A1: It is known practice to use jacketed wires. In this case, electrical conductors are provided with a core of steel or precious metal and with a jacket of copper or platinum. The core may be tuned to meet criteria such as flexibility, tear and tensile strength and reversed-bending strength, while the jacket may be optimized with respect to the desired electrical properties. Jacketed wires of this kind are relatively expensive, however, and show only limited corrosion resistance.
[0005] JP 2002-217058: It is known practice to sheath a heating conductor consisting of a plurality of carbon fibers with heat-shrinkable tubing. However, an assembly of this kind is not very fracture-proof.
[0006] DE 200104011968: It is known practice to provide a heating conductor with three different coatings. The intention here is for leakage currents between different layers, signalizing a heating-element malfunction, to be detected by a monitoring means. Multiple coatings of this kind make production more complicated, and the monitoring electronics are expensive.
[0007] WO 2005/089031: Heating elements 1 efa uring metal-clad polymer conductors are known, The intention here is to develop these further for additional applications.
SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0008] One aim of this invention consists in manufacturing a heating element that shows sufficient fatigue and corrosion resistance, can be produced cost-efficiently and, in the event of a malfunction, becomes inoperative without impairing its surroundings. This is achieved with the subject matter of claim 1 .
[0009] Another aim consists in manufacturing a seat that can be efficiently temperature-controlled and that is also safe during continuous service. This is achieved with the subject matter of claim 4 . Additional advantageous embodiments that are contemplated are evident from the remaining claims and the description.
DRAWINGS
[0010] Details of the invention are explained in the following, with reference being made to:
[0011] FIG. 1 a top view of a flat heating element
[0012] FIG. 2 enlarged view of a conductor in the heating element shown in FIG. 1
[0013] FIG. 3 enlarged view of an individual strand of the conductor shown in FIG. 2
[0014] FIG. 4 perspective section through a seat featuring the heating element of FIG. 1
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Heating element 1 : FIG. 1 shows a flat, electric heating element 1 .
[0016] Flat element support 8 : The heating element 1 features at least one flat element support 8 . It may be advantageous for at least one of the element supports 8 to be made up, at least partially, of a textile, a multiple- or single-thread knitted fabric, a woven or non-woven fabric, a flexible thermoplastic, an air-permeable material, and/or a film. In the embodiment, an element support 8 featuring a non-woven fabric of synthetic fibers is provided.
[0017] Heating zone 100 : Provision is made for the heating element 1 to have at least one heating zone 100 . This is assigned to a surface to be heated, or forms this itself.
[0018] Heating conductor 2 : The heating element 1 features, in particular, at least one heating conductor 2 located in contact with and/or in the heating zone 100 . It is preferable to provide a plurality of heating conductors, which preferably meander beside one another and are connected up in parallel. In the embodiment, each heating conductor is located at an average distance of about 2 cm from the next heating conductor, and runs approximately parallel thereto.
[0019] High-resistance heating conductor: At least one of the heating conductors 2 has an electrical resistance between 100 Ω/m and 1000 Ω/m, preferably between 100 and 800 Ω/m, preferably between 300 and 500 Ω/m. In the embodiment, all the heating conductors 2 have a resistance of approximately 300 Ω/m.
[0020] Interlinked heating conductors: Provision is made for at least some of the heating conductors 2 to be interlinked. This is achieved by arranging for the ends 57 of at least some of the heating conductors 2 to be interconnected, some of them electrically, at contact locations 77 . As a result, localized heating-conductor malfunctions caused, for example, by damage during sewing or by vandalism, do not disrupt the operation of the heating element because in the event of a localized failure of individual heating conductors, the heating current is distributed to neighboring heating conductors. Moreover, by virtue of the interlinking, an impermissibly high current load will immediately damage all the heating conductors 2 and rapidly render the heating element inoperative in the event of a fault.
[0021] Limited current load: Provision is made for the regular current load per heating conductor 2 to be essentially less than 100 mA at an operating voltage of between 10 and 50 V. This is important in order to prevent localized overheating in the direct vicinity of a heating conductor. It should be remembered in this context that the temperature in the direct vicinity of a heating conductor is usually distinctly higher than the average temperature of the heated surface as measured by a thermostat in the heating zone 100 .
[0022] Contacting area 200 : It may be advantageous for the heating element 1 to have at least one contacting area 200 , by means of which contact is made with the heating zone. The heating element described here has two contacting areas located on opposite sides of the heating zone 100 , approximately parallel to one another, with the heating zone 100 sandwiched between them.
[0023] Electrode 4 : The heating element 1 features at least one electrode 4 for supplying electric current to at least one of the heating conductors 2 . Here, two electrodes 4 are provided, one running along each of the contacting areas 200 . They may be of an essentially meandering nature, and/or, as here, run in a straight line.
[0024] Contact conductor 3 : At least one of the electrodes 4 has at least one contact conductor 3 . This may have, for example, at least one substantially metallic electrical conductor strand 30 , preferably of copper or a copper alloy, which is preferably provided at least partially with a coating of a non-oxidizing or passified metal, preferably of silver or a silver alloy. In the embodiment, a silver-coated copper strand is provided. This reduces the price of the heating element because conventional metallic strands can be used for the contacting conductors.
[0025] Connection with contact conductor/electrode: At least one contact conductor 3 and/or one electrode 4 is expediently connected electrically with a plurality of heating conductors 2 . In the embodiment, all the contact conductors 3 are in contact with all the heating conductors 2 .
[0026] Similar contact surfaces: It may be advantageous for at least one heating conductor 2 and at least one contact conductor 3 to have surfaces that are at least partially of a similar material. Here, they are both coated with silver. As a result, the contact resistances between the two conductor types are reduced. The term “similar” means here that the objects concerned have similar or substantially the same values or qualities, at least in respect of their functional properties, in particular their specific electrical conductivity.
[0027] Few contact conductors: It may be advantageous if, as in the embodiment, at least one electrode 4 has a maximum of two contact conductors 3 , preferably a maximum of one contact conductor 3 . This permits a reduction in material costs without increasing the contact resistances between the heating and contact conductors. The reason for this is that the flexibility of the heating conductors 2 and the low contact resistance between the heating conductors 2 and the contact conductor 3 result in a very low resistance at their contact surfaces. A duplicated arrangement of contact conductors 3 is therefore unnecessary.
[0028] Non-conducting zones in the projecting area 108 : The heating element 1 may have at least one projecting area 108 in which at least parts of electrical conductors 25 are disposed, through which, however, no current flows during operation. Such projecting areas 108 are actually superfluous, but are sometimes unavoidable for production reasons. In the embodiment, one such projecting area is disposed alongside each of the contacting areas 200 , on the side opposite the heating zone 100 . It may therefore be advantageous for the heating element 1 to feature non-conducting zones 110 containing at least parts of electrical conductors 25 , whose electrical conductivity is at least less than in other areas but preferably zero, said non-conducting zones preferably being located in the projecting areas 108 or in the area of a seat's trench transitions. This is achieved by way of selectively damaging, in advance, the electrical conductors 25 , preferably the heating conductors 2 , in these zones 110 . By doing this, the undesirable or accidental flow of a heating current in trench transition areas or areas not to be heated can be prevented.
[0029] Connection line 6 : Provision is made for the heating element llo tave at least one connection line 6 in order to supply current from a current source 70 , via at least one electrode 4 , into the heating element 1 .
[0030] Temperature sensor 80 : It is useful for the heating element to additionally feature a temperature sensor 80 that interrupts a current supply to the heating element 1 at temperatures between 60° C. and 80° C. These values are averaged over a certain surface area and are therefore always lower than the temperature of the heating conductors 2 . In spite of this, the temperature generated at the heating conductors themselves does not exceed 200 to 230° C. The temperature sensor 80 may be part of a thermostat, as in the embodiment.
[0031] Electric cut-out 300 : Provision is furthermore made for the heating element 1 to have at least one electric cut-out 300 that interrupts the operating current in the event of a malfunction. In the embodiment, the cut-out 300 is a fuse formed by a heating conductor 2 , which, if a threshold temperature is exceeded, melts and conducts no more current.
[0032] Operational state: During operation, current flows from the current source 70 via a connection line 6 and the one electrode 4 into the plurality of heating conductors 2 . The direction of current flow is thus within the plane of the heating element (and not perpendicular thereto). The heating conductors 2 warm up and heat the heating zone 100 . From there, the current then flows via the other electrode 4 and the second connection line 6 back to the current source.
[0033] Electrical conductor 25 : FIGS. 2 and 3 show an electrical conductor 25 , which may be used for a heating element 1 . The electrical conductor 25 may be, for example, a heating conductor 2 , a contact conductor 3 , an electric cut-out 300 and/or a connection line 6 .
[0034] Heat-sensitive conductivity: It may be advantageous for the electrical conductivity of at least one electrical conductor 25 to be at least temporarily reduced if its temperature, at least locally, is between 200° C. and 400° C., preferably between 220° C. and 280° C. By this means, the heating element's surroundings can be prevented from heating up to an impermissibly high temperature even if the heating element's thermostat should fail, e.g. due to age-induced welding of the switching contacts, incorrect installation of the heating element, or to short-circuiting of the thermostat via heating conductors. It may be advantageous for at least part of, preferably substantially all of, the electrical conductor 25 to be interrupted, preferably irreversibly, within the cited temperature range. The heating element will then destroy itself before any fire risk for the surroundings can arise. Unintentional short circuits in the heating element, caused, e.g. by wires in the seat's trench zones, are remedied automatically by localized self-destruction of the heating element. Localized overheating, due, for example, to the formation of folds in the heating element on account of shifting, or faulty installation in the seat, again does not cause excessively high, impermissible seat temperatures thanks to localized self-destruction. After all, the materials surrounding the heating element, such as foamed cushions or fabric covers, are only at risk of catching fire as from temperatures above 270° C.
[0035] Electrical conductor 25 with conductor support 12 and conducting layer 14 : It is to advantage if at least one electrical conductor 25 has at least one conductor support 12 and, in contact therewith, an electrically conductive conducting layer 14 . Both could extend in several dimensions. However, they preferably run in essentially two, or, as here, one main direction.
[0036] Conductor 25 with conductive particles in matrix: It may be to advantage, either as an alternative or in addition, if at least one electrical conductor 25 has at least one conductor support 12 , in particular a matrix, in which support electrically conductive particles are embedded. A matrix is a material in a composite and has other components embedded in it. The term particles, as used here, includes fibers. It is preferable for at least some of the particles to be granules or fibers composed of carbon, steel or other metals. Fibrous particles are especially suitable, as they enhance electrical conductivity when embedded in a matrix. Carbon nanotubes, graphite nanofibers or carbon filaments are particularly suitable. This ensures good electrical conductivity, mechanical sturdiness and corrosion resistance of the conductor support material, and makes it easy to spin. The conductor support 12 is preferably strand-shaped, in particular filamentary, and is preferably spun.
[0037] CNT: Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are tube-shaped carbon structures. The diameter of the tubes is usually in the range from 1-50 nm. Individual tubes currently reach lengths of millimeter magnitude. Depending on the structure, the electrical conductivity of the tubes is metallic, semi-conducting, or, at low temperatures, super-conducting. CNTs have a density of 1.3-1.4 g/cm 3 and a tensile strength of 45 billion Pa. The current carrying capacity is approximately 1,000 times that of copper wires. The heat conducting capacity is 6000 W/(m·K) at room temperature.
[0038] Graphite nanofibers: Graphite nanofibers are (solid) carbon fibers which, compared with customary carbon fibers (diameter approximately 10 μm), are some 10-100 times thinner.
[0039] Heat-sensitive conductor support and conducting layer: The conductor support 12 is preferably designed in such manner that it loses its material cohesion when a certain temperature is exceeded. To this end, it may be advantageous for the conductor support 12 to be made of a material that decomposes chemically or vaporizes as soon as certain temperatures are exceeded, so that it at least partially disintegrates or becomes interrupted. In consequence, the supporting structure for the conducting layer 14 becomes ineffective as soon as the temperature rises impermissibly. It may be advantageous for the conductor support 12 to shrink, contract and/or tear, in so doing destroying/tearing the overlying conducting layer; the conductivity of the conducting layer is destroyed as a result. It may be advantageous in this context for the conductor support 12 to be manufactured, at least partially, from a material with a memory effect.
[0040] Heat-resistant conductor support material: It may be advantageous, up to temperatures of at least 150° C., preferably at least 200° C., preferably at least 250° C., for the material of the conductor support 12 to retain its chemical and/or mechanical stability to a degree that at least resembles its stability under standard conditions. The material is thus sufficiently temperature-stable for the normal heating operation. Temperature-stable means that under the influence of everyday temperature fluctuations, the material concerned undergoes no, or, at the most, unsubstantial, change in shape or strength, remains chemically stable and retains the same physical condition as under standard ambient conditions.
[0041] Heat-fusible conductor support material: It may be advantageous for the conductor support to melt or soften at temperatures between 200° C. and 400° C., preferably between 250° C. and 300° C., preferably between 265° C. and 275° C., here at 270° C. Timely interruption of the heating conductor in the event of impermissible overheating is thereby guaranteed.
[0042] Sturdy conductor support: It may be advantageous for the conductor support 12 to be manufactured at least partially from a—preferably elastic and tear-resistant—plastic, preferably at least partially, but more preferably completely, from carbon fibers, polypropylene, polyester and/or glass fiber, and/or at least partially from steel, and/or for the material of the conductor support 12 to have a higher flexural fatigue strength and/or a lower tensile or compression strength than the material of the conducting layer 14 . The term plastic refers to every synthetic, non-naturally occurring material, in particular polymers and substances derived therefrom, such as carbon fibers.
[0043] Thermoplastic conductor support material: It may be advantageous for at least part, substantially all, of the heating conductor's conductor support to be formed from a thermoplastic material, preferably from a plastic, preferably polyamide, polyester, Kapton or, as here, polyimide. This permits a cost-effective assembly. Moreover, fibers of this kind are soft and neither pointed nor brittle. Neighboring systems (e.g. seat-occupied recognition) can be safely operated as a result, and it is much easier to prevent penetration of the seat surface than with carbon fibers.
[0044] Thin conductor support: It may be advantageous for the material of the conductor support 12 to be less than 500 μm thick, preferably between 100 μm and 2 μm, preferably between 50 and 15 μm.
[0045] Thin conductor strands: It may be advantageous for the material of the conductor support 12 to be spinnable or capable of being drawn (out) into filaments or wires, preferably to filaments which are less than 100 μm thick, preferably less than 10 μm, preferably less than 1 μm, preferably less than 0.1 μm, preferably less than 0.01 μm. Here, provision is made for filaments that are 10 μm thick. The heating conductor is accordingly thin, while thanks to a large number of individual strands it also shows high stability and high electrical conductivity.
[0046] Integral connection between conducting layer and conductor support: Preferably, there is a material connection between the conducting layer 14 and the conductor support 12 , thus ensuring that the conductor support and the conducting layer are securely coupled.
[0047] Metallizable conductor support: For this purpose, it may be advantageous for the conductor support 12 to be metallizable. Heating conductors of this kind are cost-effective in production. The term “metallizing” refers to the application of a metallic coating, e.g. by means of electroplating or sputtering.
[0048] Thin conducting layer: It may be advantageous for the conducting layer 14 to have a thickness essentially between 1 mm and 15 μm thick, preferably between 1 nm and 1 μm, preferably between 20 nm and 0.1 μm. Reliable interruption of the current in the event of a malfunction is thereby ensured, because a deformation of at least part of the conductor support 12 in the event of an impermissibly high operating current will at least partially destroy the conducting layer 14 .
[0049] Conducting layer of amorphous material: It may be advantageous for the conducting layer 14 to be applied to the conductor support 12 by electroplating, as here, or by sputtering or a painting technique. These methods permit the build-up of uniform layers.
[0050] Conductor surface inert, treated against corrosion, only very slightly reactive, or of such nature that it generates electrically conductive corrosion products: It may be advantageous, under normal ambient conditions, for the conducting layer 14 and/or at least parts of the surface of at least one conductor 25 to be chemically inactive, at least on the exterior (with respect to the internal strand). The term “chemically inactive” means inert, (i.e. even under the influence of corrosive substances, the object referred to as chemically inactive undergoes no change, at least not under the influence of such substances as perspiration, carbonic acid or fruit acids. The material selected may also be of such kind that it either does not corrode or forms electrically conductive corrosion products. To this end, a metal may be provided whose surface can be passified and/or is oxidized and/or chromated. Precious metals such as gold or silver are particularly suitable for this purpose. Here, provision is made for at least part of the surface of one conductor 25 to be formed of a metal-containing material, preferably to be formed at least partially of nickel, silver, copper, gold and/or an alloy containing these elements, preferably to be formed almost completely of one of the materials mentioned. This reduces the contact resistance at the contact surface between heating and contact conductor.
[0051] Coated conducting layer: It may be advantageous for the surface of the conducting layer 14 to be at least partially coated, in particular with a plastic and/or a lacquer and/or, at least partially, with polyurethane, PVC, PTFE, PFA and/or polyester. In these embodiments, the electrical conductors 25 of the heating element 1 are particularly corrosion-resistant and can, moreover, be bonded by means of the coating.
[0052] Conductor strand 30 : It may be advantageous for at least one electrical conductor 25 to have at least one conductor strand 30 , as is the case here. A conductor strand is a strand encompassing one, several or many filamentary electrical conductors. Preferably, these run substantially in the longitudinal direction of the strand. A conductor strand may itself, as here, be built up from a number of conductor strands.
[0053] Strand and filament: A strand is a longish structure whose longitudinal dimensions by far exceed its cross-sectional dimensions. Preferably, the two cross-sectional dimensions are approximately the same size. The structure preferably has bending-elastic properties, but is in a solid state. The term filamentary as used here means that the object thus designated is made of a short or long fiber, or of a mono- or multi-filament thread.
[0054] Many individual strands and bundles of strands: It may be advantageous for at least one conductor strand 30 to feature a plurality of individual strands 33 , preferably between 1 and 360, preferably between 10 and 70. In the embodiment described, the heating conductors 2 are configured with approximately 60 individual strands 33 . This ensures that if one or the other individual strand 33 should fail, e.g. as a result of the stitching over process, the heating conductor 2 remains functional. Here, in addition, a plurality of individual strands 33 is combined to form at least one bundle of strands 32 so as to increase the stability of the conductor strand 30 . Several bundles of strands 32 , preferably between 1 and 20, preferably between 2 and 5, are then combined to form a collective bundle 31 . Here, provision is made for 2 bundles of strands. A conductor strand 30 of this kind has a large surface area and low resistance, although much of the conductor-strand's cross section consists of a non-conducting material.
[0055] Thin individual strands: It may be advantageous for the individual strand 33 and/or the conductor strand 30 to be less than 1 mm thick, preferably less than 0.1 mm, preferably less than 10 μm. On account of the low mass of the heating conductor and the conducting layer, and of the resulting high rate of their destruction, the heating conductor's surroundings remain completely uninfluenced.
[0056] Support strands: It may be advantageous for a conductor strand 30 to have at least two different types of individual strands 33 and/or conductor bundles 32 . Provision may be made for these to comprise different materials and/or to have different dimensions. It is preferable, as is the case here, to provide individual strands 570 that take up a large proportion of the mechanical load acting on the conductor strand 30 . The support strands are preferably made of a material that is stronger, less elastic and able to support higher loads than the material of the other strands, e.g. substantially of polyester or steel, as here. Depending on the application, they are preferably also thicker and more numerous than the other strands. Thin conductor strands can be protected effectively in this way against bending and tensile stresses.
[0057] Functional components made of the same material(s): It may be advantageous for the conducting layer, the conductor support, the supporting conductors, the contact conductors and/or the heating conductors to be made substantially of the same material(s), preferably of one of the plastics cited. This facilitates recycling disused heating elements.
[0058] Twisted strands: It may be advantageous for the conductor strand 30 and/or at least one individual strand 33 to feature a preferably spiral-shaped spatial configuration, obtained preferably by twisting, twining or braiding them with one another. This produces heating conductors of particularly high tensile strength.
[0059] Covering layer: It may advantageous for at least sections of a plurality of individual strands 33 , strand bundles 32 and/or conductor strands 30 to be electrically insulated from one another, preferably in that at least one individual strand 33 is at least partially insulated by means of an insulation layer on its conducting layer 14 . This safeguards the heating element additionally against localized overheating.
[0060] Adhesive-coated conductor strands: Provision may also be made for at least sections of at least one conductor strand 30 and/or individual conductor 33 to be coated with an adhesive, in particular a heat-activatable adhesive. This permits easy assembly of the heating element.
[0061] Internal strand 34 and coating layer 35 : As illustrated here in FIG. 3 , the electrical conductor 25 may feature at least one filamentary internal strand 34 as conductor support 12 , and, at least partially encasing this internal strand 12 , at least one electrically conductive coating layer 35 as conducting layer 14 . A coating layer is a layer which, directly or indirectly, encases at least part of a strand but is not necessarily the outermost layer encasing the strand.
[0062] Conductor weight, coating share and precious-metal share low: It may be advantageous for the electrical conductor 25 to weigh between 5 and 50 g/km, in particular between 10 and 15 g/km. It advantageously features a metallic share of between 0.1 g and 10 g, preferably between 1 g and 5 g, preferably between 1 and 3 g per km. In particular, it may be advantageous for the electrical conductor 25 to have a precious-metal share, preferably silver, of between 10 wt. % and 50 wt. %, preferably between 15 wt. % and 25 wt. %.
[0063] Textile-integrated conductor: It may be advantageous for at least sections of at least one electrical conductor 25 to be arranged, anchored and/or integrated in contact with and/or in the element support 8 of the heating element 1 . It may be advantageous for at least one electrical conductor 25 , preferably as heating conductor 2 or contact conductor 3 , to be integrated at least in parts of the element support 8 , preferably in the weft, part-weft or as warp thread, for it to be laid thereupon and anchored by means of an additional sewing or knitting thread, for it to be integrated therein as sewing thread, and/or for it to be bonded thereto and/or stuck between two layers of the element support 8 . It is preferably integrated during production of the heating element 1 , e.g. as weft thread in a multiple-thread knitted fabric, as here. This simplifies the production process. A heating element of this kind is easy to install, since the conductor strands for supplying electrical energy and/or for heating, and/or the conductor strands of the additional conductor, can be made up in advance, for example as strip or continuous material, and, for example, then only need to be ironed on.
[0064] Resistance largely independent of temperature: Preferably, at least one heating conductor 25 , one conductor strand 30 and/or at least one conducting layer 14 has an electrical resistance which, within a certain temperature range, fluctuates by a maximum of 50% of its resistance at room temperature (approx. 20° C.). The fluctuation is preferably even less, preferably a maximum of 30%, ideally a maximum of 10%. The defined temperature range preferably includes temperatures from −10° C. to +60° C., preferably −20° C. to +150° C., ideally −30° C. to +200° C. This resistance can be set, for example, by standard methods such as pre-stretching of the heating conductors (e.g. by 10% of their original length), intermittent storage (e.g. 72 hours) of the heating conductors at elevated temperatures (e.g. 50° C.), by supplying water (e.g. water bath at 30° C. for 2 hours), or other suitable methods.
[0065] Installation possibilities: It may be advantageous to install the heating element in a vehicle seat, a steering wheel, an armrest, a seat pad, an electric blanket, or the like. FIG. 4 shows a heating element installed in a seat 500 . The heating element may be located in a seat insert or, as here, between the trim surface and the seat cushion. It may be advantageous to fit the heating element into a larger sub-system that provides the seat occupant with heating, cooling, ventilation, etc.
[0066] Potential applications in combination with other patents: It may be advantageous to use the heating element described here as an additional component of known systems or as a substitute for one or more of the components of such systems. For example, the heating element can be added to the seats described in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,786,541; 6,629,724; 6,840,576; 6,869,140 and the applications and patents connected therewith, or to the seats described in the US patent application 2004-0189061. The heating element can additionally be used in combination with the seats described in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,893,086; 6,869,139; 6,857,697; 6,676,207; 6,619,736; 6,604,426; 6,439,658; 6,164,719; 5,921,314 and related applications and patents, or the US patent applications 2005-0323950; 2005-0331986; 2005-0140189; 2005-0127723; 2005-0093347; 2005-0085968; 2005-0067862; 2005-0067401; 2005-0066505; 2004-0339035 and related applications. All the cited patents and patent applications are herewith included, by way of reference thereto, as part of this document.
[0067] Seat with air movement means: It may be advantageous for the seat system to include at least one seat portion or backrest, armrest, cushion or similar component featuring a cushion, an insert for altering the temperature, and a trim surface. An air movement means may be provided for supplying the seat with conditioned or ambient air that may be used to heat or cool the seat or seat occupant convectively or conductively.
[0068] Seat with insert: It may also be advantageous to blow temperature-controlled air through a permeable trim surface from the seat cushion over the user, thereby providing the seat and seat occupant with convective heating or cooling. As is shown in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,869,139 and 6,857,697, the cushion may be provided with a passageway for the transmission of temperature-controlled air through the insert to the seat surface. A diversity of other optional features that are disclosed in these patents may be incorporated into the seating systems of the invention described here, for example tunnels, sub-passageways, deflectors, air-impermeable covers or coatings, or the like. For example, an intermediate layer with through holes may be located above the sub-passageways or tunnels in order to moderate the air current or direct it at the seat occupant. A heating element may be used to provide heat. A certain degree of conductive cooling may likewise be achieved through use of this system.
[0069] Cooling with ambient air: The temperature-controlled air may, however, also be combined with ambient air that is sucked over the seat occupant and into the seat. In this case, ambient air is sucked through the trim surface and into a mixing area beneath the trim surface, where the ambient air is combined with the air that has been conditioned temperature-wise. The mixed air is then transported away from the seat, either to be discharged or to be transported back to the evaporator and/or the mixing area. The ambient air provides convective cooling (or heating), while the air that is conditioned temperature-wise provides conductive cooling or heating. The mixing area may, for example, be an open space incorporated within an intermediate layer. Examples of seats with mixing areas are contained in the US patent applications 2005-0067862 and 2005-0066505
[0070] Connection with the on-board air-conditioning system: Temperature-controlled air may be generated by means of a connection to the vehicle's on-board air-conditioning system, by means of a closed-circuit system, or by a combination of systems. Closed-circuit systems comprise such systems as are not connected to the vehicle's on-board air-conditioning system. These may include thermoelectric devices, absorption cooling systems or components, heating elements and combinations of these.
[0071] Sub-surface airflow: It may be advantageous to supply temperature-controlled air to the insert without blowing the air over the seat occupant. For example, through use of an air-impermeable trim surface, temperature-controlled air can be supplied to an insert provided with an open space located beneath the impermeable trim surface. Air is blown or sucked into the insert in order to conductively heat or cool the insert and hence the seat occupant.
[0072] Opposite current directions side by side: It may be advantageous for at least some of the heating conductors and/or contact conductors to be mutually superposed over at least part of their length or to run at least approximately alongside each other, and for the current flowing in them to flow, at least over part of their length, in opposite directions. In this way, the electromagnetic fields generated by the conductors can be compensated.
[0073] Folded heating element: To this end it is advantageous for the heating element to be folded, at least section-wise. In the embodiment, this is effected along a fold 52 that is approximately equidistant from each of the two electrodes 4 and approximately parallel thereto. This results in the two electrodes 4 , with opposing flow directions, being located one above the other. The two halves of the heating conductor, which are created by the fold 52 , are also mutually superposed and have the current flowing in opposite directions.
[0074] Exemplary nature of the embodiments: The embodiments described above are intended to elucidate the invention. However, they are only of exemplary nature. It goes without saying that individual features can also be omitted, modified or supplemented. The features of different embodiments may also be combined with each other. | This invention relates to a flat heating element ( 20 ), in particular for heating surfaces in contact with the user in the passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising at least one electrical conductor ( 25 ).
According to the invention, the electrical conductivity of at least one of these electrical conductors ( 25 ) is at least temporarily reduced if the temperature thereof at least locally exceeds a permissible maximum temperature. | 7 |
This application is a file wrapper continuation of application Ser. No. 08/656,660, filed May 31, 1996 now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of length measurement devices for use in building construction. More specifically, the method and apparatus of the present invention utilize an adhesive tape to facilitate the installation of lap-siding.
2. Statement of the Problem
Lap-siding consists of elongated boards or synthetic materials that substitute for boards. These materials are nailed to the outer frame of a house or other building under construction to provide an exterior siding that is pleasing to the eye. The name lap-siding refers to an overlapped sequence of boards that keeps water out, retains warm air in the building, and permits interior wall space to breathe for the effusion of trapped condensation or moisture. The boards are each positioned with their axis of elongation in a horizontal orientation, and nailed in place one above another with successively upward boards having their respective bottom portions overlapping a corresponding upper portion of the board beneath.
Commercial installation of lap-siding is performed by specialized work crews that reduce construction costs and the time spent in construction. A lap-siding installation crew typically works for a day or two to install the siding. By comparison, the same number of less experienced or less specialized workers might take a week or more, and the quality of the work performed by less experienced workers is often poor in comparison to that of the specialized crew. Once the siding has been installed, other specialized crews, e.g., painters and electricians, move in to perform tasks that can only be performed after the siding has been installed. If the siding installation requires an inordinate amount of time, these other crews can be kept waiting or requested to return another day. The delay can have a snowballing effect if the subsequent crews are not available at the preferred later time. These delays are particularly vexatious and costly to the general contractor. Thus, the use of professional lap-siding installation crews avoids or minimizes many problems.
The crews normally install lap-siding as described in this paragraph. The house is framed, and a vapor barrier (e.g., plastic or tar-paper) is placed on the outer portion of the frame. A horizontal datum line is drawn on the vapor barrier circumscribing the building around the lowermost portion of the fame proximal to the foundation. The horizontal datum line is drawn using a bubble-level device, and is placed a fixed distance above the foundation. This fixed distance is often selected to permit the bottommost siding board to overlap with the top of the foundation, or the bottom board may abut the foundation where overlap is not possible. At the corners of the building, a series fixed intervals are marked off above the datum line. If the span of a particular wall is very large, these markings may also be made on the middle portion of the wall. Two workers hold a lap-siding member in a position of alignment between two corresponding marks on opposite ends of a wall. The lap-siding member is nailed into place in this position. The next lap-siding member is installed in like manner, and the process continues until the vapor barrier is covered with siding. The process is repeated for other building walls. The lap-siding members generally have about one-half inch to one of overlap, i.e., they are about one-half inch to one inch longer than the fixed intervals that are marked above the datum line.
The most problematic aspect of the above-described installation process is that of measuring the fixed intervals above the datum line. Lap-siding typically surrounds the building to which it is attached. Thus, it is essential for the lap-siding members to join at common lines on the corners of the building; otherwise, the mismatched lines are an eyesore that indicates shoddy construction. Even where corner pieces are installed to hide the corners, mismatched lines of one-quarter to one-half inch or more are visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, the boards on a given wall run parallel to one another and, consequently, cannot be tipped at their ends to meet with boards on another wall without ruining this parallel relationship. The defect is immediately visible to the naked eye where boards do not run parallel with the other boards.
Even on professional installation crews, costly errors can result when the workmen who conduct these measurements sometimes to pay attention to detail. In other instances, measurement errors derive from an inexperienced crewmen or language difficulties. The errors are hopefully detected in time to avoid having to remove siding that has already been installed. The crew foreman is constantly having to check the work in progress, in order to ascertain whether a measurement error has been made. If it were not for having to guard against measurement errors, more crews could be allocated to a single foreman or manager.
Adhesive measurement tapes have been developed for use in some areas of building construction, but these are not suitable for use in lap-siding applications. For example, a patent to Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,858, features a multicolored stud layout tape that is used to facilitate a framer's placement of studs. A single tape contains a plurality of multi-colored markings. Each different color of marking indicates a corresponding 16", 24", or 48" center. Thus, the tape can be affixed to a baseboard, and studs can be placed on a 16" fixed interval by aligning the butt of each stud with a color representative of a 16" interval. This tape cannot be used in lap-siding applications because the intervals do not correspond to lap-siding intervals. Additionally, the presence of multiple colors leads to confusion because the workmen can forget which color corresponds to what interval.
Wagner et al, U.S. Pat. No 5,012,590, features an adhesive measurement tape that is used to locate studs, joists, and rafters. The tape bears printed indicia, e.g., feet, circles, and diamonds, which mark fixed intervals corresponding to stud locations. Again, the tape enhances the possibility of errors that derive from confusion as to what mark corresponds to which interval, and the intervals do not correspond to lap-siding intervals.
There remains a true need to develop an adhesive measurement tape that can be used for the installation of lap-siding.
SOLUTION
The present invention overcomes the problems that are outlined above, and advances the a by providing a specialized adhesive measurement tape that facilitates the installation of lap-siding. Use of the tape is simplified because the tape contains few markings other than those that are essential for use in lap-siding installation. Thus, fewer errors result from the use of the tape.
The present invention involves an adhesive tape for use in reducing measurement errors during the installation of lap-siding. The adhesive tape is an elongated strip of flexible material including a flat first face and a flat second face. An adhesive coating resides on the first face, and the tape may be rolled, e.g., as in a roll of masking tape. The second face bears printed indicia that is used to align lap-siding members. The printed indicia consists essentially of a plurality of markings spaced apart at equal intervals corresponding to points of alignment for lap-siding members to be installed over the adhesive tape.
In preferred embodiments, the printed indicia have special forms that facilitate their use as guides in lap-siding installation. The markings preferably consist of a line drawn completely across the tape in a perpendicular orientation with respect to the axis of elongation in the tape. The markings also preferably include numerals positioned immediately adjacent each line. The numerals identify a distance corresponding to one of the equal intervals for lap-siding application. The markings also preferably include an ornamental design that is removed from the functional features of the markings by at least two inches so as not to cause confusion as to whether the ornamental design has functional features.
The markings on different tapes are preferably made of different colors that indicate specialized tapes for lap-siding intervals, i.e., the spacing for lap-siding members. For example, a black tape preferably indicates an eight inch interval, and a red tap indicates a six-inch interval. In this manner a tape having a specified color is selected from a multicolored set of tapes. A supervisor or crew foreman can view the installation procedure from a distance to ascertain that the installation in progress is proceeding according to the correct interval by virtue of the color of the tape that is utilized.
Other salient features, objects, and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the discussion below in combination with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts a side elevational view of an adhesive measuring tape according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 depicts a top plan view of the adhesive measuring tape;
FIG. 3 depicts the adhesive measuring tape rolled in a preferred for storage;
FIG. 4 depicts a partially constructed house with construction in progress using the measuring tape of FIG. 1, and
FIG. 5 depicts a partially constructed house with construction in progress without using the measuring tape of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 depicts a side elevational view of an elongated strip of masking tape 20 including a strip of paper 22 having a flat first face 24 and a flat second face 26. Face 26 is covered with a conventional masking tape adhesive 28.
FIG. 2 depicts a top plan view of tape 20 that reveals additional details with respect to face 24. Face 24 bears a repeat pattern of printed indicia including a plurality of marks, e.g., marks 30, 32, 34, and 36 having a parallel orientation with respect to the axis of elongation 38 in tape 20. As a preferred feature of the invention, the indicia also include a corresponding plurality of numerals, e.g., numerals 40, 42, 44, and 46 that identify the distance or repeat intervals 48, 50, and 52 between adjacent marks. For example the numeral 40 or "8" immediately adjacent mark 30 indicates that there are eight inches in the interval 48 between mark 30 and mark 32. Similarly, the numeral 32 or "8" immediately adjacent mark 32 indicates that there are eight inches in the interval 50 between mark 32 and mark 34. The numerals 40-46 are preferably oriented for normal viewing when axis 38 is in a vertical orientation, i.e., they rise from their corresponding marks 30-36. The marks 30-36 are used as guides in the installation of lap-siding. The numerals 40-46 indicate to the workmen using tape 20 that an eight inch interval exists between the various markings 30-36.
Aside from the functional features of the indicia described above, the indicia also preferably includes a plurality of ornamental designs, e.g., designs 54, 56, and 58. As depicted, the design is a logo written in stylized form to identify "Pena" as the source of the tape. As indicated above, the ornamental designs are not essential to the functionality of tape 20, and may be omitted. Where the ornamental designs 54-58 are used, it is very much preferred to place them in positrons that are at least two inches removed from the markings 30-36 and the numerals 40-46, e.g, the distance between the "a" in "Pena" and mark 32 preferably exceeds two inches. This placement of the ornamental design assures that the design will not be confused with functional features 30-36 and 40-46 of the indicia and, consequently, substantially no measurement errors derive from confusion of the design features. It is an especially preferred feature of the invention that the elements 30-36, 40-46, and 54-58 constitute the only elements of the indicia on face 24 of tape 20. Thus, the simple design of tape 20 facilitates lap-siding installation with fewer measurement errors because the markings 30-36 are readily available to guide the installation of lap-siding members.
Tape 20 has two ends 62 and 64. As depicted in FIG. 3, it is a preferred feature of the invention that tape 20 is supplied in a roll 66 wound with end 64 in a radially inboard position with respect to end 62. Thus, when tape 20 is unwound in an upward or increasingly vertical direction from end 62 to end 64, numerals 40-46 appear as normal print.
It is to be understood that the features of tape 20 as depicted in FIGS. 1-3 are intended to express preferred features of the invention, and may be adapted for use in other lap-siding installations that do not correspond to eight inch intervals. For example, the intervals 48-52 and numerals 40-46 can represent five, six, seven, 8.5, or nine inch intervals. For example, where the interval is a five inch interval, the numeral "5" replaces the numeral "8" for each of numerals 40-46, and the intervals 48-52 all have five inch lengths. A preferred feature of the invention recognizes that lap-siding members have different sizes, and assures that workmen will be less likely to use a tape having the wrong interval, by implementing a system wherein each tape is assigned a specific color that is unique to a given interval. For example, indicia on the five inch interval tape is blue, indicia on the seven inch interval tape is red, and indicia on the eight inch interval tape is black. Thus, the error will be immediately apparent to a crew foreman who observes a red-printed tape in place on a building where eight inch lap-siding members are to be installed. The lap-siding members that are to be installed over tape 20 have lengths that typically exceed the marked interval on the tape by about one inch to permit the respective lap-siding members to overlap when they are installed. The exact length of overlap may vary according to regional construction practices and materials.
The materials that are used for tape 20 preferably include masking tape because of its relatively low expense and the variety of commercial manufacturers who have equipment that can print on this medium. Alternatively, tape 20 can be made of any suitable material, such as vinyl, Mylar, or aluminum, that will receive and hold printed indicia.
Lap-siding Installation
FIG. 4 depicts a partially constructed house 100 having an exterior tar-paper covered wall 102 that is in the process of being covered with a plurality of lap-siding members, e.g., members 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, and 122, 124. An outer Balley band 130 circumscribes house 100 at the junction between first floor 132 and second floor 134. Wall 102 contains a plurality of windows, e.g., windows 136, 138, 140, and 142; as well as attic vent opening 144. FIG. 4 depicts portions of tape 20 (see FIG. 1) as respective vertically oriented strips 145, 146, 148, 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 165, and 166. Strips 145, 150, 152, 156, 158, 162, 164, and 165 rise from bottom siding member 104 to the bottom 168 of Balley band 130. Similarly, strips 146, 148, 154, 160, and 166 rise from the top 170 of Balley band 130 to soffit 172.
A pencil and a bubble leveling device are used to draw a datum line corresponding to the top 174 of bottom lap-siding member 104. A construction worker draws this line completely around the outer circumference of house 100. Tape strips 145, 150, 152, 156, 158, 162, 164, and 165 are positioned with a selected mark (e.g., mark 30 of FIG. 2) aligned with the top 174 of bottom siding member 104, and unrolled from rolled 66 (see FIG. 3) upwardly towards Balley band 130. Similarly, strips 146, 148, 154, 160, and 166 are aligned with the top 170 of Balley band 130, and are unrolled from roll 66 towards soffit 172. Thus, all of the strips on lower story 132 are aligned at a common interval of measurement, as are the strips on upper story 134. For example, lap siding member 110 is subdivided into three parts of equal elevation, i.e., parts 110a, 110b, and 110c. Lap siding member 112 is subdivided into portions 112a and 112b. These different portions are aligned at uniform elevations from the corresponding measurement base (e.g., bottom lap-siding member 104 in the case of lap siding member 110) by aligning the top of the respective boards even with elevationally aligned marks on strips 145-165. Thus, the ends of parts 110a and 110b proximal to window 142 are aligned at equal elevations, as are the ends of the portions of lap-siding member 112 that accommodate windows 136 and 138.
Other walls of house 100 intersect wall 102 to form corners 180 and 182. These other walls are provided with tape strips similar to strips 145-165 in a manner similar to the manner depicted for wall 102, i.e., with one tape strip proximal to each corner and additional tape strips as needed to bracket windows (e.g., strips 156 and 158) and others (e.g., strip 152) for use in the alignment of lap-siding members having a span less than the span of wall 102 across their axis of elongation. The tapes installed on these other walls are aligned with their corresponding common datum line corresponding to the top 174 of bottom lap-siding member 104 or Balley band 130, in order to place the distal ends of lap-siding members on these other walls in substantial alignment with the corresponding distal ends of lap-siding members on wall 102, e.g., as end 184 is in exact elevational alignment with end 186 of a corresponding lap-siding member on a wall having an orthogonal relationship to wall 102.
FIG. 5 depicts the numerous problems that arise in the prior art when attempting to install lap-siding on a house 200 that is similar to house 100. The construction crew has attempted to place hand markings, e.g., markings 202 end 204, on wall 206. These markings attempt to define the interval between respective lap-siding members, e.g., members 208 and 210. The installation of lap-siding on house 200 requires that hundreds of these markings must be made. Owing to inadvertent measurement errors there are substantial misalignments that require the lap-siding to be removed and replaced. For example, end 210a is more than two inches lower than end 210b. End 208a is more than one-half inch higher then orthogonally aligned end 214. Lap-siding member 216 is canted at a vertical angle with respect to member 218 and, consequently, end 220 has one inch less visible height than does and 222. Without tape 20, it is nearly impossible for a crew to apply measurements to house 200 for the installation of lap-siding without generating these types of alignment errors.
Those skilled in the art understand that the preferred embodiments, as described above, may be subjected to apparent modifications without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention. The inventors, accordingly, hereby state their intention to rely upon the Doctrine of Equivalents, in order to protect their full rights in the invention. | An adhesive tape (20) includes a plurality of marks (30-36) that facilitate the installation of lap-siding members (120, 122, 128, 132, 134) on a building (100). The tape is adhered to a wall (104, 106) in a vertical orientation, and the lap siding members are nailed in place over the tape. The marks function as guides for the positioning of the lap-siding members. The tapes is essentially free of indicia that can be confused with the marks to generate measurement errors in during the installation process. | 4 |
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
In the exploitation of under sea hydrocarbon reserves, production platforms have usually been fixed structures which were piled to or rest firmly on the seabed. Fixed structures are very expensive in deep water, too expensive for small shallow water fields with short productive lives, and are difficult to remove once a field is depleted. Accordingly, floating platforms have been developed and two fields producing hydrocarbons in September 1980 have floating production systems installed. The first such system began producing oil from the Argyll field in 1975 and uses a semi-submersible rig, "Transworld 58", to process oil flowing from four scattered appraisal wells. Flow lines are connected to a single manifold under the rig and continue upwards through individual lines of a composite flow line or riser. The second such floating system began producing oil in 1980, and uses a semi-submersible rig, "Sedco I" to process oil flowing from three wells drilled on the seabed directionally from a cluster directly beneath the rig. Each of the three wells has an individual hydrocarbon flowline or riser from its subsea master valve block to the platform. In the platform there is an area termed the "moonpool" area containing the stations where the risers are received in the platform. An arrangement such as this latter arrangement offers the advantages of relatively vertical flow paths for fluids produced from subsea wells, simpler subsea equipment, and direct vertical access for maintenance/repair work. For these reasons, this provides the preferred method for multi-well floating hydrocarbon production systems in water depths to at least 300 meters. The "moonpool" is constituted by an opening through at least the main deck area of the platform and, in conventional construction, is provided with a roof constituted by a platform top deck which carries the derrick. It is normally the case that the area above the moonpool under the platform top deck or moonpool roof is obstructed by cables and other equipment. This present invention is based upon the appreciated that the freeing of this space and its occupation by a moveable crane provides substantial advantages in floating platform maintenance and operation.
Examples of multi-well floating production platform designs having individual hydrocarbon flowlines/risers from each well to the platform are the PRODUCAT design by Forex Neptune in the magazine Ocean Industry, October 1977, pages 53 to 56, and the Tension Leg Platform, described in Ocean Industry, February 1980, pages 35 to 39 and in paper No. 3881 presented at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Tex., U.S.A. in May 1980. Floating platforms, whether anchored to the seabed by catenary or vertical lines, or dynamically positioned, are subject to marine motions which prevent the rigid support of fluid risers from the seabed. So-called riser tensioners or riser tensioning systems have therefore been developed.
Subsea wells drilled into hydrocarbon bearing formations are usually lined with a cemented steel casing and fluid produced from the well rises up concentric tubing which has a sealing packer at the lower end thereof. The tubing string may have a full-bore down-hole safety valve screwed into it, and the resulting assembly may be suspended from a tubing hanger in the subsea wellhead. A subsea valve block (sometimes called a "Christmas tree") stabs into the tubing hanger and connects to the wellhead. A flowline or riser leads from the subsea valve block to the surface and permits the conveyance of fluids produced to the process equipment. If a problem arises with the well equipment below the subsea valve block, a maintenance operation called "major workover" is required on the subsea well. This requires the use of a maintenance line or "workover riser" and for precisely the same reasons that tension needs to be applied to the individual well risers, tension must also be applied to the workover riser. Examples of problems which may be encountered requiring the "major workover" operation include tubing corrosion, sliding sleeve valve or tubing-retrievable safety-valve failure, or packer leakage. Access to the well below the subsea valve block in order to perform "major workover" is only possible from a floating production platform if a structure termed a blow-out preventer (BOP) stack is built into the floating platform in addition to the workover riser, a riser tensioning system and "kill" fluid. The BoP stack is a known assembly designed to provide control over fluid flow into and/or out of a well during drilling or workover operations when no other mechanical means (such as valves) are available.
A floating platform may, for example, have ten risers leading from corresponding subsea wells each received in the moonpool area. It may, of course, be necessary to perform "major workover" on any one of these wells but it has been found that small tensioners of the type appropriate for ordinary well flowines/risers (production risers) are inadequate to support a workover riser properly. Typical production risers may be about seven inches in diameter and the appropriate riser tensioners exhibit up to 60,000 lbs pull. In contrast, the workover riser may have a minimum diameter of 16 inches with external choke and "kill" lines and may need a minimum 320,000 lbs of tension capacity to be available for safety. Thus, there is a need for tensioning systems for such workover risers.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of the invention to free the space above the moonpool and under the platform deck in a floating platform and to provide therein a movable crane so as to enable substantial advantages in floating platform maintenance and operation to be achieved using such crane.
It is also an object of the invention to use the above unique crane arrangement in providing one or more of at least two tensioner arrangements for maintenance lines or "workover risers".
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a floatable oil/gas production platform assembly having a deck, disposed beneath the deck a zone including a plurality of adjacent stations for support of oil/gas flowlines/risers originating from beneath the platform, and a crane disposed in a space above the station zone but below the deck and moveable over at least some of the stations. In another aspect of the invention the crane has suspended therefrom means for applying tension to a workover riser passing through the station zone and adapted, in use, to permit maintenance to be performed upon an underwater well beneath the platform corresponding to one of the oil/gas flowlines/risers. In an alternative aspect, the crane carries a pulley arrangement through which pass tensioning cables connected at their lower ends to a workover riser passing through the station zone and adapted, in use, to permit maintenance to be performed upon an underwater well beneath the platform corresponding to one of the oil/gas flowlines/risers and at their other ends to tensioning means for applying tension to the cable and hence to the workover riser, which tensioning means is positioned in an area peripheral to the station zone.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings identical parts have identical reference numerals throughout.
FIG. 1 is a stylised overall view of a floating hydrocarbon production platform with individual risers from subsea wells.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the "moonpool" area of the platform of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a plan view similar to FIG. 2 but showing "major workover" and a workover riser in position with tensioning in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a split figure showing a section through the plan view of the "moonpool" area of the FIG. 3 along the line 4--4; the right hand side of FIG. 4 shows the equipment for normal oil/gas producing operations and the left hand side shows the equipment for performing a "major workover" of the subsea well in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a split sectional view similar to that of FIG. 4 showing, on the right hand side, the equipment for normal oil/gas producing operations and, on the left hand side, the equipment for performing a "major workover" of a subsea well in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in FIG. 1, a floating production platform generally designated 1 is anchored by anchor cables 33 directly above a subsea template 2 and individual wells 34. Above template 2 are master valves 3 from which individual flowlines or production risers 4 carry fluids produced from the well up to platform 1 which contains process equipment (not shown) for the separation of oil, gas and water. A second template 5 contains water injection wells 6. Platform 1 supports a derrick 7 which has mounted therein a travelling block with motion compensator 8 which may be suspended, at will, over each well position.
From FIG. 2 it may be seen that moonpool opening 9 in the deck structure 35 of platform 1 includes ten entirely conventional valve assemblies 10 (known as surface "trees") ranged in five pairs. One of the individual risers 4 corresponds to each of trees 10. A single multi-line riser 11 for exporting oil production and for carrying injection water to injection wells 6 (see FIG. 1) is supported by four large tensioners 12 of conventional design. Three small tensioners 13 of conventional design support each surface tree 10 and riser 4 and other small tensioners 14 support guidelines 15 which may be connected, when required, for guiding equipment to and from the seabed template 2 shown in FIG. 1. Tensioners 12, 13 and 14 are well known structures and are illustrated in the "Composite Catalogue of Oilfield Equipment and Services" (1980/81) published by "World Oil". Conventional dead weight cans 16 apply tension to control system umbilicals (not shown) which transmit signals to valves 3 and wells 6 and 34 when desired. Each of trees 10 may be attached to a flexible hose 17 for carrying oil/gas from the respective flowline/riser 4 onto platform 1 and a flexible hose 18 for carrying gas (for gas lift or gas injection purposes) from platform 1 to the respective flowline/riser 4. Oil and gas connections between the platform and trees 10 must be flexible in view of the movement and heaving of platform 1 expected at sea locations.
Normal dimensions of the moonpool area may be appreciated from the fact that an ordinary separation between the centres of each of a pair of trees 10 is about fifteen feet.
Turning now to FIG. 3, one of trees 10 has been removed from the moonpool area and a workover riser 19 is in position supported by tensioning cables 23 which are connected to tensioners 20 which are of entirely conventional design known to the skilled man. (See for example, "Composite Catalogue of Oilfield Equipment and Services" (1980/81)). A pair of rails 22 is provided parallel with but peripheral to the moonpool area and tensioners 20 are mounted in a moveable fashion upon rails 22 by way of flanged wheels 21.
Examining now the right hand side of FIG. 4, tree 10 is suspended by tensioning cables 35 which pass over pulley arrangement 36. Each of tensioners 13 provides tension to one of cables 35 and hence supports a tree 10 in its operating station in the moonpool area 9. A bridge crane 24 bridges across moonpool area 9 and is mounted by means of flanged wheels 39 at each end thereof on rails 38 which are in turn mounted upon shelves 53 connected to superstructure 37. In normal operation, the space 40 above the moonpool area 9 is free save only for the bridge crane 24 which can travel along the extent of moonpool area 9. Superstructure 37 passes through mezzanine deck 41 in passing from main deck 42 up to top deck 33. Retractable spider beams 26 are positioned below main deck 42.
The maximum heave of platform 1 in a force 12 gale and hence the maximum movement relative to the platform of tree 10 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4, may be, for example, 6.5 meters. Arrow B in FIG. 4 indicates the lateral movement of riser 4 exhibited during storm conditions.
Continuing to refer to the right hand side of FIG. 4, bridge crane 24 has suspended from its hook arrangement 43 a blow-out preventor stack (BOP) 25 of entirely conventional structure known to the skilled man. Reference may be made to the "Composite Catalogue of Oilfield Equipment and Services" (1980/81) for details of available BOP structures. Thus, BOP stack 25 may be transported by movement of bridge crane 24 between the pairs of trees 10.
Turning now to the left hand side of FIG. 4, one of trees 10 has been removed and the equipment is arranged so as to allow "major workover" on the subsea well corresponding to the removed tree 10. Prior to achieving the arrangement of equipment shown, the particular subsea master valve block 3 and riser 4 associated with removed tree 10 and the corresponding well position have been recovered, the well, of course, having been killed and plugs set. Removal of the riser 4 and master valves 3 cannot usually be effected without guide lines unless weather conditions are less severe than Beaufort Scale Force 6. The BOP stack 25 (see the left hand side of FIG. 4) may then be moved throughout the moonpool area 9 by moving bridge crane 24. BOP stack 25 passes through the "avenue" of trees 10 and may be held firmly upon spider beams 26 at the relevant well position. At the relevant well position, crane 24 may be locked in position with conventional locking pins (not shown). Pulleys 31 and 32 are then fitted to crane 24 and guide lines 15 are fitted over pulleys 32, passed through superstructure 37 and fitted to small tensioners 14. The lower ends of guide lines 15 are attached to seabed guide posts (not shown). Workover riser tensioners 20 are then moved along rails 22 by way of flanged wheels 21 into alignment with the appropriate well position, wheels 21 locked in position by a lock (not shown) of entirely conventional structure and tensioning cables 23 passed over pulleys 31 to tensioners 20. At this point, workover riser 19 is suspended from travelling block with motion compensator 8 and is lowered between the beams of crane 24 by movement of travelling block and motion compensator 8. BOP stack 25 is then transferred to workover riser 19 and placed upon the appropriate subsea well head using workover riser 19 and guide lines 15 in a conventional manner. When BOP stack 25 is connected to the particular subsea well head, tensioning cables 23 are connected at their lower ends to workover riser 19. Sufficient tension is applied via cables 23 from tensioners 20 to workover riser 19 in order to support riser 19. Then, travelling block and motion compensator 8 is released and employed in a conventional manner to assemble a telescopic joint 27 (of conventional design, see "Composite Catalogue of Oilfield Equipment and Services" (1980/81)) which is connected to the top of workover riser 19 and which terminates in upper ball joint 28 mounted immediately under top deck 33. Once travelling block and motion compensator 8 have been employed to assemble the telescopic joint 27 and upper ball joint 28 they can now be used to remove equipment such as the tubing hanger (not shown) and tubing (not shown) from the particular subsea well.
Thus, workover riser 19 is supported by tensioning cables 23 which pass over pulleys 31 to tensioners 20. Tensioners 20 are mounted on flanged wheels 21 which themselves are lockably moveable along rails 22. Tensioners 20 are prevented from excessive lateral movement or swinging by the provision from a lower portion thereof of a slotted guide 29 for each tensioner 20. Each slotted guide 29 has a slot 44 therein which straddles a rail 30 positioned below rail 22. Rails 22 and 30 are mounted on respective shelves 45 and 46 connected to superstructure 37. Telescopic joint 27 is suspended by the upper ball joint 28 mounted under top deck 33.
Turning now to FIG. 5, the two halves of this figure demonstrate a second embodiment of the invention in the provision of tensioning for a workover riser. Turning first to the right hand side of FIG. 5, it will be seen that tree 10 is suspended by tensioners 13 in the normal hydrocarbon production mode with crane 24 supporting BOP stack 25. The structural arrangement is identical with that shown on the right hand side of FIG. 4 and described above. Accordingly, further description is superfluous save only to indicate that tensioners 20 (FIG. 4) are not necessary in this embodiment and therefore are not shown. Of course, in practice the skilled man will appreciate that tensioners 20 as shown in FIG. 4 may be positioned in an area peripheral to the moonpool area 9 if flexibility of tensioning systems is desired and if it may be necessary to revert from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 5 to that already described with reference to FIG. 4.
Examining now the left hand side of FIG. 5, one of trees 10 has been removed (c.f. the left hand side of FIG. 4) and the equipment is arranged to allow "major workover" of the particular subsea well corresponding to the removed tree 10.
As with the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 4, certain operations have to be effected prior to achieving an arrangement of equipment such as shown in the left hand side of FIG. 5.
Thus, the well has been killed, plugs set, and particular master valves 3 and riser 4 for the subsea well position in question have been recovered.
As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, crane 24 is used to transport BOP stack 25 through the moonpool area and BOP stack 25 may be placed upon retractable spider beams 26 in a position above the subsea well in question. Crane 24 is then released to permit its return to a different part of moonpool area 9 to pick up a workover riser tensioning system generally designated 48 and hereinafter referred to as WRTS. WRTS 48 comprises tensioners 49 arranged around a support frame 50. Tensioners 49 are of entirely conventional design and are well known to the skilled man, (see, for example, "Composite Catalogue of Oilfield Equipment and Services" (1980/81)). WRTS 48 may be transported by crane to a position over BOP stack 25 (supported on retractable spider beams 26) and locked in position using locating pins 51 which abut rails 38 to prevent longitudinal movement of crane 24 along rails 38. Workover riser 19 is picked up by travelling block with motion compensator 8 and is lowered between the beams of crane 24, and through the WRTS support frame 50, and connected to BOP stack 25. BOP stack 25 is then lifted, by means of workover riser 19 and travelling block with motion compensator 8, the spider beams 26 are retracted, and BOP stack 25 is lowered to, placed up and latched to the appropriate subsea wellhead in a conventional manner. Workover riser 19 is, at this point, suspended directly by travelling block and motion compensator 8 and is lowered by travelling block and motion compensator 8 between the beams of crane 24 into position with respect to the particular subsea well. Whilst workover riser 19 is suspended from travelling block and motion compensator 8 in this position, BOP stack 25 may, as described for the embodiment of FIG. 4, be placed on the subsea well head using workover riser 19. Tensioning cables 23 are now led from workover riser 19 to individual tensioners 49 in WRTS 48 and sufficient tension is applied to support workover riser 19. At this point, travelling block and motion compensator 8 are released and may be used to assemble a telescopic joint 27 and upper ball joint 28. With this arrangement of equipment, as for the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 4, equipment such as the tubing hanger (not shown) may be removed from the particular subsea well.
In the arrangement shown in the left hand side of FIG. 5, workover riser 19 is supported via cables 23 from tensioners 49. Tensioners 49 are arranged, preferably symmetrically, around support frame 50. Gimbals 52 which provide the connection between support frame 50 and crane 24 are located around the telescopic joint 27 and the telescopic joint is suspended by upper ball joint 28 mounted, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, just beneath top deck 33. Thus, using this particular embodiment, there is no requirement for equipment external to the moonpool area 9 in providing tension to a workover riser such as workover riser 19.
It will be appreciated that the provision of a moveable crane 24 within space 40 above moonpool area 9 provides flexibility and access convenience for many operations which previously required different equipment. Conventionally, space 40 is cluttered by cables and other material. The use of a crane such as crane 24 enables, as has just been described, convenience of operation in major maintenance undertakings such as "major workover" on a subsea well. It also provides a means of facilitating adequate supporting tension to relatively massive risers such as are necessary for the performance of "major workover". It will, however, be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to travelling cranes as such provided the crane is able to move functionally over various parts of moonpool area 9.
In view of the above description it will be appreciated that the invention includes a method of facilitating the performance of maintenance or repair work on an underwater well beneath a floating oil/gas production platform, which method comprises providing a maintenance line to the well from the platform and tensioning and supporting the line by providing an assembly in accordance with either of the embodiments for providing workover riser tensioning referred to above and illustrated with reference to the drawings.
Reference can be made to "Composite Catalogue of Oilfield Equipment and Services" (1980/81) for details of standard equipment referred to herein in describing the present inventive crane arrangement.
It will be appreciated that whilst the present invention has been described and illustrated above with reference to preferred embodiments, such embodiments are illustrative and not limiting upon the scope of the invention. The skilled man will have no difficulty in devising other embodiments and in appreciating alterations, modifications and adaptations all within the spirit and scope of the invention. | A floatable oil/gas production platform assembly has a deck, disposed beneath the deck a zone including a plurality of adjacent stations for support of oil/gas flowlines/risers originating from beneath the platform, and a crane disposed in a space above the station zone but below the deck and moveable over at least some of the stations.
Such an assembly enables two new alternative equipment arrangements to be provided in floating platforms for tensioning and supporting underwater well maintenance lines or "workover risers" which require considerable tensioning forces and stroke capacity for safe support. | 4 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to vacuum metallurgy and may be used for coating products having a complex profile.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] To date the greatest interest from the point of view of creating coatings with defined physical and mechanical characteristics is taken in the so-called functional materials [ 1 ].
[0003] It is known [ 2 ] that the electron-ray evaporation and subsequent condensation in vacuum of metallic and non-metallic materials is the most accurate method of construction of similar materials at atomic and molecular levels. By changing the precipitation temperature of concentration of phases being introduced and the rotation speed of the products being coated one could easily obtain coatings with introduced phase concentration gradients, microcellular or multi-layer coatings [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].
[0004] It is clear that for deposition of similar coatings in case of parts having a complex configuration, here included the gas turbine blades, suitable electron-ray sets are required. A series of vacuum apparatus designs is available for forming composite coatings.
[0005] Deposition of a 3-layer coating is carried out in a multi-chamber vacuum apparatus by moving the substrate from one chamber to another, one layer being precipitated in each of the chambers [ 6 ].
[0006] In the working chamber of the vacuum apparatus there are crucibles with evaporating materials which are placed in turns under the substrate which has to be provided with a protective coating [ 7 ].
[0007] In the working chamber of the vacuum apparatus the evaporators operate in turns, and the substrate and the mask plate parallel to it can turn and move independently [ 8 ].
[0008] The vacuum sets described above have a number of drawbacks:
a). The consecutive applying of just one layer in turn calls forth a lower output of the vacuum apparatus; b). At the moment of going over to an another crucible there is a change in the evaporation rate of consecutive components which leads to non-uniformity of the structure in respect of its thickness and, as a result of it, to deterioration of physical and mechanical features on the whole; c). The main drawback of the available technical solutions is the impossibility of coating the product from all sides. With the above-mentioned vacuum apparatus the protective layer is formed only on the part (article of product) side which is turned to the evaporator.
[0012] A number of vacuum apparatus are known to be developed for applying multi-component coatings to products with complex profiles (gas turbine blades) from all sides [ 9 , 10 ]. Yet the design of these apparatus excludes the possibility of their being used for forming gradient and multi-layer coatings.
[0013] A detailed review of the electron-ray equipment designs used for coatication of protective coating is given in [ 11 - 13 ]. The analysis of electron-ray equipment designs reveals the fact that the most universal industrial apparatus for deposition of protective composite coating when products with a complex shape are coated is the UE-175 (Y -175) apparatus designed at the NANU Electric Welding Institute named after E. O. Paton, which is comprehensively described in [ 14 ]. The apparatus is designed mainly for forming protective anticorrosive coatings at gas turbines blades surfaces by way of electron-ray evaporation. The process of deposition of coating includes ion-plasmous cleaning and heating of blades placed into cartridges in a lock (preparatory) chamber with subsequent precipitation of the protective material evaporated from the crucibles to the surfaces of blades. The heating and evaporation of the material is carried out under the impact of electron rays. The apparatus constitutes a unit of vacuum chambers (the chambers for deposition of coatings and two pre-chambers) with mechanisms, devices and systems ensuring a half-uninterrupted manufacturing method. There are two cylindrical crucibles located in the chambers for deposition of coatings for carrying out evaporation of metal components out of them as well as three rectangular shuttle-type crucibles for evaporating metallic or ceramic components of the coating. The evaporation of the material from each crucible is carried out separately under the impact of electron rays coming from individually controlled electron guns.
[0014] Due to the fact that the products (blades) cool down in the process of their being moved from the pre-chamber to the chamber for deposition of coatings, there is one more gun located above the chamber for deposition of coatings which serves for heating up the blades before applying the coating. During the additional heating up the blades are screened from the crucibles (which are set in the evaporation mode) by turning screens. After the blades are heated up to the required temperature (which is monitored by means of pyrometers and thermocouples) the screens are opened and the coating is applied.
[0015] Unlike the above-mentioned technological solutions (U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,221 of Oct. 24, 1978; FRG Patent No. 2813180 of Oct. 4, 1979), the apparatus allows to form not only multi-component coatings of the MeCrAlY-type, where Me-Co, Ni, Fe, but also composite coatings of the MeCrAlY-Me-O, Me-C-type.
[0016] In the process of operation of these apparatus at enterprises in Russia (NVO “Trud”, Samara; Litkarinsk Machine-Building Works, Moscow Region), Ukraine (SPB “Mashproyekt”, Mykolayiv; Southern Turbine Works “Zorya”, Mykolayiv), a number of design drawbacks have been detected. Preliminary heating of the blades in the pre-chambers proved to be improper. In consequence of permanent loading/unloading there is condensate accumulating from the air in the pre-chambers which thereafter causes formation of oxide films on the surfaces of the blades when they are heated. When thereafter the protective layer is applied, the presence of such a separating layer inevitably leads to peeling off of the coating in the process of operation of the blades.
[0017] In the process of evaporation of oxide, carbide or boride compositions from the “shuttle”-type crucible there are craters forming on the surface of the materials being evaporated which inevitably leads to changes in the speed of evaporation of these compositions and, as a result, the composite coatings of the MeCrAlY-Me-O, Me-C, Me-B type have a non-uniform chemical composition throughout the thickness and are not serviceable.
[0018] Therefore, a number of important modifications have been made to the design of the UE-175 apparatus, and the more recent versions of the apparatus (UE-187, UE-187 M apparatus) are provided with a crucible device which consists of 4 cylindrical crucibles arranged in a row [ 15 ]. This type of the crucible device allows to ensure continuous feeding of the material being used to the evaporation area. Bars or up to 800 mm long billets of ceramics can be loaded to the crucibles. All guns are provided with electron ray scanning programmers. So, by choosing the appropriate scanning programme, one can ensure uniform evaporation of the components which are sublimated during electron ray heating without formation of any craters. The apparatus of this type are provided with automated technological process control systems. Therefore by choosing appropriate programs one can easily obtain composite disperse-reinforced or micro-layer coatings of corresponding MeCrAlY−MeO, MeC, MeB or MeCrAlY/MeCrAlY+MeO, MeC, MeB types; coatings with phase gradient along the thickness. The technology of applying such coatings is described in detail in [ 11 , 15 , 16 ]. The industrial apparatus of the UE-187 M type designed at the NANU Electric Welding Institute named after E. O. Paton for coatication of two-layer and multi-layer heat-insulating coatings are used by US and German firms, in particular by the American firm “Pratt and Whitney”.
[0019] Nevertheless, despite wide potentialities offered by this equipment, the American firm “Pratt and Whitney” uses now a combined method of applying heat-reflecting coatings. The inner metal Ni(Co)CrAlYHfSi-layer is applied by plasma spraying, whereas the outer ceramic layer is applied by electron-ray deposition.
[0020] Such a technical solution is caused by the impossibility of introduction of a required amount of itrium, hafnium, silicon, zirconium into the inner metal layer by evaporation from one source.
[0021] In general, the crucible device with linear arrangement of the four cylindrical crucibles [ 11 , 15 ] may be used for obtaining metal MeCrAlY coatings alloyed additionally with zirconium, hafnium or silicon. It can be achieved by means of independent evaporation of MeCrAlY-type alloys and refractory metals from autonomous sources (crucibles). Yet in case of a linear arrangement of the crucibles it is difficult to ensure a uniform distribution of components in the coating along the blade when, for example, the following technological scheme of evaporation is implemented: the MeCrAlY alloy—evaporation from the central crucible; alloying addition, hafnium—from the crucibles adjacent to the central crucible on its left and right. When simultaneous introduction of one more addition, for example, silicon, to the coating is required, the use of such a technological scheme becomes impossible at all as during evaporation of three different materials from three independent crucibles any chemical uniformity of the chemical composition is out of the question.
[0022] When the said technological scheme is used, it is impossible to precipitate two-layer heat-reflecting coatings of the MeCrAlYHfSi/MeO type during one single technological cycle as it would require to load preliminarily at least three crucibles with the components of the metal layer of the coating, and only after that use the same crucibles for precipitating the ceramic layer. So it has been proposed in [ 17 ] to implement a new crucible device design with respect to the UE-175, UE-187 apparatus that are produced serially, which would allow to eliminate all the drawbacks described above. The crucible device is provided additionally with “shuttle”-type crucibles which are made in the form of semi-rings ensuring the maximum closeness to the central crucible. The said design of the crucible device allows to precipitate the MeCrAlY alloy from the central crucible, the Y, Hf, Si, Zr alloying additions from the “shuttle”-type crucibles, and the ceramic component from the other three cylindrical crucibles. In this case the Y, Hf, Si, Zr alloying components are placed in the crucibles in form of separate tablets (bricks, bars) geometrically with precise definition of their location along the perimeter of the crucibles. The mass of the Y, Hf, Si, Zr tablets (bars) and their geometrical allocation in the crucibles are defined so as to obtain the required concentration of the said elements in the MeCrAlYHfSiZr layer, and they depend also on the dimensions of the parts being coated.
[0023] The electron-ray gun which is used for evaporating the Y, Hf, Si, Zr alloying components is provided with a special electronic unit which allows to change under a given program the density of the electron ray depending on the perimeter of the surface of the crucibles which are loaded with the tablets (bars) of the Y, Hf, Si, Zr alloying components. So, by changing the density of the electron ray, the geometrical dimensions of the alloying components billets (bars) and their allocation in the crucibles, one can obtain the required concentration of the alloying additions in the coating throughout the perimeter of the products being provided with the protective coating.
[0024] Due to doping the MeCrAlY Y, Hf, Si, Zr matrix alloys and presence of disperse oxide additions in the composite micro-layers, the diffusion processes at the inter-layer boundaries become more complicated. Formation of layers on the basis of complex spinels of the 2Y 2 O 3 *Al 2 O 3 , 3Al 2 O 3 *2SiO 2 type occurs in the process 2-2.5 times slower than it would take place under the same testing conditions in case of two-layer MeCrAlY/MeO coatings.
[0025] Industrial electron-ray apparatus of the UE-175, UE-187 type that are provided with such crucible devices ensure obtaining of practically the whole line of protective coatings, from the simplest one-layer coatings of the MeCrAlY type to two-layer MeCrAlYHfSiZr/Me type and three-layer MeCrAlYHfSiZr/MeCrAlYHfSiZr+MeO/ZrO 2 —Y 2 O 3 type coatings, where MeO is the aluminium oxide or itrium oxide stabilized zirconium dioxide. In this case the composite MeCrAlYHfSiZr+MeO layer may be made in the form of alternating metal MeCrAlYHfSiZr and composite MeCrAlYHfSiZr+MeO layers, the thickness of the mono-micro-layer being from 0.5 to 1.2 μm [ 17 ]. It is possible also to obtain coatings with components and compositions concentration gradient and so on.
[0026] It seems that the next revolutionary step in the creation of a new generation of gas turbine apparatus will be the development of blades made of materials on the basis of refractory metals and alloys that do not require cooling. Today, obtaining of alloys on the basis of refractory metals with high level of mechanical characteristics does not pose any problems. The main problem in respect of their use in the gas turbines manufacturing industry is the problem of effective protection of the alloys from catastrophic oxidation in the process of their operation over a long period of time (hundreds and thousands of hours). Diffusive silicide coatings, especially when modified with alloying elements such as boron, aluminium, titanium, chrome and others, are one of the main types of coatings used for protection of the refractory metals and their alloys from high-temperature oxidation. According to the data given in [ 18 ] there are more than 100 industrial firms and research centers in USA that develop high-temperature protective coatings, almost half of which engages in creating heatproof coatings for refractory metals. At the same time it is mentioned that for operation at high temperatures (up to 1573-2003K) the most promising is deemed to be the use of intermetallides, and first of all silicides. Yet the research works carried out during the last three decades did not result in creating reliable silicide coatings, which could effectively protect products made of refractory metals and alloys over long periods of time under extreme conditions of operation.
[0027] The main methods of obtaining silicide coatings and the industrial equipment required for that are described in detail in [ 18 ]; the following main methods of obtaining silicide coatings might be singled out:
1). Saturation from steam and gas mixtures containing silicon compounds, mostly haloid ones, with hydrogen or without it (gas-phase siliconizing); 2). Saturation in silicon vapour in vacuum (vacuum siliconizing); 3). Saturation from rare phase by electrolysis or without it (rare phase siliconizing); 4). Saturation in powder siliconeous mixtures with activators (gas-phase siliconizing in powder)
[0032] It is pointed out that, as a rule, the vacuum silicide coatings have better technical characteristics compared to other methods. As a rule, the vacuum siliconizing is carried out from backfilling of high-clean silicon powder; furthermore, it can be carried out under conditions when the metal which is being saturated and the silicon are separated one from another and may be heated up to different temperatures. However, the vacuum siliconizing is a lengthy and costly process and is not notable for high output; there are also substantial limitations in respect of the overall dimensions and form of the parts.
[0033] There is one of the most important features out of the large variety of characteristics of the silicide coatings, due to which these coatings are mainly being developed, that needs to be examined, and it is the heat resistance. As the disilicides of the metals belonging to the sub-groups IV and VI have the highest heat resistance, it's exactly these phases that are usually used in coatings. Their behavior in the open air or in oxygen (at different pressures) in a large range of temperatures is rather well known. According to the data given in [ 18 ], the disilicides of the sub-groups IV and VI might be graded in the following order in respect of their resistance to open air oxidation: TiSi 2 , ZrSi 2 , NbSi 2 -resistant up to temperatures 1073-1373° K.; TaSi 2 —up to 1373-1673° K.; CrSi 2 , WSi 2 —up to 1673-1973° K.; MoSi 2 —up to 1973-2073° K.
[0034] Creation of coatings on the basis of complex silicide compositions doped additionally with boron, titanium and other elements is of extraordinary interest.
[0035] The operational reliability of the products having silicide coatings can be further increased by means of creating combined two-layer coatings of the silicide/oxide type (MeSi 2 /MeO).
[0036] However, the traditional methods of applying silicide coatings do not allow to obtain such combined two-layer or multi-layer coatings.
[0037] Electron-ray evaporation of metal and non-metal materials with their subsequent condensation in vacuum gives some chances in respect of obtaining such coatings.
[0038] However, the electron-ray apparatus designs considered above do not allow to carry out industrial precipitation of silicide coatings on parts by the following reasons.
[0039] As is well known, [ 19 ] Si, Ti, Zr, Nb, W, Cr differ substantially in respect of vapor resiliency. So evaporation of compositions of the MeSi 2 type from one source (crucible) is not possible.
[0040] In case of industrial electron-ray apparatus with multi-crucible evaporation and linear arrangement of crucibles there is a principal possibility of synthesizing similar compositions in vapor phase. Yet in this case there is substantial non-uniformity of the chemical composition of the silicide coating along the length of the product being coated, as for example in case of evaporation of Ti and Si from two linearly arranged crucibles. Precipitation of more complex silicide coatings from four linearly arranged crucibles is hardly imaginable at all.
[0041] Silicide coatings may be synthesized in electron-ray apparatus with multi-crucible evaporation where the crucibles are arranged in circle. One design of such an apparatus is described in [ 20 ].
[0042] The source materials in the form of bars or burnt billets were located in four copper water-cooled crucibles, 70 mm in diameter, which were arranged in circle. The bars or billets were placed on copper water-cooled rods connected with vertical feed mechanisms for replenishment of the material evaporated from the bath. Separated or mixed vapor flows were being precipitated on a revolving substrate made of 8-mm thick stainless steel in the form of a disk having 520 mm in diameter. The substrate speed was regulated in the range of 0.05 to 200 rpm.
[0043] During the technological cycle the prescribed substrate speed is maintained strictly constant with the help of a-single-phase thyristor unit ETO 1 . Six electron-ray heaters with the capacity of 60 kW each are intended for evaporating the source materials and heating the substrate.
[0044] The apparatus is provided with control units for electron-ray heaters. The automatics system used provides for maintaining and regulating the necessary rate of evaporation of each component during the whole technological cycle and allows to carry out evaporation of materials in pulsed mode.
[0045] With the said apparatus one- or two-layer silicide coatings can be easily synthesized by changing the location of 4 crucibles arranged in circle, evaporating for example Ti and Si from two adjacent crucibles and Zr and Si from the two other crucibles. Using this technological scheme one could also easily form two-layer coatings of the MeSi 2 /MeO type. Yet the said apparatus allows to precipitate coatings only from one side of the product. Furthermore, it has a very low output as after applying the coating time is required for cooling the products down and loading the main processing chamber with the new group of products to be coated. In consequence of continual opening of the main processing chamber, condensate is being formed from the air at the chamber walls. When the products are heated, the moisture from the chamber walls is being condensed at their surface forming oxide films and this leads to pealing off of the coating applied, and this is inadmissible.
[0046] The apparatus that is the nearest to the apparatus claimed in respect of the technological main points is the one described in the Japan Patent No 54-18989 of Oct. 4, 1977, the scheme of which is shown in FIG. 1 .
[0047] The apparatus is intended for applying coatings on products in form of fingers (rods) and has a number of drawbacks in respect of its use for precipitation of coatings on gas turbine blades:
a). Under such a scheme it is impossible to carry out locking of products as they are loaded when the working chamber is open, which has a negative impact on the adhesion feature of the layer sprayed onto the substrate. b). The design of the cartridge with the products is so that the turning of each of the rods ( 13 ) with products stringed on it is transmitted through wheels ( 8 a ) rolling along the encircling ring ( 9 ) located externally relative to products (along the internal perimeter of the chamber), which is more complicated from the design point of view than providing the drive at the center. c). When such a scheme is used, the problem of protecting the wheels ( 8 a ) and the encircling ring ( 9 ) from steam flow getting into them arises. Accumulation of condensate on the said parts brings about braking and, in some cases, even wheel spin when the wheels are rolling along the encircling ring ( 9 ). On the other hand, deformation of the II-form structure of the ring ( 9 ) is possible when it is overheated, which automatically excludes any uniform revolving of the products on their axis indispensable for obtaining uniform thickness coatings along the perimeter of the products being provided with protective coating. d). As each cartridge rod has a certain diameter size in the cross-section perpendicular to the axis of the rod, the number of the rods in the cartridge is defined by the following relationship: the more rods are located around the cartridge, the larger the space around the vertical axis of the chamber not occupied by the products (see the hatched areas in FIG. 2 a,b,c).
[0052] In this case the most of the vapor obtained in the process of evaporating the alloy from the central crucible (see FIG. 1 ) is not used for forming the coating (does not get onto the surface being coated).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0053] The object of the present invention is creation of a new generation of electron-ray equipment which would allow to precipitate practically all types of protective coatings used at present, as well as fundamentally new metal, ceramic, cermet, silicide coatings of the gradient and micro-layer types. This object is achieved by the following: the apparatus for applying the coatings consists of a processing chamber, with crucibles and electron-ray guns located within the processing chamber, and a pre-chamber for loading/unloading the cartridges with the articles or products to be coated, and wherein a lower fixed conic pinion of the cartridge with the articles or products to be coated is installed on the vertical support located on the lower cover of the processing chamber, with a shaft rotating inside the cartridge which engages an upper running conic pinion of the cartridge.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0054] FIG. 1 shows the apparatus diagram according to the Japan Patent No 54-18989 of Oct. 4, 1977 which serves as a prototype for the claimed electron-ray apparatus.
[0055] FIG. 2 shows the relationship of the area not used for precipitating the condensate in case of using one central crucible at the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 .
[0056] FIG. 3 shows the longitudinal section of the claimed present apparatus.
[0057] FIG. 4 shows the layout diagram of the main units of the processing chamber.
[0058] FIG. 5 shows the layout of the crucibles with the materials being evaporated relative to the products being coated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0059] The apparatus is shown in the FIG. 3 (longitudinal section) and FIG. 4 (cross-section and the top view of the cartridge with the products).
[0060] The apparatus ( FIG. 3 ) is a vacuum set comprising four interconnected vacuum chambers, namely the main processing chamber ( 6 ), the transfer chamber ( 7 ), and two lock chambers (pre-chambers) ( 8 ) and ( 9 ). At the center of the processing chamber ( 6 ) there are water-cooled crucibles ( 10 , 11 ) containing the bars ( 12 , 13 ) of the materials being evaporated.
[0061] The rays coming from the electron-ray guns evaporate the material of the bars, the vapor of which is condensed on the products ( 15 ). The number of the crucibles being used may vary depending on the desired chemical composition and the structure of the protective coating (two-layer, three-layer, micro-layer) (crucibles 16 , 17 ).
[0062] The lower conic pinion ( 19 ) of the cartridge ( 18 ) with the articles or products to be coated is installed on the vertical support ( 20 ) with the shaft ( 21 ) rotating inside it which engages the upper conic pinion ( 22 ) of the cartridge. The conic pinions ( 23 ) with the articles or products fixed on them are inserted between the running and fixed conic pinions. The conic pinions ( 23 ) are kept from falling out by the retaining ring ( 24 ).
[0063] Thus, during rotation of the pinion ( 22 ) the conic pinions ( 23 ) roll about the lower conic pinion ( 19 ) turning simultaneously on their own longitudinal axis. In this way the products or articles being coated pass alternatively above the crucibles containing the materials being evaporated, and as a result a protective coating layer is formed on the surfaces of the products.
[0064] As mentioned above, depending on the structure of the coating and its operational characteristics the geometry of the crucibles layout and their number may vary.
[0065] For example, in case of operation of the apparatus with the crucibles arranged as shown in FIG. 5 , the percentage content of each of the evaporated heterogeneous materials will gradually increase as the cartridge with the products comes nearer to the vertical axis of the crucible from which the corresponding material is being evaporated, and accordingly decrease when the cartridge moves away from the crucible. So forming a smooth concentration boundary between heterogeneous materials becomes an easy task, which is indispensable, for example, in case of evaporating ceramics and metals—materials that have substantially different coefficients of thermal linear expansion.
[0066] Finally, it is possible to easily obtain by evaporation micro-layer coatings without transition concentration boundaries between the alternating layers in case of vertical screens placed between the crucibles reaching the lower end of the products.
[0067] There are cartridges of individual design made for each specific type of products taking into account the overall horizontal dimensions of the product, which is often required when coatings are precipitated on gas turbine blades. For preliminary heating of the products before precipitation of coatings electron-ray guns ( 25 ) are used. During-heating of the products up to the specified temperature they are screened by the movable screens ( 26 ) to prevent any deposition of condensate on the insufficiently heated products when the working process of spraying is being established, which would bring about insufficient adhesion of the coating to the surface of the product.
[0068] After the specified temperature of the products is reached and the working regime of evaporation of metals and non-metals from crucibles ( 10 , 11 , 16 , 17 ) has been established, the screens ( 26 ) are opened and coatings are precipitated on the products under defined programs using an automated technological process control system (ATPCS).
[0069] Upon completion of precipitation of the coating the cartridge with the products is lifted up by the manipulator ( 27 ), transferred to one of the lock chambers (for example, to the chamber 8 ) onto the support 28 , where the products cool down. Before taking out the cartridge with the coated products the lock shutter ( 29 ) is closed and air is let in the lock chamber.
[0070] At the same time with the process of deposition of coatings in the processing chamber ( 6 ) and subsequent cooling down of the coated products in the pre-chamber ( 8 ) another cartridge containing products prepared for coating is placed into the pre-chamber ( 9 ). The required vacuum degree is reached in the pre-chamber ( 9 ), then the lock shutter is opened, the cartridge with the products is transferred to the processing chamber and the process of applying a coating is repeated.
[0071] The manipulator ( 27 ) for moving the cartridges with the products is a carriage ( 30 ) moving along the guides ( 31 ) located in the transfer chamber ( 7 ). There is a rod ( 33 ) on the carriage moving by means of the drive ( 32 ); inside the rod there is a seizing rod ( 34 ) the jaws of which are controlled by an electromagnet 35 (or any other drive). The carriage moving drive ( 30 ) and the rod lifting/lowering drive ( 38 ) are of electromechanical type, the motors are located immediately on the carriage. This excludes the need of introducing rods for moving the cartridges with the products into the vacuum chamber. On the one hand, this makes unnecessary making costly rods with vacuum sealing, and on the other hand, there is no need for checking the state of the vacuum inputs during each shift for preventing air getting into the processing chamber.
[0072] There is a moving screen ( 36 ) used for prevention of the condensate getting into the transfer chamber during the process of precipitation of coatings.
[0073] The process of precipitation of coatings is controlled by means of a stroboscopic supervision system ( 37 ) installed at the front door of the processing chamber.
[0074] The design of the claimed industrial electron-ray apparatus in fundamentally new. It is simpler than existing technical solutions and at the same time universal. With the said apparatus it is possible to precipitate all types of protective coatings used today as well as new types of coatings mentioned above.
[0075] Let us illustrate the possibilities of the apparatus:
1) precipitation of one-layer coatings of the MeCrAlY type on the turbine blades. There are NaCrAlY alloy bars placed into the crucibles ( 10 , 11 ) of the working chamber. Cartridges with the products to be processed are being loaded to the pre-chambers ( 8 , 9 ). The apparatus gets sealed and vacuumed. When the required degree of vacuum is reached, the cartridge ( 18 ) with the products is transferred to the working chamber ( 6 ). The products ( 15 ) are heated up to the specified temperature by means of electron-ray guns ( 25 ) with the screens ( 26 ) being in shut position, and the specified regime of evaporation of bars ( 12 , 13 ) is established by means of electron-ray guns ( 14 ). After the specified regime of evaporation and heating of the products is established, the screens ( 26 ) are opened and applying of coatings on the products is carried out. 2) precipitation of a one-layer coating of the MeCrAlYHfSi type on gas turbine blades. CoCrAlY alloy bars are placed into the crucibles ( 10 , 11 ) of the working chamber ( 6 ) and correspondingly hafnium and silicon bars—into the crucibles ( 16 , 17 ). The cartridges with the products to be coated are loaded to the pre-chambers ( 8 , 9 ). The apparatus gets sealed and vacuumed. When the required degree of vacuum is reached, the cartridge ( 18 ) with the products is transferred to the working chamber ( 6 ). The products ( 15 ) are heated to the specified temperature by means of electron-ray guns ( 25 ) with the screens ( 26 ) being in shut position, and the specified regime of evaporation of bars located in the crucibles ( 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ) is established. After the specified regime of evaporation and heating of the products is established, the screens ( 26 ) are opened and applying of coatings on the products is carried out. 3) precipitation of a two-layer coating of the MeCrAlY/ZrO 2 —Y 2 O 3 type on gas turbine blades. CoCrAlY or MeCrAlY alloy bars are placed into the crucibles ( 11 , 12 ) of the working chamber ( 6 ), and ZrO 2 -6-8 mass % Y 2 O 3 ceramics billets—into the crucibles ( 16 , 17 ). The cartridges with the products are loaded to the pre-chambers ( 8 , 9 ). The apparatus gets sealed and vacuumed. When the required degree of vacuum is reached, the cartridge ( 18 ) with the products is transferred to the working chamber ( 6 ). The articles or products ( 15 ) are heated to the specified temperature by means of electron-ray guns ( 25 ) with the screens ( 26 ) being in shut position, and the specified regime of evaporation of bars and billets located in the crucibles ( 11 , 12 , 16 and 17 ) is established. After the specified regime of evaporation and heating of the products is established, the guns evaporating the ceramics from the crucibles ( 16 , 17 ) are turned off and screens ( 26 ) are opened. The inner metal MeCrAlY layer is applied. Upon completion of applying the inner heat-resistant metal layer the guns evaporating the MeCrAlY alloy are turned off and the guns evaporating ceramics are turned on. In so doing, the outer ceramic ZrO 2 —Y 2 O 3 coating is formed. The MeCrAlY/ZrO 2 —Y 2 O 3 two-layer coating is precipitated in the process of one technological cycle. In case of need a specified smooth transition concentration boundary between the metal and ceramic components of the two-layer coating can be easily obtained. 4) precipitation of a silicide coating of the MeCrAlY/ZrO 2 —Y 2 O 3 type on gas turbine blades. Chrome, silicon and molibden bars are placed by turns into the crucibles ( 11 . 12 , 16 . 17 ). After sealing and vacuuming of the apparatus and establishing the specified regime of evaporation and heating of the products to be coated the screens ( 26 ) are opened and the silicide coating with complex chemical composition is being precipitated. It is clear that the chemical composition of the coating may be easily regulated by changing the evaporation rate of Cr, Mo and Si. 5) precipitation of a CrSi 2 /MoSi 2 micro-layer coating on gas turbine blades.
[0081] The process of precipitating micro-layer coatings differs from the process described in example 4 by that it is carried out by turns, with specified intervals of turning on the electron-ray guns that evaporate the Cr, Si and Mo, Si bars correspondingly. Depending on the time intervals and the rate of evaporation of the components coatings with alternating chrome silicide/molibden silicide layers might be formed with given thickness and chemical composition.
[0082] The list of examples illustrating the possibilities in respect of precipitation of coatings offered by the new electron-ray equipment might be continued. However, in our opinion, the examples listed above are convincing evidence for undoubted advantages of the new design of an industrial electron-ray apparatus compared to the apparatus that are used now. | This invention relates to an apparatus for electron-ray deposition of a coating on an article. The apparatus comprises a processing chamber with crucibles and electron gun located in the processing chamber and a pre-chamber for loading/unloading cartridges with articles to be coated. The cartridges have a lower fixed conic pinion on a vertical support and are located on a lower cover of a processing chamber. A shaft rotates inside the cartridges which engages an upper running conic pinion of the cartridges. | 2 |
BACKGROUND
1.0 Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a solid state power supply that is particularly adapted for driving an ozone generator.
2.0 Discussion of Related Art
One of the most efficient ways for producing ozone, O 3 , is to subject oxygen, O 2 , or a gas containing a high concentration of O 2 to a corona discharge. This corona discharge can be produced by applying a cyclic voltage to spaced electrodes. Ozone is generally produced during the portion of a cycle occurring just prior to a peak. Therefore, more ozone is produced by increasing the frequency, but a point is reached when the power dissipated in the gap between the electrodes tends to cause the ozone molecules of O 3 to break down into oxygen molecules O 2 .
A brief review of the teachings of prior references now follows. McKnight, U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,653, teaches a power supply circuit for an ozonator that is powered by a three-phase input voltage.
Huynh et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,694 teaches a full-wave inverter using four thyristor switching elements T 1 through T 4 . It is indicated that the thyristors are preferably provided by SCRs. Bilateral diodes are also connected in parallel across the thyristors.
Huynh et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,866 teaches an ozonator power supply that includes a full wave rectifier for rectifying a three phase voltage, and a full wave bridge inverter using four thyristor switching elements for synthesizing the rectified voltage or DC into an AC waveform for application to the ozonator. A current pulse amplitude control circuit 43 for controlling the conduction of the pass transistor used to control the amplitude of the current pulses. A pulse width control logic and drive circuit 45 are used for controlling the operation of the thyristor switches T 1 through T 4 in a manner providing pulse width control.
Mickal et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,182 teaches a three phase power supply circuit to supply power to an electrostatic filter. As shown in the figures, a three phase AC voltage is rectified by a full wave rectifier and applied to a full wave thyristor inverter circuit. Transformer coupling is used between the inverter and the electrostatic filter.
Divan U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,483 shows a static inverter for inverting a DC voltage to a three phase AC voltage. The inverter includes a full-wave transistorized inverter with bilateral diodes connected across the collector and emitter electrodes of each transistor.
Ngo U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,763 teaches an AC to AC converter type power supply circuit. As shown in the figures, a three phase full-wave rectifier circuit 12 including a plurality of CMOS switching elements is used to rectify the three phase input voltage. The DC voltage that is provided by the rectifier 12 is switched via a CMOS switching circuit 50 into a polyphase inverter circuit 18. The inverter 18 is a three phase inverter for converting the DC voltage back into synthesized three phase AC output voltages.
3.0 Brief Summary of the Invention
The objects of the invention are:
1. To provide a versatile and reliable pulse-width-modulated (PWM) voltage source inverter power supply with zero voltage switching scheme for an ozonator which results in the efficient operation.
2. To provide a control circuit for a transistor bridge inverter power supply for an ozonator, wherein the ozonator load power can be controlled by the width of the inverter output voltage. Therefore, the input power factor is close to unity and independent of the power loading.
3. To provide an ozonator load voltage, wherein the rise time of the ozonator voltage waveform is substantially longer than the fall time of the ozonator voltage waveform.
In accordance with this invention, the voltage wave applied to an ozonator has a sawtooth shape with a slow rise and a fast fall so that a corona discharge is produced for a greater portion of a cycle than would be the case for a sinusoidal wave. In order to obtain best results, the frequency and amplitude of the sawtooth waves are controllable.
A voltage source inverter power supply circuit of one embodiment of this invention is comprised of a three phase bridge rectifier to convert a three phase 60 Hz power source to a DC power source, a capacitor connected across the DC power source to smooth the output DC current and to maintain the DC bus voltage, a DC/DC converter with a soft start circuit (not shown) and a transistor bridge inverter connected to the DC power source by its input and to an electrical network by its outputs and capacitors connected across the bridge inverter input to filter the high frequency noise. The electrical network includes a step up high voltage transformer with its primary low voltage winding connected to the output of the transistor bridge inverter through a series resonant circuit comprising a capacitor and an inductor connected in series, and through its secondary high voltage winding for to the ozonator load.
The inductor provides a limitation of high frequency output harmonics and short circuit limiting while the capacitor is used to block out any DC components from the output of the transistor inverter. The ozonator load has an electrical equivalent circuit comprising resistors and capacitors connected as shown inside the dashed rectangle of FIG. 1. Cg 1 and Cg 2 represent air gap capacitors, Cd represents a glass dielectric capacitor, Rd represents a glass dielectric loss resistor and Rg 1 and Rg 2 represent a air gap resistor which provides a conductance path when a corona discharge occurs. The step up high voltage transformer and the series inductor-capacitor circuit in combination with the ozonator load form a resonant circuit having its natural frequency above the switching frequency.
In operation, forced-commutation is provided by a control circuit. The inverter output voltage has three levels of voltage pulse +V DC , zero, -V DC . During a positive half cycle, the output voltage level +V DC is obtained by firing a first pair of diagonal transistors that conduct current in one direction through the electrical network. The following zero level of the inverter output voltage is obtained by turning off one of the first pair of transistors and firing one of the second pair of transistors. In the negative half cycle, the output voltage level -V DC is obtained by turning on a second pair of diagonal transistors and turning off the first pair of diagonal transistors so as to conduct current in reverse direction through the electrical network. The following zero level of the inverter output voltage is obtained by turning off one of the second pair of transistors and firing one of the first pair of transistors. A cycle of the inverter output voltage is now complete. The action is repeated to produce the next cycle. A control circuit generates base drive control signals for the first and second pairs of transistors. The base drive control signals control the width of the positive inverter output voltage pulses supplied to the ozonator load by firing the first pair of transistors for a period of time, and then turning one of the first pair of transistors off by controlling the timing of its base drive control signal and firing one of the second pair of transistors by controlling the timing of its base drive control signal. Similarly, the base drive control signals control the width of the negative inverter output voltage pulses supplied to the ozonator load by turning the second pair of transistors on for a period of time, and then turning one of the second pair of transistors off by controlling the timing of its base drive control signal and firing one of the first pair of transistors by controlling the timing of its base drive control signal.
The control circuit includes a pulse width modulator integrated circuit for producing the first and second interleaved square wave cycle signals, and the widths of the pulses in the first and second square wave signals are adjustable to change the timing of the base drive control signals. The pulse width modulator integrated circuit is also controllable to control the frequency of the first and second out of phase square wave signals.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which like items have the same reference designation, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a simplified electrical schematic diagram of a power circuit with which the invention may be used.
FIG. 2 illustrates various waveforms which are associated with and are useful in explaining the operation of the PWM voltage source inverter circuit of FIG. 1 in a pulse width modulated mode of operation.
FIG. 3 illustrates an electrical schematic diagram of a control circuit which generates four base drive control signals.
FIG. 4a illustrates a first half of logic signals of the control circuit.
FIG. 4b illustrates a second half of logic signals of the control circuit.
FIG. 5 is an electrical schematic diagram of one of four base drive amplifier circuits which drives one of four power transistors in a bridge inverter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Reference is made to the schematic diagram of FIG. 1 of a power supply incorporating one embodiment of this invention, and to the waveforms of FIG. 2 that are used in explaining its operation. Diodes D5-D10 are coupled as shown to the terminals φ 1 , φ 2 and φ 3 of a three phase AC power source so as to provide DC voltages +VDC, and -VDC on opposite sides of capacitors Cf, Cf 1 , and Cf 2 .
Transistors Q 1 and Q 2 are connected in series in the order named so as to conduct current between +V DC and -V DC when biased for conduction. The emitter of Q 1 and the collector of Q 2 meet at a junction A, and diodes D 1 and D 2 are respectively connected in anti-parallel with Q 1 and Q 2 , i.e. they conduct in the opposite direction. Transistors Q 3 and Q 4 are connected between +V DC and -V DC in the same manner as Q 1 and Q 2 . The emitter of Q 3 and the collector of Q 4 meet at junction B, and diodes D 3 and D 4 are respectively connected in anti-parallel with them. A control circuit 2 supplies control signals to the base electrodes b 1 , b 2 , b 3 and b 4 of Q 1 , Q 2 , Q 3 and Q 4 , respectively, that may be derived in accordance with one aspect of this invention as will be explained in connection with FIG. 3.
A primary winding PR of a step-up transformer T is connected in series with an inductor L s and a capacitor C s between the junctions A and B, having a voltage shown in FIG. 2e produced across it in a manner to be explained. Transformer T has a secondary winding SEC having a voltage shown in FIG. 2g produced across it in a manner to be explained is coupled to a load and shown within a dashed rectangle L that is a schematic representation of the equivalent circuit of an ozonator.
With the control waves of FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d respectively applied to be base electrodes b1-b4, Q 1 and Q 4 are both biased for conduction during the positive pulses of the wave of FIG. 2e, and both Q 2 and Q 3 are biased for conduction during the negative pulses that are interleaved with the positive pulse and spaced from them. The first positive pulse 4 occurs between the time t 0 and t 2 shown in the waveform of FIG. 2f for the current I 0 that flows in the secondary winding s. A sine wave of current I=NI 0 , where N is the turns ratio of the secondary winding s to the primary winding PR, flows in a positive direction, indicated by an arrow 5 of FIG. 1 from +V DC to -V DC through Q 1 , L s , C s , the primary PR and Q 4 . Because series resonance occurs between the junctions A and B at a higher frequency than the frequency of the rectangular waves in FIG. 2e, the current swings from positive to negative, arrow 6 of FIG. 1, at t 1 while Q 1 and Q 4 are still conducting. This negative current flows from -V DC to +V DC through D 4 , C s , L s , PR and D 1 . These currents in the positive and negative directions establish the first half cycle of positive ozonator load voltage V 0 shown in FIG. 2g.
At t=T/2, Q 4 is turned off and, FIG. 2d, and Q 3 is turned on, FIG. 2c. No voltage appears between the junctions A and B, but the current continues to flow through D 1 , Q 3 . L s , C s and PR between t 2 and t 3 so as to establish that part of a second half cycle of the negative ozonator load voltage V 0 of FIG. 2g.
At t 3 , Q 1 is turned off, FIG. 2a, and Q 2 is turned on, FIG. 2b, so as to produce a negative voltage pulse 6 of FIG. 2e between the junctions A and B. After t 3 , the sine wave current I 0 continues to flow in a negative direction through Q 3 , L s , C s , PR, and Q 2 . At t 4 , the current swings in a positive direction from -V DC to +V DC through D 2 , p, L s , C s and D 3 so as to establish the remaining part of the negative half cycle of ozonator voltage. At t 5 , Q 3 is turned off, FIG. 2c, and Q 4 is turned on again, FIG. 2d. Again no voltage appears between the junctions A and B, but current flows through D 2 , PR, L s , C s , and Q 4 until t 6 so as to establish the first part of a positive half cycle of ozonator voltage V 0 . At t 6 , Q 2 is turned off and Q 1 is turned on so that a point like that at t 0 has been reached.
FIG. 2f indicates the devices through which current is flowing at different times.
In a supply incorporating the invention, the frequency of V 0 of FIG. 2g is adjustable between 70 Hz and 800 Hz and the pulse width of V AB , FIG. 2e, is adjustable from one tenth of a half of a cycle to one half cycle. The frequency is set below the natural frequency of the resonant circuit comprising the combination of L s C s , the transformer T, and the ozonator load L.
Because the series resonance is at a higher frequency than the switching frequency and because of the conduction of Q 3 and Q 4 during the intervals like 7 and 8 of FIG. 2e, the positive voltage V 0 and the negative voltage V 0 both have a longer rise time than a fall time so as to increase the efficiency with which ozone is produced. As previously noted, this is because ozone is produced from the time a given voltage level is reached until the peak, and this time is greater when the increase in voltage during the first part of each half cycle has a lower slope than the decrease in voltage.
Description of the Control Circuit
Referring to FIG. 4a, 4b and FIG. 3, a regulated pulse width modulator A 1 generates two interleaved square wave signals (FIG. 4a) at A 1 -pin 11 and A 1 -pin 14, respectively, which are buffered and inverted by A 25 and A 21 of a hex inverting buffer integrated circuit (IC) A 2 to produce square wave signals m and a (FIG. 4A), in this example. The frequency and the width of the two square wave signals (A 1 -pin 11 and A 1 -pin 14) are controlled by the potentiometers P 1 and P 2 respectively. Their period T is determined by R 1 , C 1 , and P 1 while the width of the square wave output signals of A 1 is determined P 2 by controlling the trailing edge from 0 to T/2.
The square wave signal m is inverted again by A 26 of the A 2 IC to form a wave of which is applied to the input of a differentiation circuit comprising R 8 C 7 and inverting buffer integrated circuit A 33 to detect the leading edge of the square wave input signal q. The output signal s of A 33 is inverted by inverter A 34 to produce a positive pulse t which is applied to the RESET input of an R/S Flip Flop A 42 . The square wave signal m is also applied to the input of a differentiation circuit comprising R 9 C 8 and inverter A 35 to detect the leading edge of the square wave signal m. The output signal 0 is inverted by inverter A 36 to produce a positive pulse p which is applied to the RESET input of flip flop A 41 . The positive pulse t always stays the same position corresponding to the leading edge of the square wave signal q. In contrast, the positive pulse p is movable because its position corresponds to the leading edge of the square wave signal m which, in turn, corresponds to the trailing edge of the signal A 1 -pin 11.
The square wave signal a is inverted by inverter A 22 and applied to the input of a differentiation circuit comprising R 6 C 5 and inverter A 23 to detect the leading edge of the square input signal e. The output signal g of inverter A 23 is inverted by inverter A 31 to produce a positive pulse h which is applied to the SET input of R/S flip-flop A 42 . The square wave signal "a" is also applied to the input of a differentiation circuit comprising R 7 C 6 and inverter A 24 to detect the leading edge of the square wave signal "a". The output signal c is inverted by inverter A 32 to produce a positive pulse d which is applied to the SET input of flip-flop A 41 . The positive pulse h always stays in same position which is corresponded to the leading edge of the square wave signal e. In contrast, the positive pulse d is movable because its position corresponds to the leading edge of the square wave signal a which, in turn, corresponds to the trailing edge of the signal A 1 -pin 14.
When the positive pulse h is applied to the SET inputs of the R/S flip-flop A 42 , the output signal u will change from low to high state and stays high until the positive pulse t is applied to the RESET inputs of flip-flop A 42 . When a positive pulse t is applied to the RESET input of flip-flop A 42 , the output u will change from high to low state and stays low until the next positive pulse h applied to the SET input of flip-flop A 42 , the cycle then repeats. The output signal u is a square wave signal determined by the SET-RESET pulses h and tt.
When the positive pulse d is applied to the SET inputs of the R/S flip-flop A 41 , the output signal i will change from low to high and stays high until the positive pulse p is applied to the RESET input of flip-flop A 41 . When a positive pulse p is applied to the RESET inputs of flip-flop A 41 , the output signal i will change from a high to a low state and stays low until the next positive pulse d applied to the SET inputs of flip-flop A 41 . The cycle then repeats. The output signal i is a square wave signal determined by the SET-RESET pulses d and p.
The square wave signal u of flip-flop A 42 is inverted by inverter A 64 to produce a square wave signal w which is applied directly to the first input and to the second input, via a time delay circuit R 12 C 11 , of AND gate A 54 . The square wave output signal Z 2 produced by two square wave input signals w and x is inverted by inverter A 65 to produce a square wave base drive signal SW4 to drive the power Darlington transistor Q 4 through an individual base drive amplifier circuit (identical to FIG. 5). The square wave signal u of flip-flop A 42 is also applied both directly to the first input of AND gate A 53 , through a time delay circuit R 13 C 12 to a second input of AND gate A 53 . The square wave output signal Z 1 produced by the two square wave input signals u and v through AND gate A 53 is inverted by inverter A 66 to produce a square wave base drive signal SW3 to drive the power Darlington transistor Q 3 through an individual base drive amplifier circuit (identical to FIG. 5). The square wave base drive signals SW3 and SW4 are 180° out of phase and stay at a fixed position.
The square wave output signal i of flip-flop A 41 is inverted by inverter A 61 to produce a square wave signal k which is applied both directly to a first input of AND gate A 52 , and through a time delay circuit R 10 C 9 to the second input of AND gate A 52 .The square wave output signal Y 2 produced by ANDING two square wave input signals k and l through AND gate A 52 is inverted by inverter A 62 to produce a square wave base drive SW2 to drive the power darlington transistor Q 2 through an individual base drive amplifier circuit as shown in FIG. 5. The square wave signal i is also applied directly to the first input of AND gate A 51 , through a time delay circuit R 11 C 10 , to the second input of AND gate A 51 .
The square wave output signal Y 1 produced by ANDING two square wave input signals i and j through AND gate A 51 is inverted by inverter A 63 to produce a square wave base drive signal SW1 to drive the power Darlington transistor Q 1 through an individual base drive amplifier circuit (FIG. 5). The square wave base drive signals SW1 and SW2 are 180° out of phase and movable. Their relative phase or positions are determined by the potentiometer P 2 .
The overall operation of the control wave generator of FIG. 3 is as follows. If we consider pin 11 of the pulse width modulator A 1 to be a first source of uniformly spaced pulses, the pin 14 thereof is a second source of uniformly spaced pulses having leading edges respectively occurring half way between the leading edges of the pulses from the first pulse source. Variation in the widths of the pulses is controlled by changing the timing of their trailing edges as indicated by the arrows. The widths of pulses from both sources is changed in the same way by adjustment of P 2 .
The flip flop A 41 produces output pulses i that occur between the pulses d and p at the trailing edges of the pulses from the pins 11 and 14 of modulator A 1 . The pulses d and p are respectively applied to the set and reset inputs of the flip flop A 41 . The differentiation circuit C 6 , R 7 and the inverters A 21 , A 24 and A 32 constitute means for deriving pulses d that occur at the trailing edges of the variable trailing edges of the pulses from the pin 14, and the differentiation circuit C 8 , R 9 and inverters A 25 , A 35 and A 36 constitute means for deriving pulses p that occur at the trailing edges of the variable trailing edges of the pulses from the pin 11. Since these trailing edges are separated by half of the period between the corresponding edges of the pulses from the pins 11 and 14, the pulses i will be of this duration and will advance and retard as the widths of the pulses at pins 11 and 14 are varied. The pulses i are processed to produce the pulses SW1 which become the pulses of the control wave a of FIG. 2 after amplification in a circuit like that of FIG. 5, and their inversion by inverter A 61 produces the pulses k, which in turn are processed to produce the pulses SW2 that become the pulses of the control wave b of FIG. 2 after amplification in a similar circuit to that of FIG. 5. Thus, as the widths of the pulses from the pins 11 and 14 is varied, the control waves a and b change in phase but remain 180° out of phase with each other.
The flip flop A 42 produces output pulses that occur between the leading edges of the pulses from the pins 11 and 14, and since the leading edges are not shifted in phase, the pulses u that becomes the pulses SW3 and in turn the control pulse of the wave c of FIG. 2 do not shift in phase. The control wave d of FIG. 2 is derived by inverting the pulses u. This is done as follows. The set input of the flip flop A 42 receives pulses h that occur at the leading edges of the pulses from the pin 14. The pulses h are derived by means including the inverters A 21 , A 22 , A 23 and A 31 and the differentiation circuit C 5 R 6 . Similarly, the reset input of the flip flop A 42 receives pulses t that occur at the leading edges of the pulses from the pin 11. The pulses t are derived by means including the inverters A 25 , A 26 , A 33 and A 34 and the differentiation circuit C 7 R 8 .
Referring to FIG. 5, the base drive signal SW1 which is applied to an optocoupler integrated circuit A 60 is amplified through the first amplifier Q 5 and the second complementary pair amplifier Q 6 and Q 8 . The output signal b 1 of the second complementary pair amplifier Q 6 , Q 8 is coupled to the base b 1 of the transistor Q 1 of the bridge inverter in FIG. 1. Similarly, the base drive signals SW2, SW3 and SW4 respectively are applied to the input of three other independent amplifiers, identical to the base drive circuit of FIG. 5. The output signals of the three independent amplifiers are coupled to the bases b 2 , b 3 and b 4 of three transistors Q 2 , Q 3 and Q 4 of the bridge inverter in FIG. 1. The optocoupler A 60 isolates the low voltage level of the control circuit 2 and the high voltage level of the bridge inverter. The circuit of FIG. 5 also includes by-pass capacitors C 20 , C 23 , and C 24 ; pull up resistors R 20 , and R 26 ; coupler resistors R 22 and R 24 ; connected as shown. Power supply voltages +V, +V 2 , and -V 2 are applied as shown to optocoupler A 60 , transistor Q 5 , and couplementary Darlington Q 6 and Q 8 .
Components
The major circuit components of the controllable frequency ozonator (FIG. 1) are listed in Table 1:
TABLE 1______________________________________Q.sub.1, Q.sub.2, Q.sub.3 and Q.sub.4 Power Darlington transistor modules EVL31-050 FujiD.sub.1 and D.sub.3 Fast switching power diode UES806R UnitrodeD.sub.2 and D.sub.4 Fast switching power diode UES806 UnitrodeD.sub.5,D.sub.6,D.sub.7,D.sub.8,D.sub.9,D.sub.10 Fast switching rectifier module ME200605 PowerexC.sub.f1 and C.sub.f2 3.0 MF/400V polyester capacitorC.sub.f 2 × 3000 MF/350V electrolyte capacitor______________________________________
The parameters for circuit components of FIG. 3 are listed in Table 3:
TABLE 3______________________________________R.sub.1 1K C.sub.1 0.1 MFR.sub.2,R.sub.3 6.8K C.sub.2,C.sub.4 2.2 MFR.sub.4,R.sub.5,R.sub.6,R.sub.7,R.sub.8,R.sub.9 1.2K C.sub.3 20 MFR.sub.10,R.sub.11,R.sub.12,R.sub.13 12K C.sub.5,C.sub.6,C.sub.7,C.sub.8 56 pF C.sub.9,C.sub.10,C.sub.11,C.sub.12 680 pF A.sub.1 SG3524 IC A.sub.2,A.sub.3,A.sub.6 CD4049 IC A.sub.4 CD4043 IC A.sub.5 CD4081 IC______________________________________
The parameters for the equivalent electrical circuit components are shown below:
______________________________________C.sub.g1 = 2.287 nFC.sub.g2 = 2.195 nFC.sub.d = 13.26 nFR.sub.g1,R.sub.g2 = power dependentR.sub.d = power dependent______________________________________
The parameters for circuit components of FIG. 5 are listed in Table 2:
TABLE 2______________________________________R.sub.201.2K C.sub.20 0.1 MF +V.sub.1 = +5 VR.sub.26510 C.sub.23 10 MF +V.sub.2 = +9 VR.sub.22390 C.sub.24 10 MF -V.sub.2 = -9 VR.sub.241 (5 W) D.sub.1,D.sub.2,D.sub.3 = 1N4937 F.S.A.sub.60 HCPL-2602 opto-coupler integrated circuitQ.sub.5 2N3467 pnp transistorQ.sub.6 2N6383 npn power Darlington transistorQ.sub.8 2N6648 pnp power Darlington transistor______________________________________
Although various embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, they are not meant to be limiting. Certain modifications to these embodiments may occur to those of skill in the art, which modifications are meant to be covered by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. | A full bridge switching power supply is coupled to an ozonator load via a series resonant circuit having a resonant frequency above the switching frequency. Power output is controlled by varying the duration of the times when diagonal switches are conducting, and the output voltage has a longer rise time than fall time due to there being intervals between the conduction periods of diagonal switches during which one of the switches is turned on to permit resonant current flow. The driving voltages for attaining this action are symmetrical rectangular waves of identical shape having different phases that are derived from out of phase pulses where width is varied by the timing of their trailing edges. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
The invention relates to a device for separation of the constituents of all fluids, that is to say both liquids and gases, which device operates by a physicochemical route.
In the continuation of the description and in the claims, the term "separation" should be understood in its widest sense, that is to say filtration proper, but also the retention of particles, of charges, of microparticles, of ions of dissolved species, ionic or otherwise, separation or immobilization. These different actions are capable of resulting in the concentration, refining or purification of the fluid subjected to these actions. The invention also relates to the functionalization of the medium during the separation, the stage preliminary to subsequent diagnostic or working operations of the functionalized support.
Separation is carried out in a great many fields for diverse and varied applications. Thus, in the very general fields of chemistry and biology, it frequently proves necessary to carry out phase concentrations, separations or purifications in the context of analysis and in industrial processes.
To do this, recourse is commonly had either to conventional filters (disc filters, plate filters, filter presses, precoat filters), which require significant filtration equipment, or to filter cartridges, which require heavy molds for their manufacture. In both cases, consequent ullages are generated and, moreover, such filters exhibit a partition coefficient which is most often unsatisfactory or limited.
For other applications, recourse is had, for the separation of ionic species, to ion exchange resins. Such resins are, in a known way, composed of beads and microbeads functionalized according to the type of exchange desired.
Whatever the process of separation employed and its corollary, the equipment which enables this separation to be carried out, a certain number of problems remain, including the ullages generated by the equipment as well as its bulk, indeed its weight also, and its investment.
Applications increasingly demand, in order to carry out a direct measurement, a separation process capable of being carried out in line without an intermediate stage of collection of the fluid to be analyzed.
Moreover, the search is increasingly to increase the kinetics of separation, without, for all that, detrimentally affecting the results of this separation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
The object of the invention is to provide a physicochemical separation device for all types of fluid which overcomes these disadvantages with maximum efficiency for a minimum filter charge and which makes it possible to carry out an in-line separation in order to carry out and to obtain, immediately, results of measurement or of analysis, while optimizing the kinetics of the process.
This device for the physicochemical separation of fluids is equipped with a pipe for introduction of fluid to be filtered and with a pipe for departure of said fluid thus filtered and comprises, between the two pipes, a filter material based on textile fibers placed in the path of the fluid. The expression filter material, as used in the present application, refers to any material appropriate for separation, as defined above.
This device is characterized in that it is composed of a flexible leaktight or semipermeable casing made of plastic which tightly envelopes the filter material, so as to constitute a filter with a flat profile or capable of adopting a flat profile, the separation taking place in the plane of the filter and with respect to the flat profile of the filter material.
This configuration makes it possible to enjoy a consequent separation profile equivalent to the greater length of the medium and not to its thickness, as in conventional filtration, for minimum bulk, charge and ullage.
In other words, the invention comprises tightly enveloping a filter material within a flexible plastic casing intended to restrict the path of the fluid in the filter material without, for all that, bringing about a preferential path, one of the results of which is an increase in the progression of the fluid in contact with the textile fibers of the filter material, in this way promoting leaching or contact phenomena. In this way, maximum efficiency of the separating power is obtained for a minimum mass.
In one embodiment of the invention, the flexible casing is tubular and is produced from a heat-shrinkable or drawable material, so as to make possible with ease the introduction of the filter material or media into said casing and then to confine it by raising the temperature or by a mechanical route.
According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the flexible leaktight or semipermeable casing is composed of two plastic sheets heat-welded to one another and gripping the filter material, the assembly thus produced then being subjected to an embossing or calendering, so as to confine, as much as possible, the filter material within said casing and consequently to optimize the progression of the fluid in contact with said filter material. This casing can be produced from any appropriate material which satisfies the conditions of leaktightness, of resistance to the pressure of a fluid and of transparency, if appropriate, required. It is, for example, produced from plastic, such as from polyethylene, polypropylene, a polyethylene/polypropylene mixture, and the like, and it is capable of being of biocompatible, food or sterile grade, and the like, according to the destination and use of the separation device thus formed.
According to another embodiment, the leaktight casing imposing the progression and the maximum contact of the fluid with the filter material is composed of a single-layer or of a double-layer based on a nonwoven or on a textile, coated on one of its faces or receiving, by film coating on one of its faces, a PVC or equivalent or laminated with a plastic film, in particular produced from poyethylene sic!. This single-layer or this double-layer thus obtained is wound in the form of a contiguous or folded spiral, the interturn or interfold space receiving the filter material, and the assembly being inserted within a heat-shrinkable sheath, capable of modulating the porosity of the device, the rate of passage of the fluid, the separative efficacy, the compactness of the system and its ullage, and the like, by modifying the winding pressure or the squeezing of the folds.
In an alternative form of this embodiment, a grid or a drain is inserted between the filter material and the leaktight layer or sheath, in order to promote leaching and movement of the fluid.
The filter material is composed, for example, of a fibrous, filamentary or cellular material chosen from those conventionally used as filter media and in particular activated charcoal, viscose, cotton, polypropylene, asbestos, glass, and the like.
The constituents of this filter material can be negatively or positively charged and are capable of undergoing a grafting which confers ionic exchange properties on them (anions, cations, indeed complexing agents), so as thus to create ion exchange textiles, hydrophilic textiles, hydrophobic textiles, and the like.
In a known way, the grafting comprises the development, from a polymer, of various macromolecular chains each possessing several tens or several hundreds of functional sites which are polar, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, organophobic, organophilic, oxidizing and/or reducing or capable of attaching an active principle of chemical or biological nature.
The accessibility and the concentration of the sites by grafting result in kinetics and an efficiency which are better than those obtained to date.
The fibers can be functionalized or functionalizable using a functionalization agent, such as any appropriate chemical group or activated arm or arm which can be activated, capable of reacting with a specific anti-ligand for the purpose of a possible subsequent reaction with a ligand (or target molecule) capable of being present in a sample. The anti-ligand is in particular chosen in order to form an anti-ligand/ligand complex. By way of example, the complex can be in particular represented by any antigen/antibody, peptide/antibody, antibody/hapten or hormone/receptor pair, polynucleotide/polynucleotide or polynucleotide/nucleic acid hybrids, or the like.
The functionalization agent can in particular be chosen from alkyl or alkoxy chains or substituted or unsubstituted polyethers which are terminated by a group carrying a reactive functional group. The reactive functional group is in particular represented by a functional group such as a carboxy, hydrazide, amine, nitrile, aldehyde, thiol, disulfide, iodoacetyl, ester, anhydride, tosyl,. mesyl or silyl group and any reactive functional group capable of reacting with a specific anti-ligand.
The term "polynucleotide" as used in the present invention denotes a sequence of at least five deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides optionally comprising at least one nucleotide containing a modified base, such as inosine, 5-methyldeoxycitidine, 5-(dimethylamino)deoxyuridine, deoxyuridine, 2,6-diaminopurine, 5-bromodeoxyuridine or any. other modified base which makes possible hybridization. This polynucleotide can also be modified at the internucleotide bond (such as, for example, the phosphorothioate, H-phosphonate or alkyl-phosphonate bonds) or at the skeleton, such as, for example, alpha-oligonucleotides (FR-A-2,607,507) or PNAs (M. Elghom et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., (1992), 114, 1895-1897). Each of these modifications can be taken in combination.
The term "peptide" as used in the present invention means in particular any peptide containing at least two amino acids, in particular protein or protein fragment or oligopeptide, extracted, separated or substantially isolated or synthesized, in particular those obtained by chemical synthesis or by expression in a recombinant organism; any peptide in the sequence of which one or a number of amino acids of the L series is (are) replaced by an amino acid of the D series, and vice versa; any peptide in which at least one of the CO--NH bonds, and advantageously all the CO--NH bonds, of the peptide chain is (are) replaced by (a) NH--CO bonds, the chirality of each aminoacyl residue, whether it is or is not involved in one or more abovementioned CO--NH bonds, being either retained or inverted with respect to the aminoacyl residues constituting a reference peptide, these compounds being further denoted as immunoretroids; a mimotope, and the like.
A reactive functional group capable of reacting with the functionalization agent described above can be introduced at any position of the polynucleotide or of the peptide.
The term "antibody" as used in the present application means any monoclonal or polyclonal antibody, any fragment of said antibody, such as Fab, Fab'2 or Fc fragment, and any antibody or fragment obtained by genetic modification or recombination.
Haptens are small non-immunogenic molecules, that is to say incapable by themselves of promoting an immune reaction by formation of antibodies but capable of being recognized by antibodies obtained by immunization of animals under known conditions.
The base material is provided in the form of a a bed which maybe, among other things, fabric, of a nonwoven, of a paper, of fibers or of filaments.
The filter material is also capable of being composed of an alveolate material, such as foams, sponges, zeolites, and the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The way in which the invention can be implemented and the advantages which result therefrom will emerge more clearly from the implementational examples which follow, given by way of information and without implied limitation, with the support of the appended figures.
FIG. 1 represents diagrammatically a characteristic device of the invention, seen from above, of which FIG. 2 is a section along the axis II--II according to FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of another embodiment of the device in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another embodiment of the invention, of which FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the module of FIG. 4 represented in an expanded position.
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of another embodiment of the invention, of which FIG. 7 is an alternative form.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The separation device in accordance with the invention is represented very diagrammatically in FIG. 1. This device is composed of two substantially rectangular sheets (1) and (2), produced from polyethylene, tightly gripping a woven fabric, for example composed of activated charcoal fibers (3), and abutting onto two pipes, respectively a pipe for introduction (4) of the fluid to be separated or to be filtered and for departure (5) of the fluid thus separated or filtered.
In a known way, carbon fibers are materials which exhibit advantageous mechanical characteristics, in combination with a low relative density, which makes it possible to use them in the most varied textile forms, such as filaments, fibers, fabrics or braids, which may be two- or three-dimensional. These fibers are most generally manufactured by pyrolysis of a precursor, in particular based on fibers which are cellulose and which are natural or artificial, indeed synthetic (acrylic fibers). As these carbon fibers are well known, there is no reason to describe them here in more detail.
The whole periphery of the casing (1, 2) thus constituted gripping the fabric (3) is heat-welded under slight pressure, so that the films (1) and (2) constituting said casing are in close contact with the fibrous media (3) and completely welded to the periphery of the fabric, as can clearly be observed in FIG. 2.
By the use of films (1) and (2) produced from flexible polyethylene, the end result is a substantially flat separation profile, as can also be observed in FIG. 2, capable of deforming with respect to this plane, in particular folding up or bending, the fabric of the filter material (3) also exhibiting the flexibility capable of adapting to these deformations.
In addition, advantageously, the device thus produced is subjected to an embossing or calendering, so as to enable the filter material (3) to be gripped as tightly as possible between the two films (1) and (2), so as to preclude or limit any preferential progression of the fluid to be filtered outside the body of the fabric (3) between the introduction conduit (4) and the departure conduit (5), both emerging in the fabric. It is also possible to lengthen the progression of the fluid to be filtered or separated by twists and turns, produced within the casing (1, 2), for example by heat welding, the filter material (3) then adopting an additional profile.
The pressure exerted during the embossing or calendering depends, on the one hand, on the filter material used and, on the other hand, on the desired rate and desired efficiency of separation. Of course, the greater this pressure, the greater the confinement of the filter material (3) within the leaktight casing and, consequently, the slower the rate of separation. In fact, it can be advantageous to result in a balance, in order to optimize as far as possible these kinetics of separation, without detrimentally affecting, for all that, the desired degree of separation.
In another embodiment represented in FIG. 3, the filter material is provided, seen from above, in the form of a U, the introduction and departure conduits terminating respectively at the end of the branches of the U. This embodiment can be used when it is desired to optimize the leaching in contact with the filter material (3) which, this time, is, on the one hand, inherent to the confinement and, on the other hand, to the path of the fluid in the ascending direction in the second branch of the U. It has been observed that this embodiment did not significantly detrimentally affect the kinetics of separation.
These two embodiments are thus provided in the form of a flat profile, which can optionally be bent, which is entirely capable of being inserted in an envelope for the purpose of being sent to any place, in this way enabling on-the-spot or in-line samples to be sent very simply to places for specific analysis.
In another embodiment-represented in FIG. 4, use is made, as separation device, of a device analogous to that of FIG. 1 but which is folded over a number of times on itself in various convolutions, the latter being kept in contact with one another before use, for example by very weak points of adhesion or equivalent. In this way, before use, such separation devices have a bulk which is very particularly reduced and, of course, a very low weight. During their use, it is sufficient to simultaneously pull on both ends, in particular at the introduction and departure conduits, in order to free detach the convolutions from one another and thus to obtain a separation device which can be used directly, after the fashion of that represented in FIG. 1.
Such separation devices, depending on the filter material which they contain, have multiple applications.
In another embodiment of the invention represented in FIG. 5, the filter material is introduced into a heat-shrinkable or drawable casing, its volume being modulated so that, after shrinkage of said casing, the confinement obtained makes it possible to result in a forced separation under conditions which are adjustable by the degree of shrinkage.
Another embodiment of the invention has been represented in FIG. 6. The leaktight casing (1, 2) of the versions described above, the first function of which is to force the fluid to be separated to follow its course and to undergo maximum contact with the filter material, is composed of a single-layer or a double-layer (10), based on a nonwoven or on a fabric, coated on one of its faces with a PVC or receiving a polyethylene film emplaced by adhesive bonding, in order to confer a degree of leaktightness on it. The casing thus produced is wound around itself in the form of a spiral, the interturn space of which receives the filter material (11), the face rendered leaktight being on the inside of each of the turns, and the central core (12) of which is, for example, composed of the folding of said envelope (10) on itself or of a PVC axle, to which said casing is adhesively bonded, in order to preclude any preferential progression or passage of the fluid to be separated.
The spiral thus produced is confined within a heat-shrinkable external sheath (13) which, depending on the duration of the heating stage to which the assembly, thus formed, is subjected, is more or less shrunk, thus making it possible to vary both the porosity of the module and the rate of passage of the fluid, the separative efficiency or the compactness of the module.
The module also contains two connecting pieces (14, 15), respectively for introducing the fluid to be separated and for collecting the fluid thus treated. The connecting pieces are flexible and are emplaced on the spiral before confinement by the heat-shrinkable sheath (13).
In an alternative form of this embodiment represented in FIG. 7, the filter sic! to be separated is supplied tangentially with respect to the spiral (10). In this case, the fluid follows the different concentric turns until it ends at a central drain (16), perforated over its entire length, situated at the core of said spiral and extending over the entire height of the latter. The two bases of the spiral are then equipped with compounds which preclude the passage of the fluid at these points, in this way preventing any preferential passage and forcing said fluid to follow the turns and thus to leach the filter material. The drain (16) is in communication with the means for discharge of the filtered fluid from the device.
The separation device of the invention is capable of a great many applications. First of all, in the field of biology, it proves to be entirely appropriate in the context of the inhibition of the bacterial action of a specific medium.
Thus, the device of the invention is employed for adsorbing antimicrobial agents or inhibitors contained in a biological liquid by passage in contact with the fabric constituting the filter material, before introducing the biological liquid (such as blood), thus purified, into a flask comprising a culture medium, in order to grow microorganisms liable to be present.
This application proves to be entirely advantageous in the context of the adsorption of antibiotics, three specific examples of which will be given in detail hereinbelow.
EXAMPLE 1
In this example, the filter material is. composed of a textile fabric produced from sulfonated polypropylene. The antibiotic tested is composed of netilmicin, at a concentration of 40 mg/l, contained in a 0.1M phosphated buffer medium at pH of 7.5. 10 ml of antibiotic solution are injected, using a syringe, into the introduction pipe of the separation device of the invention and the purified liquid is collected at the departure pipe.
The antibiotic is then quantitatively determined in the liquid thus collected according to the conventional agar diffusion technique in a Petri dish. The percentage of antibiotic adsorbed on the filter material is equal to: ##EQU1## in which the reference value is the measured value of the buffer medium without separation by the device of the invention.
An adsorption yield of the antibiotic of greater than 99% is obtained.
EXAMPLE 2
The separation of the antibiotic of Example 1 is repeated, this time using a cation exchange textile, functionalized with carboxyl groups, as filter material.
The procedure and the quantitative determination technique are identical to those described in Example 1.
The result is an adsorption yield in the region of 66%.
EXAMPLE 3
Activated charcoal fibers are used as filter material.
The procedure and the quantitative determination technique are identical to those described in Example 1.
The test is carried out on different antibiotics in 0.1M phosphated buffer solution at pH 7.5.
The results obtained are collated in the table hereinbelow.
______________________________________ Netilmicin Vancomycin Pefloxacin Amoxicillin______________________________________Concentration in 40 40 20 80mg/l in thebuffersolutionAdsorption 95% 70% 90% 95%yield______________________________________
Moreover, the device comprising functionalized fibers on which are grafted one or a number of specific anti-ligands can also be used to disclose one or a number of ligand(s) in a biological fluid. The anti-ligand/ligand reaction, if it has taken place, can then be revealed:
either by elution using an appropriate eluent, the eluate obtained comprising the anti-ligand/ligand complexes formed, and subsequent visualization in the eluate by any appropriate tracer (by way of example, if the ligand is a protein, the presence of the anti-ligand/ligand complex can be revealed by a labelled antibody, if the ligand is a nucleic acid fragment, the polynucleotide/nucleic acid fragment complex can be revealed by a labelled polynucleotide, the sequence of which is complementary to at least a part of the sequence of the target nucleic acid fragment but at least partially different from the nucleotide sequence of the anti-ligand polynucleotide),
or directly within said device by addition of a tracer as described above.
In another embodiment of the invention, the separation device is used for the purposes of concentrating a ligand liable to be present in a biological sample. According to the principle described above, the ligand is adsorbed on the functionalized fibers comprising a specific anti-ligand of said ligand. An appropriate solution is then passed through the device in order to break the bonds established between the anti-ligand and the ligand. The eluate collected comprises only the ligand. The action of the concentration of salts or of the temperature can in particular be used to elute the ligand. This is applicable in particular in the field of bacteriology for concentrating microorganisms before culturing and in the field of molecular biology for concentrating one or more desired target nucleic acid(s) before a subsequent stage which can be, for example, direct visualization as described above or an amplification reaction (for example PCR, NASBA, LCR, and the like) in order to multiply the number of copies of the target nucleic acid before detection.
The device of the invention also finds application in the field of the analysis of water for revealing pathogenic organisms or trace metals, in accordance with the principle described above. Once the sample withdrawn has passed through the device of the invention, the latter can be sent to the analytical laboratory for the desorption stage and analysis of the components. In this application, the device, in addition, exhibits the advantage of being easy to use in all circumstances and of being extremely easy to transport.
The device of the invention also finds an application in the field of chromatography when the fibers are functionalized or functionalizable using chemical groups, such as quaternary ethylamine or diethylaminoethyl groups, which confer anion exchange properties on them; carboxymethyl or sulfopropyl groups, which confer cation exchange properties on them; propyl, ethyl, butyl or phenyl groups, which confer hydrophobicity properties on them; C8 or C18 chains, for a reversed-phase support; groups inducing metal chelation, thiol groups or the like.
After the stage of adsorption of the desired compounds, specific elution buffers, which are known to the person skilled in the art, are passed through the device in order to desorb the adsorbed compounds. The device of the invention in this application has a significant advantage in that it can, after reequilibrating, be used for a new chromatography cycle.
Mention may also be made, among the numerous applications of the device of the invention, of the possibility of extracting a species which is soluble in an aqueous medium. To do this, a device in accordance with that described in FIG. 1 is used. The filter material is composed of activated charcoal fibers of 30×70 mm. 50 cm 3 of an aqueous methylene blue solution, with a concentration of 2 mg/l, are injected into the introduction pipe of the module according to kinetics of 10 cm 3 /min. All the filtered liquid emerges colorless.
The identical operation carried out with the same amount of aqueous solution and with a filter material composed of activated charcoal fibers positioned perpendicularly to the plane of the module results in minimum decoloration; the residual coloration, measured by visible spectrometry, corresponds to 95% of the initial coloration.
The module in accordance with the invention is also capable of being used in the context of concentrating trace components and ultratrace components. Thus, the continuous filtration through a module of the invention comprising an IET (Ion Exchange Textile) makes it possible to result in a concentration of the trace components which it is desired to detect, up to the detection thresholds which can currently be used. Indeed, the detection of heavy metals proves to be impossible with conventional means for automatic monitoring when their concentration is less than the ppb level.
With the module in accordance with the invention, it thus becomes possible to detect the existence of hexavalent chromium present at the ppb level in a fluid containing trivalent chromium. The filter material is an IET carrying quaternary ammonium groups, sites which are strongly cationic ion exchangers.
Other applications can also be envisaged by means of the module of the invention. Mention may be made, for example and without implied limitation, of:
the extraction of traces of toxins in an industrial process: the selection of the filter material makes it possible to fix traces of nickel in electroplating effluents in order to reach the regulatory discharge threshold;
the recovery and the purification of proteins: in production, preservatives based on heavy metals are used, which it is advisable to remove without degrading the proteins. This removal is made possible by means of the module of the invention, the filter material of which is composed of a cation exchange textile support;
the concentration of β-emitter radioactive elements: said elements are fixed to an appropriate filter material and protected by the confinement casing produced from polyethylene. This casing makes it possible to handle the module by direct contact in order to render safe all the handling and dispatching operations and the like;
the combination of modules providing different functionalities makes it possible to define, in a single operation by selective analysis which is carried out subsequently, the medium or media, their family and the separative techniques which are appropriate.
Mention may be made, among the various advantages provided by such a device, of:
the possibility of having available a tool which is very simple to use, which is flexible and which is capable of thus allowing analyses and measurements to be carried out in-line and continuously;
the possibility of carrying out separations according to optimized kinetics, without, for all that, having a detrimental effect on the results and the quality of said separations;
the possibility of carrying out, at least cost, any type of simulation in the field of separation techniques and consequently of validating a separative treatment, whatever its stage of development;
the possibility of having available a simple and inexpensive concentration or separation system for diagnosis or with analytical purposes;
such a device can be easily rendered tamper-proof and can be dispatched by conventional forwarding means (post and the like);
the possibility of easily designing the device as a function of the characteristics of the fluid to be treated;
the possibility of easily interconnecting various modules of different functionalities;
in addition, taking into account its very structure, such a separation device is easy to sterilize but also convenient to remove from a waste treatment device (indeed, can be simply discarded) or can be regenerated in the context of the use of ion exchange textiles as filtration material;
moreover, due to the low ullages, the exchanges between the fluid to be filtered and the filter material take place under the best conditions.
In fact, such devices are very particularly suitable in conjunction with diagnostic tools or conventional components for separation, purification, decoloration, immobilization, filtration or retention. | Apparatus for physicochemical separation and filtering constituents of fluids having a flexible leak-tight or semipermeable casing which tightly envelopes a filter material and inlet and outlet pipes for passing a fluid through the casing in contact with the filter material. The casing is made in a flat profile that can be formed into various shapes such as spirals, ribbons or the like. | 1 |
PRIORITY INFORMATION
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/529,127, filed on Sep. 28, 2006, now abandoned, which claims the benefit of International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US05/012004 filed on Apr. 12, 2005 and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/561,393 filed on Apr. 12, 2004, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP
This invention was made with government support under Grant No. NRA-01-GRC-02 Contract No. NAG3-2655 awarded by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The development of new engine materials and designs has allowed turbines to be operated at much higher temperature and thus, achieve higher efficiencies. In order to evaluate engine performance, it is necessary to monitor the temperature of all of the static and dynamic components in the turbine environment. Several techniques have been used to monitor the surface temperature of blades and vanes, including wire thermocouples, infrared photography, pyrometry and thermal paints. One technique employs embedded thermocouple wires in the blade wall, but this technique may cause serious structural and aerodynamic problems, disturbing the flow of cooling air. Infrared photography has been used for this purpose but is a non-contact method where the thermal radiation patterns of an object are converted into a visible image. These techniques are not easily transferable to the gas turbine engine environment for temperature monitoring where smoke or other particulates may scatter the light. The extreme temperatures and velocities within a turbine gas engine also make it difficult to produce reliable infrared images. Pyrometry can be used at a reasonably large distance from the object as long as the object can be brought into focus, but this technique requires that the areas of engine are line of sight accessible. It is important to note that adsorption by dust, windows, flames, gases and other optical interferences can produce errors. Another method to measure surface temperature is the use of thermal paints, which are convenient to use and give a visual display or thermal map of the component. Such paints however, do not exhibit the adhesion necessary to survive the harsh environment in gas turbine engine.
SUMMARY
As operating temperatures in gas turbine engines are pushed to higher levels, engine designs must rely on complex cooling systems and ceramic coatings to maintain the structural integrity of the metallic blades and vanes. Embedded wire thermocouples are frequently used for temperature measurement in the gas turbine engine environment but as the blades get thinner, the structural integrity can become compromised. A thin film ceramic thermocouple based on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) alloys may be used to measure the surface temperature of both static and rotating engine components employed in propulsion systems that operate at temperatures in excess of 1300° C. By fabricating two different ITO elements, each having substantially different charge carrier concentrations, it is possible to construct a robust ceramic thermocouple. A thermoelectric power of 6.0 μV/° C., over the temperature range 25-1250° C. has been measured for an unoptimized thin film ceramic thermocouple.
Testing in a computer controlled burner rig showed that ITO thermocouples exhibited a linear voltage-temperature response over the temperature range 25-1250° C. Not only was the thermoelectric power a critical measure of performance of thermocouples in these applications but the electrical and chemical stability was equally important in these harsh conditions, since these temperature sensors must survive tens of hours of testing at elevated temperatures. To enhance the carrier concentration difference in the different legs of thermocouple, ITO thin films were deposited by radio frequency (rf) sputtering in different oxygen, nitrogen, and argon plasmas. ITO thin films prepared in nitrogen rich plasmas have survived temperatures in excess of 1575° C. for tens of hours. SEM micrographs revealed that the surfaces of the ITO thin films after high temperature exposure exhibited a partially sintered microstructure with a contiguous network of ITO nanoparticles. In these films, nitrogen was metastably retained in the individual ITO grains during deposition. Nitrogen diffused out of the bulk grains at elevated temperature and eventually became trapped at grain boundaries and triple junctions. Not only are these ceramic thermocouples being considered for propulsion applications, other applications such as glass melting and steel making are also being considered. Thermal cycling of ITO thin films in various oxygen partial pressures showed that the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) was nearly independent of oxygen partial pressure, with TCR's ranging from 1320 ppm/° C. to 1804 ppm/° C. at temperatures above 800° C., and eventually became independent of oxygen partial pressure after repeated thermal cycling below 800° C.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a versatile ceramic sensor system having an RTD heat flux sensor which can be combined with a thermocouple and a strain sensor to yield a multifunctional ceramic sensor array.
It is another object of the invention to provide a ceramic sensor array prepared under different plasma conditions, e.g., different oxygen and nitrogen partial pressures in the argon plasma and having very high temperature stability.
It is another object of the invention to provide a transparent ceramic temperature sensor that could ultimately be used for calibration of optical sensors.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an ITO ceramic sensor which can be used in aerospace applications, glass melting and steel making applications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following description may be further understood with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a thin film ceramic thermocouple in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIGS. 2A and B are photographs of a high-temperature test of a ceramic thermocouple on a quartz substrate and a ceramic thermocouple fabricated on an alumina rod;
FIG. 3 is a graph of electrical resistivity of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) in low oxygen partial pressure wherein the films are sputtered in an oxygen and argon plasma;
FIG. 4 is a graph of electrical resistivity of ITO in high oxygen partial pressures wherein the films are sputtered in an oxygen and argon plasma;
FIG. 5 is a graph of electrical resistivity of ITO in low oxygen partial pressure wherein the films are sputtered in a nitrogen rich plasma;
FIG. 6 is a graph of electrical resistivity of ITO in high oxygen partial pressures wherein the films are sputtered in a nitrogen plasma;
FIG. 7 is scanning electron micrograph of an ITO sensor prepared in an oxygen/argon plasma and an ITO sensor prepared in a nitrogen rich plasma;
FIG. 8 is a graph of resistivity of ITO sensors in various nitrogen partial pressure environments;
FIG. 9 is a graph of response of ceramic thermocouple during thermal cycling to 1200° C.; and
FIG. 10 is a graph of response of ceramic thermocouple during thermal cycling to 1000° C.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Generally shown in FIG. 1 , is a thin film thermocouple 10 including a first and second element 12 , 14 positioned on a substrate 16 . Thin film metallic leads are indicated at 18 . Thin film thermocouples deposited on the blades and vanes of gas turbine engines can serve as an ideal means of measuring the surface temperature of engine components during operation. The sensitivity and response of thermocouples are based on the development of an electromotive force (emf), which is dependent on the electrical resistivity of the individual metals used to form the couple. Thin film thermocouples can accurately measure the surface temperature of engine components because they have low thermal mass and thus, provide a more accurate measurement of the temperature at a specific point. The small inertial mass of thin films also translates into a negligible impact on vibration patterns. They are also non-intrusive in that the thermocouple thickness is considerably less than the gas phase boundary layer thickness. Thus, the gas flow path through the engine will not be adversely affected. Critical to implementation of thin film temperature sensor technology in advanced aerospace application is the chemical and electrical stability of the active sensor elements and the magnitude of the thermoelectric power at elevated temperatures. Ceramic thermocouples based on reactively sputtered indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films can measure the surface temperature of both stationary and rotating engine components employed in propulsion systems that operate at temperatures in excess of 1500° C. ITO solid solutions dissociate in pure nitrogen at temperatures above 1100° C., but are stable in pure oxygen atmosphere at temperature up to 1600° C. The sensor elements are oxidation resistant and do not undergo any phase change when thermally cycled between room temperature and 1500° C.
Currently used platinum based thermocouples are expensive, have a limited temperature range, are prone to yield errors due to catalytic effects and can give results that can deviate by as much as 50° C. from the actual temperature. Platinum and rhodium thermocouples are prone to creep and other metallurgical effects at elevated temperature. The sensitivity and response of thermocouples are based on the development of an electromotive force (emf), which is dependent on the electrical properties of the individual thermoelements, namely the density of free carriers. By controlling ITO deposition conditions, a robust ceramic thermocouple can be produced using two different ITO elements with substantially different charge carrier concentrations and resistivities.
High purity aluminum oxide substrates were used for all high temperature electrical tests, since they provide excellent electrical isolation and stability at high temperature. These substrates were cleaned by rinsing in acetone, methanol and deionized water, followed by a dry nitrogen blow dry. Shadow masking techniques were used to fabricate all thin film thermocouples. The ITO films were deposited by rf sputtering and the platinum/rhodium (10%) films were also deposited by rf sputtering. A high density ITO target (12.7 cm in diameter) with a nominal composition of 90 wt % In 2 O 3 and 10 wt % SnO 2 was used to deposit ITO thermoelements and high purity (99.9999%) platinum and platinum/rhodium targets (10.7 cm in diameter) were used for all platinum depositions. The sputtering chamber was evacuated to a background pressure of less than 1×10 −6 torr prior to sputtering and semiconductor grade argon, oxygen and nitrogen were leaked into the chamber to establish a total gas pressure of 9 mtorr. The oxygen, argon and nitrogen partial pressures were maintained in the deposition chamber using MKS mass flow controllers sold by MKS Instruments, Inc. of Andover, Mass. and rf power density of 2.4 W/cm 2 was used for all ITO sputtering runs. Platinum films (3 μm thick) were used to form ohmic contacts to the active ITO thermoelements and thin film leads to make electrical connection. A computer controlled burner rig and a Deltech tube furnace with a 7-inch hot zone was used for high temperature experiments ( FIG. 2 ). The furnace was ramped at 3° C./min to the desired temperature in 50° C. increments and held for at least 1 hour to establish thermal equilibrium. The corresponding resistance changes were monitored with a 6-digit multimeter (Hewlett-Packard 34401A sold by Hewlett-Packard Company, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.) and a programmable constant current source (Keithley 224). A Hewlett-Packard multimeter and Keithley constant current source were interfaced to an I/O board and an IBM 488 GPIB card (sold by International Business Machines, Inc. of Armonk, N.Y.) for continuous data acquisition using Lab windows software. A type S thermocouple connected to a second multimeter was used to measure the temperature inside the Deltech furnace.
Electrical and chemical stability of the sputtered ITO is critical to the performance of these temperature sensors, since these ceramic sensors must survive tens of hours of testing at elevated temperature. Towards this end, high temperature stability of ITO thin films was evaluated at temperatures up to 1250° C. under different oxygen partial pressures. The properties of the ITO elements were measured continuously during thermal cycling to establish the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). This was used as an indirect measure of thermocouple stability from the viewpoint of charge carrier concentration. The desired partial pressures were established by mixing argon and oxygen in different ratios followed by thermal cycling between 25° C. and 1500° C. Results of testing under low oxygen partial pressures ( FIG. 3 ) and high oxygen partial pressures ( FIG. 4 ), showed that temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) was very stable and not affected by partial pressure at temperatures above 700° C. The change in resistance-temperature behavior was not significant after several testing cycles at temperature above 700° C. These results showed that ITO thin films prepared in argon/oxygen plasmas exhibited reasonably good stability. A temperature coefficient of resistance of 1388 ppm/° C. and 2486 ppm/° C. was observed under low and high oxygen partial pressures, respectively.
A ceramic thermocouple was fabricated by depositing two different ITO films ( FIGS. 2 A and 2 B), each prepared with a very different charge carrier concentration. To insure a reasonable the charge carrier concentration difference in the different elements of the thermocouple, ITO films were prepared by rf sputtering in different oxygen/argon and oxygen/nitrogen/argon plasmas. The high temperature stability of thin films prepared in nitrogen-rich plasmas is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 . After the first thermal cycle, sintering of these nitrogen doped films had occurred and thereafter resulted in excellent stability at elevated temperature (almost independent of oxygen partial pressure in the test environment).
The different electrical conductivity in each thermoelement is controlled by the amount of nitrogen in the plasma. It has been determined that by utilizing nitrogen in the plasma, the thermoelements are unexpectedly able to withstand much higher temperatures. The plasma should include at least some and up to 10 mtorr of nitrogen, 0-10 mtorr of oxygen and 0-10 mtorr of argon. One preferred combination of plasma components includes 6 mtorr of argon, 3 mtorr of nitrogen and 1 mtorr of oxygen.
A temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of 1320 ppm/° C. was observed in low oxygen partial pressure and 1748 ppm/° C. was observed in pure oxygen environments. Nitrogen-doped ITO films exhibited greater stability at high temperatures with an almost linear response.
ITO temperature sensors were examined by SEM after high temperature exposure. SEM micrographs indicated that a marked change in microstructure had occurred in the ITO films after the first thermal cycle. The SEM micrograph of an ITO sensor subjected to a post-deposition heat treatment in air ( FIG. 7 ) showed a partially sintered microstructure with interconnected nanopores. ITO films prepared in a nitrogen-rich plasma retained more metastable nitrogen in the structure and thus, lead to a much finer microstructure. The average ITO particle size was considerably smaller in the nitrogen sputtered ITO films compared to the oxygen sputtered films and the ITO particles exhibited a more angular and faceted morphology.
In the case of the nitrogen doped ITO films, it appears that more nitrogen was metastably retained in the individual ITO grains during sputtering which later diffused out of the bulk grains at elevated temperature, eventually becoming trapped at grain boundaries and triple junctions. Under these conditions, sintering and densification of the ITO particles containing nitrogen rich grain boundaries was retarded and a contiguous network of nanometer-sized ITO particles was established. In both cases, the controlled microstructure developed in these sensors was achieved by controlling the partial pressure of nitrogen in the interconnected porosity during processing, such that a balance between the rate of decomposition and the rate of sintering was maintained. Since the decomposition of ITO alloys in pure nitrogen atmospheres can occur at temperatures as low as 1100° C., higher equilibrium (decomposition) pressures at these higher temperatures occurs in the nitrogen sputtered films and must be accommodated in the isolated pores to maintain equilibrium. Continued sintering in these nitrogen sputtered films will require even higher temperatures until a new equilibrium is reached. Preliminary experiments indicate that a stable nitride may have also formed on the surfaces of these particles, which can also lead to the stabilization of the ITO nanoparticles.
To determine the resistivity and carrier concentration difference in ITO elements comprising the thermocouples, a series of ITO films were sputtered in different argon/oxygen/nitrogen partial pressures. The reactively sputtered ITO films were determined to be n-type and exhibited typical semiconductor-like resistivities. The resistivity of the as-deposited ITO films was dependent on the nitrogen partial pressure established in the plasma, as shown in FIG. 8 . Based on equation (1) below, the charge carrier concentration can be estimated from the resistivity and mobility of the ITO films:
p = 1 q μ N e ( 1 )
where q is the charge of electron, μ is the mobility and N e is the charge carrier concentration. Generally, increasing the nitrogen partial pressure in the plasma during sputtering resulted in lower resistivity. Increased resistivity of ITO films as a function of oxygen partial pressure is due to the decrease in the oxygen vacancy concentration in the films, via compensation by molecular oxygen. When too much nitrogen was incorporated in plasma however, indium nitride may have formed. In this case, ITO films will become degenerate when nitrogen partial pressures exceed 2.35×10 −a torr ( FIG. 8 ).
The ITO thermocouples were tested from room temperature to 1250° C., and a linear relationship between emf and temperature was observed. As shown in FIG. 9 , a thermoelectric power of 6 μV/° C. was determined over this temperature range. Other ceramic thermocouples prepared with higher nitrogen partial pressure (1.853×10 −3 torr and 2.43×10 −3 torr) lost their linear response during high temperature testing.
Other transparent conducting oxides include aluminum doped zinc oxide, tin oxide, antimony oxide and antimony tin oxide.
To simulate the real engine operation environment, an oxy-propane open flame burner rig was used to test the performance of an ITO ceramic thermal sensor ( FIG. 10 ). The ITO ceramic thermal sensor successfully survived through this severe testing with almost the same thermoelectric power of 6 μV/° C. discussed above with reference to FIG. 9 . The burner rig test further confirmed that ITO ceramic thermocouples were good candidates for the gas turbine engine applications.
Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to several preferred embodiments thereof, various changes, omissions and additions to the form and detail thereof, may be made therein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | A thin film ceramic thermocouple ( 10 ) having two ceramic thermocouple ( 12, 14 ) that are in contact with each other in at least on point to form a junction, and wherein each element was prepared in a different oxygen/nitrogen/argon plasma. Since each element is prepared under different plasma conditions, they have different electrical conductivity and different charge carrier concentration. The thin film thermocouple ( 10 ) can be transparent. A versatile ceramic sensor system having an RTD heat flux sensor can be combined with a thermocouple and a strain sensor to yield a multifunctional ceramic sensor array. The transparent ceramic temperature sensor that could ultimately be used for calibration of optical sensors. | 6 |
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